More Scott Coker Comments: The Future of Strikeforce on CBS

I reported recently that former PRIDE FC and UFC star and newly-signed strikeforce star Dan Henderson had said that his recent inactivity was due to some political warfare between Strikeforce and the CBS network that has kept “Hendo” off the airwaves. CBS seems to be hesitant to re-invest in MMA despite the network boasting some of the highest-rated MMA shows in history, back when it was the now-defunct EliteXC promotion and not Strikeforce that was on national TV. And for good reason: the last CBS-televised Strikeforce event saw a post-fight brawl break out on national television after three straight fights went to a full five-round decision. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently commented on the situation in an interview with Sherdog. Here’s what the soft-spoken promoter had to say.

“We’re going to revisit [the CBS relationship] in the beginning of the year… I think that probably, I don’t know maybe in the beginning of the year, we’ll have some things to announce. By no means is the relationship a bad relationship. It’s just we’re going to revisit it in the beginning of the year and take it from there… One of the things that we want to make sure never happens again is the situation that happened in Nashville. I mean, that was terrible. It’s not just bad for Strikeforce or for the sport in general because it affects everybody. It affects everybody in the industry… We fixed it and we’re moving forward.”

If Coker is true to his word, I look forward to seeing how the Strikeforce/CBS relationship unfolds. I’ve enjoyed every single one of Strikeforce’s CBS outings, some moreso than others, and I think that Strikeforce has mostly taken all the right chances and made all the right matches to establish themselves on the CBS network. Unfortunately for everyone, no one could have predicted the Nashville incident. It was a black eye on all involved, and these things take time to heal. But I definitely wish that CBS would just bite the bullet and book another Strikeforce show.

In a world where Strikeforce exists only on cable and network television, I can’t stress enough how important their CBS deal is. It’s their form of Pay-Per-View, it’s where they stand to make the most money and get the most recognition. Strikeforce has begun to emerge as a viable alternative to the UFC, but they can’t keep paying the hefty contracts of the fighters that are making them a viable promotion without the kind of brand awareness that comes from a CBS show. I don’t want to draw any parallels between Strikeforce and the short-lived Affliction promotion, which literally hemorrhaged money paying extravagant contracts despite relatively minuscule Pay-Per-View returns and then quickly self-imploded, but I have to say…there may be some truth in comparing the two. Strikeforce has a lot of major-name, big-value stars. In order to keep paying them, they need CBS.

And when it comes right down to it, I want Strikeforce to be successful. I think that competition breeds creativity and ensures that everyone can get their fair share of the MMA pie. I don’t think Strikeforce will be the one to give us the next PRIDE/UFC war, at least not without several years of being on Pay-Per-View and especially on CBS, but I do see them sticking around for the foreseeable future and giving us some great fights. Strikeforce may always be second-best behind Zuffa, but they’re still a very good promotion. And I hope they succeed.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you think the future holds for Strikeforce on CBS as well as in general?