The last few weeks we have seen a lot going on inside the Strikeforce organization. Some of it,well most of it, seems rather negative and I wonder if we are watching the final days of the organization.
We should begin with the debacle that is M-1 Global and the partnership with Strikeforce. M-1 is unhappy with the current deal, going so far as to say that Strikeforce has not honored their contract with them. According to a report from Head Kick Legend citing sources inside M-1, Fighters.com top-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) will only fight inside a Strikeforce cage again if they sign a new contract. M-1 is looking for a partner and to have Strikeforce cards featuring Fedor to be fully co-promoted cards.
This seems like more of some strong arm tactics from the Russians. They seem to be trying to force the hand of Scott Coker and Strikeforce by saying they are shopping Fedor around. The loss of Fedor to the organization would be a huge blow. He was one of the top head-liners for the CBS/Showtime cards. Without him they are forced to rely on third-ranked middleweight “Hendo” Dan Henderson (27-7) to pull in the numbers. It is true that Dan is more popular now than he has ever been here in the states but can he pull off getting the numbers needed for a CBS card? I doubt it.
This leaves Strikeforce with a major problem. “Conviction” Gina Carano (7-1)has not been seen since her devastating loss in the title fight. She is now filming a movie and there has been no word when we will see her back inside the cage.
Without fighters that can pull in the big numbers Strikeforce might just split apart at the seams. After all, now only do you need good gate numbers but when you have a deal with CBS/Showtime you have to give them high enough numbers to bring you back again. So who do they use? Herschel Walker (1-0) is available and it is obvious he is quite the draw but do you want to go all in with a man as old as he is and hope he does well again?
All of this plus the fact that they can’t seem to get their heavyweight champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (30-11) to actually come back and defend his title is a kick right square in the pants for an organization that has shown flashes of promise.
Strikeforce has a lot on it’s plate and with a big announcement coming sometime today we should be better suited to see just where this organization stands. Could it be that M-1 is like kryptonite to any organization they work with? Only time will tell
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Comments
You are so dead wrong, dude!! Strikeforce is growing faster then ever. What so many fail to realize is Strikeforce has quadrupled their amount of fights in the last 2 years. They have top fighters competing on their cards and they never disappoint. Too many people compare them to UFC, which they aren’t. But they don’t pretend to be. UFC has a 20 year head start on them and no one seems to remember that. They are just out there doing their thing, building their great fighters and putting on top quality productions. They aren’t going anywhere.
Nothing like posting a piece with a very misleading headline with zero info. at all in your article.
By just reading the headline one would think they were going to get some news worthy info with concrete facts instead of what amounts to a pointless piece that’s just going to feed the internet rumor mongers.
No wonder MMA isn’t taken seriously as a sport. There is virtually no real sports coverage or journalism at all for the sport. Just mma blogs and websites filled with rumors and no real story. This piece is a perfect example. It’s trash.
“Could it be that M-1 is like kryptonite to any organization they work with?”
YES! These guys are crooks. Organizations need to stop catering to these bastards so that they learn their lesson and change their attitude. And MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, we might get to see Fedor in the UFC. I don’t remember Co-Promotion being a bid deal when they were with pride. What the hell happened? Jerry “Gary” Millen convinced them otherwise?
When Strikeforce signed Fedor…they basically got a guy that MADE their organization. They are really in no position to not give in to Fedor or M-1, since if he doesn’t fight in Strikeforce…there won’t be a Strikeforce. Basically if Scott Coker doesn’t realize the position he is in – Strikeforce is dead. Scott Coker should have not let this become public…he should have handled it before anything was said M-1 should have given him the chance…since even the mere speculation that Fedor won’t be fighting could sink him. Why would CBS bother to promote Strikeforce if they can’t deliver. Contracts are about to be broken and it will get messy. Maybe Strikeforce is going to fold up soon. Too bad. MMA needs a successful alternative to Dana White and the UFC.
History repeats itself? hmmm. Fedor soars to the top at a time that I felt was a great time for Pride, then broke, done. Fedors fault or M-1. I say M-1. Greedy greedy green eyed monsters. If Strikeforce goes down, guaranteed Dana White won’t deal with M-1. No matter how loud us Fedor’s fans yell. When will M-1 allow Fedor to taste good ol american capitalism. He’ll make more than his contracts. Maybe M-1 won’t be getting a cut? hmmm. Greedy freaks
How much did zuffa pay you to write this article? It’s just Fedor bashing from a zuffa zombie. You should be more careful, zombie. Fedor could be giving lesner the ideas that you’re publicizing.
I mean, I’ll write an article about the end of zuffa. I’ll talk about how they bankrupted station casinos to hell, and how it was their father’s business, and how they still screwed it up even during profitable times. I’ll talk about the 6 billion they owe and how they’ll never pay it off without selling the ufc brand.
But who am I talking to? A guy that calls himself Reverend? Give me a break.
@armed
You are so far off, I am a huge Fedor fan. As for the term Reverend, I am in fact an ordained Reverend.
Whether or not Strikeforce is going under is debatable. Whether or not they are screwing up or on their way to being under, really isn’t. At least, not as long as M-1 is on their back sucking them dry. There’s a reason they’re #2 to Zuffa and these reasons are it. Doesn’t take much business sense to know that you don’t give a fighter (and his staff) half of your organization (on cards he’s on) and still hope to come out on top, on a FREE CBS card no less. M-1 will simply try to cash a check from strikeforce and it will bounce.