The demise of Strikeforce should not come as a surprise to anyone who is a fan of MMA. Since ZUFFA acquired the in March of 2011 it was immediately assumed that the organization would fold, and its best talent would be absorbed into the UFC. However, that didn’t happen – at least not in the way that many of us expected. Fast forward to today, and while Strikeforce remains an independent entity from the UFC, its imminent finale seems to be a only a whisper away, with it heavily rumored (though not officially confirmed by ZUFFA) that the January event will be Strikeforce’s last.
The rivalry between the UFC and Strikeforce was evident to even the most common of fans from the day the MMA broke out into the mainstream, following the season finale of TUF 1. Rhetorical banter between Dana White and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker made for some good reading! Each organization had its victories over the other – Strikeforce signed Hendo, and Fedor… and the UFC everyone else of importance. Moving into 2011 it was evident that the UFC had won the battle between the two organizations, and it climaxed the UFC’s parent organization (ZUFFA) purchasing Strikeforce. While ZUFFA claimed that they were going to allow the organization to continue, and it would operate separately from the UFC, it was clear that organization was on wobbly legs at best.
As the years passed, the quality of cards for Strikeforce cards (and ratings) slowly started to diminish. Fighters, like Nick Diaz and Jake Shields have immigrated to the UFC – and now with the word being that Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate will be fighting in the UFC as well it seems to be the death knell of Strikeforce as the organization is seeing a massive outflux of all notable talent. Really the only premiere fighters left in Strikeforce are: Gilbert Melendez, Luke Rockhold, Daniel Cormier, Nate Marquardt, Ronaldo Souza, and Gergard Mousasi. Most if not all of these fighters are expected to find their way to the UFC.
More damning evidence of Strikeforce’s demise have been popping up as of late. Dana White himself, has stated that he is “disappointed” with how the promotion has landed as of late. Event cancellations have been a plague as of late for the organization, with headliners, Melendez, Rockhold and Cormier all falling to injury. The “Strikeforce Champions” card appears to be being set up as a final farewell to the organization.
While all of the signs that Strikeforce is coming to an end, how feasible is it that this could happen? The UFC seemed to do a bang up job of closing the doors on PRIDE, so why can’t they do it with Strikeforce? Well, the easy answer is that: it’s complicated. PRIDE had a number of legal issues that it was faced with (including rumored ties to the Yakuza) that made it easy for the organization to fold. Strikeforce is not faced with any of these issues, and its current contract obligations with Showtime make things even more complicated – as it is not evidently clear who owns the rights to all of the fighters in the organization.
So, will Strikeforce fall? Yes. While news media outlets have been confirming the fall of Strikeforce, it has not yet been officially confirmed. Dana White will not officially comment on the subject, nor will the co-CEO of ZUFFA, Lorenzo Fertita – but, all of the signs are there. Failed events aside, the promotion has been lethargic at best as of late.
The hopes that many of us MMA purists had about ZUFFA maintaining the organization as something of a “UFC Farmleague” seem to be nothing more than a pipe dream. ZUFFA wants to create “one ring to rule them all” and that ring will be the UFC octagon. From my point-of-view this is not a good thing, but a necessary thing. Breeding competition between organizations can only nurture greater reach and growth for the sport – probably the most publicized moment in the history of MMA was the battle between the UFC and Strikeforce for the services of Fedor Emilienenko (a largely unknown fighter at the time to many), a battle Strikeforce eventually won. Now, we will be left with one high quality organization… and that will continue to over-saturate the market.
While I’ve named some of the biggest names, there will be close to 100 surplus fighters with the death of Strikeforce on the market. Where do these fighters go. Surely they can’t all sign with UFC, and even those that do will force out some of the lesser fighters in the UFC. The end of Strikeforce means a shrinking industry and it will be harder for aspiring young fighters to get the attention and name recognition to break through to the mainstream.
Don’t forget to listen to “Outside the Octagon” on Last Word Radio – Friday Nights at 9p.
