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Strikeforce taking over Elite XC is best possible outcome
By Zach Arnold | February 5, 2009
News broke today that StrikeForce has landed Elite XC’s Showtime and CBS broadcast TV deals. This is good news on many fronts.
For fighters stuck in Elite XC, it becomes pretty clear that there is now an alternative to UFC at the bargaining table. Understably, fighters like Jake Shields want to go to UFC. However, for Shields and those who want to go to UFC but might not be polished enough to hang with the best in UFC, having a strong position in the #2 MMA promotion in North America is good.
With so many fighters under contract to UFC and so many Elite XC fighters not earning a paycheck for months, now doesn’t seem to be the time to put up a significant fight in regards to a money war. Champions like Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields need to fight and fight soon. Strikeforce’s new deal gives them that opportunity to get booked relatively quickly.
Some fighters, like Gina Carano, did not seem to be a natural fit for Zuffa. She will be a natural fit for Coker’s promotion because people see her as a star attraction.
Coker’s quick rise to getting Strikeforce on NBC, Showtime, and perhaps CBS is remarkable. It should not be discounted by any measure. This is good for MMA.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 37 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Completely agree Zach.
The only question now is which fighter contracts did they purchase and if Shields wants to fight for Strikeforce.
This entire story has been hilarious. It was a month ago that bloggers were talking about how there was simply no EXC deal ever going to happen, and now that it does and its with Strikeforce, well, it might actually be a success this time! Great analysis, internet guys.
For too long, you’ve been posting on this site and launching grenade attacks on everyone else. That’s all you ever do. Out of the thousands of comments you’ve posted, very few have been ever been positive at all. It’s one attack after another.
What makes this new attack of yours so silly is that I have barely talked about Elite XC since the stand-up scandal, yet for some reason you feel compelled to go after ‘internet guys’ (who are you talking about anyways?) for what is a positive news story?
You attacked me repeatedly during the PRIDE scandal. I remember some of your more precious comments you made to me then and what a jackass you look like in retrospect for what you said to me. So, the thought that you would attack anyone for hypocrisy is sad enough.
I’ve had commenters express complete frustation with you, to the point that some commenters who used to write on this site have simply given up because no one wants to deal with you. So, here’s the deal — go away. Don’t want to? Too bad.
Now, for everyone else, please keep comments on this post related to the subject matter at hand. Thank you.
Clearly Strikeforce hasn’t been hit too hard by the shitty economy, eh? Maybe it’s a smart idea for fight related companies to stay private companies. Any who this is a great story. I figured that Strikeforce would at the very least pick up a bunch of the EXC guys, but I didn’t think they would outright buy the whole company. But here’s the question to ask…….will Strikeforce keep the ProElite name? Or discontinue it (except for maybe DVD releases of old shows) and just keep with the Strikeforce name? I also heard that they will just run shows under the King Of The Cage name, but KOTC runs shows irregardless of EXC going under. They were the only MMA company bought by ProElite to NOT end up in boogey land when EXC went under.
I’m……intrigued, and slightly concerned about a possible competitor to the UFC. since the purchase of pride, we’ve seen meaningful titles, meaningful rankings, and meaningful fights. yes, you can always point to the exceptions, but by and large, the ufc has put on incredible fights over the last few years. i don’t see that diluting the talent pool as being a necesarrily good thing. by the end of this year, i want to see jake shields fight gsp, and lawler fight silva. i don’t want to see shields vs. ficket. i’m holding my breath, waiting for the next move.
Schroeder,
How is it diluting the talent pool? There have always been other MMA companies in North America besides the UFC. Strikeforce doing this is just going to give more guys work. And it’s better overall because, if anything, it’s tightening the talent pool because EXC went out of business, so now there are more fighters under a specific banner, creating more and better fights. It happened when UFC bought PRIDE, WFA, and WEC, and now it’s happening with Strikeforce buying out ECX, and the other MMA companies EXC bought when they were around. And now a competitor to UFC will just force UFC to put on better fights and better fight cards. Hell, the inclusions of EXC and Affliction lit a fire under Zuffa’s asses, this will definitely light a forest fire under Zuffa’s ass. I’m not being a Strikeforce nuthugger or a Zuffa hater or anything. No bias here. So why are you “concerned” about a competitor to UFC? Do you have stock of sorts in the company or something? The fight business is a totally different breed of animal from more mainstream sports. You can’t just have one absolute dominant monster putting a stranglehold on 95% of the industry. there will always be other feds to come around and put their chips in. It’s the American way.
I wonder if they’ll try to do Babalu vs Tito on CBS.
I think Strikeforce will hit a homerun with CBS. Elite was doing good ratingswise by couldn’t make money at the gate to cover talent. Coker packs the venue in San Jose. This is a real threat to UFC developing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Affliction fold into Stikeforce.
I think this is really great news for MMA fans and the sport.
Strikeforce has been in the game for so long and they clearly know how to put on a show. The only really good ProElite show was a joint venture with Strikeforce anyway. This seems like a natural progression to me and I’m glad it happened. Plus Strikeforce is a name that people can get used to unlike the whole ProElite/Elite/Sho/XC debacle of a name.
I’m just happy when MMA is on free TV, especially for the masses to watch. I just figure the more MMA the better. I know some people (like Dana White) will now automatically hate Strikeforce because of its newfound financial potential…and disparaging comparisons to UFC will follow…but thats okay. I still wish them well and will watch.
NOTE..Zach if you think about it, you referenced D.Capitated busting your balls back during the Pride scandal, but thats almost 3 years ago…He’s one your most loyal readers…You should be honored.
strikeforce really needs to do a good job of funneling EXC talent into its organization. seems like the recent strikeforce cards have been relatively poor and now they’re on the big stage, we should expect more from their shows.
I think you nailed it perfectly Zach and I’m really excited about this development.
In Scott Coker you have smart a man that knows how to run a successful promotion. He also has had the benefit of seeing promotions like the IFL and previous Elite XC owners make a ton of mistakes along the way. So it’s a pretty safe bet that he won’t repeat those. I’m looking forward to April 11th.
I think even Dana White has given Strikeforce props in the past (expect that to end immediately), which just goes to show how tightly Coker runs his ship.
I’m confident they’ll do good, although I’m a little worried (but only a little) that they might be moving onto CBS prematurely. However, they’ve had a solid business plan for the past few years, and I’m sure they were just as diligent when making this decision.
So the real question is will Affliction work with Strikeforce? We already saw AA fight on an Elite XC card. Can Fedor live on CBS vrs. Overreem be far behind?
I don’t think Strikeforce will want to match the purses Affliction’s fighters are getting paid. However, if Affliction covers the pay of their own fighters with their share of the revenue, I imagine Strikeforce would be more than willing to co-promote an event with them.
Sorry to bring him up again, but I don’t think this is common knowledge:
D. Capitated’s real name is Alan Conceicao, who posts at Total-MMA.com. He occasionally posts comments here under that name as well. So if anyone finds themselves longing for interminable arguments where your intelligence is repeatedly questioned, look no further.
If it is him, I’m disappointed. I like Alan’s Total MMA articles and I like Total MMA. That’s all I really can say.
By the end of 2009, there will be Zuffa, Strikeforce, and DREAM.
“Strikeforce has been in the game for so long and they clearly know how to put on a show.”
I’m not bashing anybody over this sort of comment, but this is really the biggest misconception out there right now. I do think Strikeforce will have moderate success, but what Scott Coker has done so far doesn’t exactly translate perfectly to their future.
Strikeforce has put on regional shows in basically one market, using home town fighters. Most of their cards are relatively weak by mainstream standards.
Now they are on the big stage. They have to deal with having a stable of fighters. They must deal with holding onto their fighters and the politics of it. Also, trying to put on shows in multiple markets is much tougher.
This isn’t a slam dunk like many would try and make it seem. Should be interesting to see how it goes.
I kind of agree with 45 here. I love Strikeforce, I think what they’ve done as a regional promotion is incredibly smart. EliteXC died for reaching too far too soon and I’m afraid that Strikeforce’s conservative style will be thrown out the window. You know sooner or later he’ll leave the bay area/sil valley, and I’m afraid of that for Coker.
As for the D.Cap/Alan front, I don’t really think it is a huge deal. While I have no problems with him, 45 can be a huge troll on here and I’d say more threads have gone into chaos from 45’s (seemingly intentional) Zuffa love trolling. But most of your regulars aren’t leaving over 45 or D.Cap, who cares? I think regardless of abrasive personalities they make really good points that are hard to refute.
I’m not a troll. D Cap can be disrespectful to others who post. I typically always keep it topic related. I definitely have a unique point of view, but I do not troll.
As for Strikeforce…. I really hope they don’t use the WAMMA Belts.
And here is my prediction for the day: Byt he start of 2010, the UFC will have purchased Strikeforce and be the only major MMA company with national exposure.
What I said:
“I think this is really great news for MMA fans and the sport. Strikeforce has been in the game for so long and they clearly know how to put on a show.”
45UFCHuddle’s response:
“I’m not bashing anybody over this sort of comment, but this is really the biggest misconception out there right now. I do think Strikeforce will have moderate success, but what Scott Coker has done so far doesn’t exactly translate perfectly to their future…This isn’t a slam dunk like many would try and make it seem.”
Where exactly did I say that this would be a slamdunk or a guaranteed success? All I said was I think this is good for MMA and the fans.
You are doing exactly what I said people like you (and Dana White) would do….if you read the rest of my earlier post. You are immediately making comparisons to UFC and declaring (indirectly) that strikeforce will not be as successful. Who said they were? Who says they even expect to be?
Not everything is a comparison with ‘the best.’ Thats why people like you have their heads up their asses. Everything is a competition against UFC. Take your head out of your ass, reread my post, and shut the f*&CK up.
Ooops, thats supposed to be by samscaff. My damn brother was on this computer….
As much as people might disagree with 45, he’s always been cordial in conversation with everyone which is more than most posters here can say about themselves (including me).
Yes, I do sometimes think he says wacky things, but on the flip side I think he provides some insightful counterpoints to the Zuffa haters.
I think anytime somebody has a deal with Showtime and CBS…. It automatically brings up comparisons to Zuffa and “the best”. It is just natural.
I think that is a part of his gimmick, to be fair. He is a very good troll because he never has to result to name calling or changing his tone. I mean, I tip my hat to him.
“I think anytime somebody has a deal with Showtime and CBS…. It automatically brings up comparisons to Zuffa and “the best”. It is just natural.”
Well yeah, because CBS and Showtime aren’t looking for a smalltime show to do moderately well. They aren’t looking to hold the special olympics, they are looking to take over. I think it is pretty fair to say if Coker and Co. don’t play their cards right they’ll be sucked dry.
Maybe Bellator will save us all~
I wish Strikeforce all the best. I’m happy those stranded EXC fighters now have options beyond Japan and Zuffa.
lordschroeder, is Shields really ready for GSP and is Lawler ready for Silva? I don’t think so. Even so, perhaps the very best of the EXC crop will indeed make the transition to UFC (or WEC).
Despite this expansion, Strikeforce will still not be a head-on challenger to the UFC.
I really don’t think they are going to compete with the UFC right away. I think they will try to build their name for a year or 2 on cbs then hopefully try to move on to ppv where the real money is.
samscaff, are you referring to post #16 above or something else?
His response to you seems totally reasonable to me (and 100% accurate). You are optimistic because you said Strikeforce “knows how to put on a show” and he replied on why that may not translate on a national scale.
I’m sure there must be some history here I am missing as I haven’t been closely reading comments for some time.
I think samscaff is right, there isn’t necessarily an agenda to create a legit challenger to Zuffa. The only mandate is to draw a sustainable level of viewers and make money.
It seems to me that as long as UFC is doing well nationally there will always be an upstart. Fight sports are not like other sports, you do not need a league or cooperation from any other owners. Anyone with capital and some contacts can put on shows. And as long as UFC is popular their will be TV networks that decide they can fill a hole in their programming profitably. So whenever a regional fails to go national, another will take it’s place on TV. And as long as the networks make ad money, though it would be nice to grow something to Zuffa levels that really isn’t the point that is just promotional rhetoric. Even if we see nothing but a long string of IFLs, EliteXCs, Afflctions, Strikeforce, M-1 etc. rising and falling with none lasting long nationally. Good stuff for us fans!
“His response to you seems totally reasonable to me (and 100% accurate). You are optimistic because you said Strikeforce “knows how to put on a show” and he replied on why that may not translate on a national scale.”
Yes, I am talking about post #16. And clearly you dont know how to read either. Since you apparently didnt read it, I’ll write it again…for the THIRD TIME: “I think this is really great news for MMA fans and the sport.”
If you dont overly read into this and take at as pure and simple english…all I’m saying is that this is good for fans and the sport. How does this mean that I am optimistic that they will be very successful and able to compete with the UFC? Where did I say that? Where did I ever say I was optimistic? I said it was great. Thats all. No more, no less. I like watching fights. I dont care if its two guys in a barn fighting all alone. If its a good fight, I like it. I dont care if its UFC, Pride, strikeforce, or me kicking 45Huddle’s ass…if its entertaining I like it. I couldnt care less if strikeforce puts on a couple good shows and then goes belly up. Or if they get bought by UFC. I dont care if they are successful, if they make money, if their viewership numbers are high or low, or non-existent, I just want to see good fights…and I think the sport is made better by having more fights. Thats all I meant, and thats all anyone should be getting out of it. If you somehow interepreted my comments as declaring, in any way, shape or form, that strikeforce will be successful or be better than the UFC..then you simply do no know how to read…
Its one thing to disagree with my opinions if I say something like “Strikeforce will be soon be the #1 promotion in the world and put UFC out of business” or “I think strikeforce willl do great on CBS and revolutionize the sport.”
But If I say…”I think this is good news” then just move on with your life….
Moderation isn’t new, sometimes mine get caught up in the baleen.
Strikeforce has been successful running medium sized shows. They’ve been in more than one market, but they are definitely a Pacific/Western promotion still instead of an international one. EliteXC ran shows in Florida and Hawaii (by co-promotion), so we’ll see how that shakes out.
I think most of the EliteXC fighters would fit in well with the portfolio of fighters that Strikeforce has already. I do expect co-promotion or at least fighter sharing with Affliction to continue (Babalu holds the Strikeforce LHW belt now, and I could see some of Affliction’s heavys fighting Bigfoot if he is still eligible for a fighter license and his contract transfers over).
I think Icemuncher has a good point about the danger of letting CBS run the show. Strikeforce has always stayed in control of their product in the ring, and has had a portfolio of broadcast partners. If CBS is deciding who fights, what venues, and how the production is done, we could see some radical changes in Strikeforce that take them away from their historical core competencies.
Samscaff, I didn’t really interpret 45’s post #16 is a direct response/challenge to your post. The quote is used to represent of a fairly common mindset among internet fans, and 45 only included to make a general statement about Strikeforce and the way many people may be overvaluing their regional success. He could just as easily pulled a quote from a couple of other posts, such as mine.
I think this is a great thing as long as Strikeforce isn’t desperate enough to rival the UFC that they decide to work with everyone around, like Affliction and WAMMA.
They should be able to run a good promotion on Showtime as long as they don’t go head to head. They’ve avoided biting off more than they can chew, which is what WAMMA and Affliction are guilty of. Stay away from that fallacy, and they’re much better situated for the future.
Oh, and stay off CBS. For better or worse, I think Showtime will do the right thing to let Strikeforce grow organically. I believe CBS will cheerfully run the organization into the dust just to get some short-time value from it.
It’s going to be an interesting 2009, I’m curious to see how Strikeforce will perform in this climate. I actually think the worm might be turning as far as the public’s want of MMA (not just UFC), not greatly but the cupboard isn’t as bare as was in 2006.
There’s room for growing companies that aren’t going to compete with the UFC right away… and I think that’ll be Strikeforce’s strategy.
A few things that Strikeforce needs to do.
1. Limit the number of weight classes they use. EliteXC was using 7 weight classes, which is just too much for only 12 shows a year. Especially when it sounds like a few of those shows will be up & coming fighters. I would hope they use no more then 4 or 5 weight classes.
2. Make the titles the priority. It never looked good for guys like Jake Shields when he was defending his title on the undercard of a Kimbo Slice fight. Just like with Zuffa, the title fights need to be the main event.
3. Stick to Strikeforce titles only. No WAMMA. No multiple titles on the line for a title bout. The fewer belts in an organization the better.
4. Have a full woman’s division, not just one or two fighters. EliteXC just tried to build up Carano. If Strikeforce wants to do women’s MMA correctly, they need a stable of women fighters, all in the same weight class. And don’t promote based on s#x appeal. Promote based on skills. If the best woman fighters happen to be good looking too, that’s an added bonus.
Building a women’s division is harder than you might think. When I run the numbers and try to identify the best women’s fighters, a lot of them are Japanese, or associated with either Jewels or Valkyrie now, so there aren’t a lot of fighters available to fill out a promotion in the US.
The second problem is that you have maybe 30 rankable fighters at this point across all weight classes. I think you need at least 10 fighters to have a workable belt division inside a promotion, and Gina Carano just doesn’t fit into any scenario where you can put together ten fighters at one weight who are also competitive.
So do you think they should even try and have a women’s title? Or just make it the equivalent of midgets in Pro Wrestling…. Used to bring up the ratings on special occassions but not part of the main attracts?
Well, if you’re going to do it at all then the best place to start IS by getting those EliteXC contracts, because you have five or six women who last fought for them or for Cage Rage who are nameable.
The problem is that of the best women in Japan, most of them are fighting at lower weight classes (under 120 pounds). You have six or so women fighting at 120 that might be willing to fight up to 135, and then you have a good collection of women at 135, but then you have the Gina problem, where she’s always having trouble getting to 135.
It is my opinion that you can’t have a division where your titleholder or at least a top contender never makes weight (don’t get me started about Alves).
The following list includes only women between 120 and 140 who are probably available (except one in Jewels and one in Valkyrie), but some of them have been inactive almost a year now. The five starred were last active in EliteXC or ShoXC. Daly last fought in Cage Rage. The ones with a hash mark seem to have been inactive.
Carina Damm#
Ana Michelle Tavares#
Aisling Daly
Lisa Ward#
Rosi Sexton*
Tara Larosa
Hitomi Akano
Cristiane Santos*
Shayna Baszler*
Roxanne Modafferi
Amanda Buckner#
Takayo Hashi#
Kelly Kobold*
Gina Carano*
Sarah Kaufman#
I think you need at least ten of these women, and you have to convince them to fight at 135 to be able to have a respectable belt class, and you may not be able to get that (some may not be willing to fight at that weight, some may not be able to fight at that weight, and some may well have decided to call it a day on the fight game).
If you wanted to create a women’s division, the way you start is by getting those contracts, but wanting to do something and actually achieving it are two different things. You’re going from a zero percent chance to like a 30 percent chance.
I am watching Shobox on Showtime now, and they just mentioned the Strikeforce event for April 11th on Showtime. So it’s official that their first show on Showtime is April 11th. And that they will use the Strikeforce name, not EliteXC or ShoXC. Too bad they didn’t mention any fights or fighters. That’s okay, because they have a little over two months until then.