A Political War Between Strikeforce and CBS is Raging, According to Dan Henderson

Despite his loss to Jake Shields in April 2010, new strikeforce signee Dan Henderson is still considered one of the promotion’s best assets. Rather than dwell on that fight, “Hendo” seems ready and focused to make his return to the San Diego-based promotion in a showdown with former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato Sobral at Strikeforce’s upcoming December show, “Strikeforce: St. Louis”. But why such a long layoff for such a highly decorated and in-demand fighter? And why on Showtime and not CBS? According to the man himself, the CBS network is to blame.

In an interview with the MMA Hour, Henderson revealed that a political game between Strikeforce and CBS is what kept him out of action for eight months. Here are the highlights from the interview (text courtesy of MMA Mania): “I was wanting to get back in there pretty quickly, but I think part of the problem was CBS kind of a little bit faltering on their commitment to mixed martial arts, especially after the little escapade in the cage after my last fight on CBS… It is disappointing [to not fight on CBS again], and the fact that that could have been easily avoided with the guys not coming into the cage after my last fight… But I also think that if CBS had a big problem with it, they didn’t need to put it on their Web site, didn’t need to replay it a bunch of times… [Strikeforce] wanted me to be on the next CBS card and CBS took a while and finally [Strikeforce] just got tired of waiting. I thought I was going to fight two, three months ago, but that’s the way it goes.”

I honestly understand Henderson’s frustrations. Things can get messy with live sports on broadcast TV, especially a sport so new to the mainstream. I think CBS knows the potential that Mixed Martial Arts has, their outings with EliteXC delivered some of the highest ratings in the history of the sport. But in a world of FCC regulations, in a world where everyone answers to someone in a boardroom wearing a suit, it’s hard to find equal ground when you’re a surging MMA promotion trying to turn a profit by having a national TV deal.

But can you honestly blame CBS? I’m not advocating this little political boardroom warfare, but let’s be honest: they had a major post-fight scuffle broadcast live on their station. It’s true that any publicity is good publicity, but you know that the folks whispering in CBS’s ear that MMA was a brutal sport not fit for their network got a decisive victory when Team Cesar Gracie put a gang-style beatdown on Jason Miller. Those are tough waters to navigate even if you are a big entity like CBS, so of course it’s going to take a while to get everything figured out.

So at the end of the day, I understand but don’t fully approve of CBS’s resistance to putting on another Strikeforce show. CBS needs to pull the trigger: either let Strikeforce have their show or pull the plug and let them try to secure a deal with another network. But don’t keep the political drama and escapades going, because it hurts the top talent like Dan Henderson. With absolutely no disrespect meant to the Showtime network, “Hendo” and all the major stars deserve to be on CBS. Their hard work should be rewarded, their penchant for putting on great fights should be witnessed by a national audience. Because as it stands right now, no one, from the fighters to the fans to the promotion to the network, is winning this war.

And what do you think, fans and friends? If what “Hendo” says is indeed true, what does the future hold for the CBS/Strikeforce alliance?