Blood On The Mat 08.06.09: The Calm Before The Storm

Posted by  on 08.06.2009

Now that Strikeforce is firmly poised as the #2 MMA promotion, what does this mean for the company’s future? Can Fedor and Gina lead them to newfound success? Could we see a war between Strikeforce and the UFC? 411’s Adam Tool looks towards the future of MMA in this week’s Blood On The Mat!

Welcome to Blood On The Mat. My name is Adam Tool and once again I must inform you that the review of Never Surrender has been pushed back again. I have the movie sitting on top of my entertainment center, although I've yet to work up the necessary nerve to sit down and watch it. Couple that with the fact that these past few weeks have seen a substantial number of shifts in the MMA landscape, and the result is that this column will once again be focusing on relevant issues within the sport. Cinematic abortions will have to wait, as for now our eyes remain steady upon a certain Russian and the storm of news that has surrounded him.



"Why would one fighter create a war?"

"I would hate to think this would be the catalyst for this to escalate. To me, I'm still of the feeling that everything's going to be OK. We're running our business the way we're running it and they're going to continue with their successful business. I guess they say only time will tell." - Scott Coker, Strikeforce CEO

In the three and a half years since Strikeforce switched from kickboxing promoter to MMA promoter, Coker has maintained a friendly relationship with his sport's top competitor, the UFC. While Dana White has been more than willing to badmouth Gary Shaw from EliteXC…

"Gary Shaw is (an expletive) loser. This guy is a low-level bottom feeder. He didn't like MMA a few years ago, but when he finally couldn't make money at boxing any more, he came over to this sport to try to leech money out of it."

And his newly reacquainted business buddy Tom Atencio from Affliction…

"Why would I waste one second of my day worrying about this (expletive) guy? He should be worried about the millions and millions of his bosses, or his partners' money, whoever it is, that's he's burning."

White has always spoken highly of Coker and the San Jose-based fight promotion.

"This sport needs more guys like Scott Coker. He puts on a good show and I think if you talked to his fighters about him, they'd all have good things to say."

Now, the game is changing. Dana wanted Fedor Emelianenko. He wanted him badly enough to do just about anything, except co-promote with M-1 Global. When the UFC couldn't get Fedor, Strikeforce made the play and signed the greatest fighter never to step foot in the octagon. What was once a small, regional promotion featuring local talent and ex-UFC fighters is now home to the only fighter in the top Pound-for-Pound rankings (currently at #2) that's not under a Zuffa contract.

They also still have Gina Carano.


Wait, what were we talking about?

With the best heavyweight in the business now in the fold at Strikeforce, it will be interesting to see exactly how Dana White and the UFC choose to respond. Prior to this past week, the UFC has done pretty damn well for themselves on PPV and hosting live events all over the globe. They're the home of a staggering number of the greatest fighters in the world, as well as the current king of buyrates; Brock Lesnar.

At the same time Strikeforce has amassed a quality roster of fighters and has remained profitable holding shows up and down the west coast. Their newly acquired deal with Showtime (and CBS) has resulted in two solid events so far, with an absolutely stacked card coming up in just nine days. They have yet to hold an event on PPV, and as such they've never really been in direct competition with the UFC juggernaut.


You can fill in the next line

With Emelianenko now under contract, Strikeforce stands poised to expand their reach within the mixed-martial arts world. It's likely that Fedor will be taking part in Strikeforce's first event on CBS (whenever that is) and he may even help bring the company to pay-per-view. While "The Last Emperor" is highly respected amongst hardcore fans all over the world, he's yet to prove himself as a solid draw here in America. Affliction Entertainment signed him, had him for two events, and didn't make a penny off of him. Can Strikeforce do better?

With the proper promotional push there's no reason why Fedor can't be one of the sport's biggest stars. He's already well-respected enough amongst critics and hardcore fans (although his stock has dropped a few points in recent weeks), so now the only thing needed to do is get casual American fans of the sport familiar with him. Hopefully Strikeforce can also find a way to display Emelianenko's rather unique sense of humor.


Before hitting the Strip, Fedor and Wandi put on their poon-huntin' wigs

One part of that promotional push could come in the form of EA MMA, the new videogame set for release sometime next year. EA has already announced that Fedor will headline the roster of fighters, and it's assumed that plenty of other Strikeforce fighters will be in the game as well. I expect we'll see some heavy promotional ties between EA and Strikeforce over the course of the next year, as each company stands to gain something from that potential partnership. EA will look to increase the profile of their first MMA game by appealing to as many of the sports fans as possible (without the help of the UFC of course), while Strikeforce will be looking for mainstream attention with the backing of one of the world's largest third-party software developers.

Here's the thing though. Dana White has already declared war on EA and their videogame. By proxy, anyone involved with said game is officially on White's "shit-list." Should Coker and Strikeforce team up with EA (and there's no reason why they shouldn't) then it will likely result in a shift in the relationship between Coker and White.


Coker's profile pic at DoughyFightPromoters.com

That relationship could already be showing signs of strain. While White has already resumed his bashing of Emelianenko following the new deal, he has yet to speak up about Coker or Strikeforce itself. Presumably, White was fine with the competition as long as they weren't directly coming after the UFC. Now with the world's top heavyweight on their roster (along with several other great fighters), Strikeforce has become the undisputed #2 MMA organization in the world.

Can Coker and his employees be satisfied with that?

I wouldn't think so. To me it seems that if you start a business, your aim is to be the most successful company within your chosen field. Strikeforce has never gone after the UFC's rather large pie, because they didn't have the necessary tools to threaten the Zuffa empire. Now they have a fighter that can easily be billed as the greatest in the world, and I don't believe that they will hesitate to do so.


Did we mention that he also fights crime?

On top of that, Strikeforce has something else the UFC doesn't have: women fighters. More specifically, they have Gina Carano. The fact that their next card will be headlined by the Carano/Cyborg fight is probably the biggest proof that Strikeforce is offering a very real alternative to the UFC's brand of MMA. Should Carano win on August 15th (and I think she will) then she becomes the first women's champion of a major U.S. promotion. With everything she brings to the table, it stands to reason that Carano could very well become the most famous mixed-martial artist (male or female) in the United States.


Yes, she's already heard all the jokes about gripping the big stick

If Carano can help bring them in, then viewers will soon see what makes Fedor such a big deal. While his personality is essentially the opposite of what we Americans are used to seeing in our biggest pro athletes, his dominance in the cage should bring with it a growing legion of fans that can't wait to see him face bigger challenges. With the proper build and quality opponents, there's no reason why Fedor can't become a star here in the U.S.

Coker has already announced plans to hold off on Fedor's shot at the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship, claiming he wants to build to the bout with Alistair Overeem. I have to ask, why? Overeem has not defended the belt once since winning it almost two years ago. He needs to defend the title as soon as he's able, and it's impossible to not consider Fedor the #1 contender. Meanwhile there's no word yet on whether or not Fedor's WAMMA Heavyweight Championship will be on the line when he fights for Strikeforce. Calls to the WAMMA home offices were not returned, but that's probably because they're all empty.


So I don‘t suppose there‘s any chance I can get Goldberg‘s autograph now, is there?

With all of the pieces in place, Strikeforce stands achieve a level of success that they've yet to see before. That success will come with a price though, as they are now able to pose a more significant threat to the UFC. As a result expect things to get a lot less cordial between the two companies. We've already seen the first sign of this with the reported cease-and-desist letter sent from the UFC to Strikeforce, regarding the Sobral/Mousasi match-up on August 15th. Details are not known, but it's assumed that it has to do with the transference of contracts as a result of Affliction's new deal with the UFC.

It probably won't be a complete turnaround from the way things are now. I certainly don't think we'll be seeing Dana White on YouTube dropping f-bombs in reference to Coker, However I do expect to see Zuffa start getting more aggressive with their competition.

First off I think it's safe to say that we'll be seeing some counter-programming measures from the UFC and Spike. They were able to take a significant chunk of viewers away from Affliction's two events, first with a live Fight Night featuring Anderson Silva, and then again with a replay of UFC 91 earlier this year. When Strikeforce officially announces the debut date for Fedor, don't be surprised to see some sort of UFC programming on Spike at the exact same time.

Secondly I believe that the UFC will begin aggressively going after other Strikeforce talent. Guys like Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, and Gegard Mousasi make up a list of some of the best fighters not currently in the UFC. When these fighters' Strikeforce deals run out, look for Dana & Co. to come after them with some substantial offers. The high profit margins and deep pockets of Zuffa means that they can put up the kind of cash that Strikeforce simply cannot match.


In retrospect, Diaz regrets eating that bucket of lemons before the triathlon

There's also a good chance that the UFC will look to snatch up any and all heavyweight fighters that could represent a potential opponent for Fedor. Brett Rogers would be first on that list, as he's one of the most intriguing fighters in the heavyweight division right now. When Josh Barnett first got booted from Affliction: Trilogy, it seemed that a majority of fan interest was in a Fedor vs. Rogers match-up. Strikeforce has the opportunity to make that fight happen now, but should they choose to wait then there's always a chance that Rogers could head to the octagon before it happens.

Lastly I would not be surprised to see the UFC start promoting more and more shows on the west coast. The company is already planning a trip to Portland for UFC 102 as well as a return to L.A. for UFC 104, and within the next year or two we could see them holding more events throughout California (lord knows the state could use the revenue), Oregon, and Washington. Does Dana have the balls to hold an event in Strikeforce's hometown of San Jose? What do you think?


Dude, I‘m downwind

While Strikeforce's new acquisitions have boosted the company towards potential newfound fortune and recognition, those spoils will not come easily. Fedor is a gifted fighter, but he cannot carry an entire company on his back. At the same time there's going to be a much greater deal of attention from the UFC, as they will likely be ready to go to war should their dominance in the sport be challenged. Dana White and Scott Coker may have been buddies before, but with millions of dollars at stake the time for friendly rivalry appears to be over.

And you thought the fighters had it rough.

UPDATE: After this column was posted Dana White spoke on Strikeforce during a UFC 101 press conference on Thursday. He referred to the company as "Strikefarce," and said that Fedor would put them out of business. However this quote best illustrates the point I'm trying to make.

"Strikeforce should have stayed the way they were. If they want to fight me, we're gonna fight. We know how that goes, and we know how it ends." - Dana White, 08.06.09

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