UFC just bought Strikeforce
 

UFC OWNS Strikeforce
 

http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/...ory?id=6209923

Holy shit. This is awesome for fans. Might suck for some fighters though.

beat u to it

Damn you! I guess I'm the Strikeforce to your UFC in this case.

This is very bad for MMA. The last thing you need is Dana being the only show in town.

I'm guessing Zuffa overpaid.

Seems as though they will remain to seperate entities(where have we heard that before...) Scott Coker will stay on, Dana likes Scott apparently. Contracts to Strikeforce and UFC will remain exclusive to their brand. Fighters from Strikeforce will not fight UFC fighters, only once their contract is up and they sign a new deal to the other organization.

Sounds like Dana got the feeder organization the UFC has needed.

Still, while it may be good for us the fans, there no doubt it's not a good move for the fighters. I wonder how much of a factor that played in UFC wanting to inquire Strikeforce. I wasn't even aware they were for sale.

Though, if it is as White has stated, it may not be a bad thing, in the short run anyways

How much money could Strikeforce actually have been making though? Granted they had a deal with Showtime and everything, but they were also co-promoting with m1.

They were expecting to gross something like 30 million this fiscal year I just read. Not to bad, definelty a growing companie. They've been doing great in the ratings lately as well.

Well once Overeems contract with Strikeforce expires he is free to go to the UFC.

I'm sure you'll see fighters from one organization get "released" so he can go to the other, and vice versa at some point.

I wonder what becomes of EA's MMA?

I think it's good for MMA in a sense that match ups fans want to see are more likely to get done. I don't have a problem with Dana being the only show in town from a fan's perspective because the UFC is better organized, presents a better show and has clearer direction than any other organization.

Hopefully they merge the heavyweight division like they did for 185 when the WEC was bought and keep every other division separate for a little while. Eventually it will all probably be UFC though

It sucks for the fighters because now they might be at the whim of Dana, however, since it's the Fertita's money I'm sure Lorenzo would step in to keep certain fighters like Diaz happy.

I do hope they keep the Challenger's series and women's divisions going long after the sale has been consumated.

I wonder if this will prompt Fedor to retire. Barnett's probably not too thrilled either.

fap fap fap

Guessing Hendo will be gutted lol, doing so well after jumping there and talk of a Fedor fight.....

This is fckin amazing though.

No one is getting cut, and divisions won't be merged. They will be to completely seperate companies, with Scott Coker still running strikeforce, and he will be the one still negotiating contracts for Strikeforce, not Dana.

Here's Dana talking about it.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/3/12...-mma-landscape

Read the initial report folks.

What I'm really interested in is how this how thing came about and started. Strikeforce wasn't in financial trouble, and had a TV deal, seems kinda odd the more I think about it.

Was Strikeforce profitable? They may have had revenues of $30 million or whatever, but without knowing the expenses who knows what kind of shape they were in. Plus, they weren't getting featured prime time on CBS since the brawl so I wonder if that affected the bottom line in any way.

It does seem strange timing wise because they did seem to be hitting their stride. Maybe Silicon Valley Sports isn't doing so hot and just needed to cut the company loose

Expect to see Strikeforce back on CBS, SF has been doing very well in the ratings lately, and it's a demographic that CBS despertley needs.

All Scott Coker's recent interviews were him putting over how great they were doing, how its growing rapidly etc. I know hes the CEO and wouldnt say anything different but it is shocking how it came from nowhere, not even a hint.

Dana says all that and whatever but you know something might happen later down the line. You've just bought your biggest competitor and rival company and you think you can just leave it alone or are you gonna have a huge itch to play with this new toy you've got?

Zuffa now owns both UFC and Strikeforce which is like some corporation owning WWE and TNA. It would be very interesting if things truly did remain mostly unchanged. Zuffa can let these two companies grow as big as they can individually but they also have the luxury of a roster featuring the majority of the world's biggest MMA fighters.

BUSINESS AS USUAL

Ok this is my nomination for the 3 biggest mark out moments in MMA thread. Holy shit!

Zuffa buys Strikeforce!
 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_yl...eda6a162d18e10

Go I don't know how to read other threads.

well ill be got damned, i just did a search for the word 'strikeforce' to make sure there wasnt another thread. Meh, whatever, merge it, delete it, who cares, just wanted to get the word out.

My issue with this whole deal is that competition is good, and the UFC (Zuffa) just tends to eat 'em up once they get big enough. Wasnt it only a couple years back where they didnt see Strikeforce as competition?

When you say competition is good, it depends on whose perspective your looking at it from.

Due to the individualistic nature of fighting, there's only so many prospective match ups each organization can put together. For the UFC, no matter what Dana says about not co-promoting or doing super fights, the acquisition of Strikeforce gives them several more potential marquee match ups and fighters that they can profit off of. As fans we also benefit, because at the end of the day, no one gives a shit whether it says UFC or Strikeforce on the ticket, good fights are good fights and the UFC can now put more of those together.

The only victims are the fighters who lose bargaining power, BUT, by the UFC becoming the biggest player in town, this gives even bigger incentive for the fighters to form a union to protect their interests.

Dana White would fire every champion and their replacements before he would ever allow a union to be formed.

If the collective fighters could show in court that the UFC had a monopoly and their salaries were repressed in comparison to the UFC's profits, it wouldn't be up to Dana.

Buzzing that they can show Strikeforce stuff in the VP's.

Which seems like it shouldnt be an issue seeing as how Zuffa has purchased every big MMA promotion.

I mean, its clear the winner is 'the fans', but im thinking from perspective of the fighter (like you said, unions). Other promotions existing allows for a stage, even a smaller one, to be available to showcase talents. Sure, the UFC is the 'big leagues', but that road is easier paved when one can prove themselves elsewhere.

GSP v. Shields.

Paul Daley being a bitch over this btw -