A View from the Cheap Seats 07.13.10: StrikefArce?

Posted by Scott Kuczkowski on 07.13.2010

Strikeforce is confusing many MMA fans with their booking decisions, leading to some thinking that Scott Coker has fallen asleep at the wheel and that the #2 MMA promotion needs help. 411’s Scott Kuczkowski examines…

Before I unleash this opinion column on you, my gentle readers, I want to first and foremost make clear that I am not nor have I ever been an MMA promoter. I am stating this in advance for any of you out there who wish to counter my arguments with such responses as, "Oh, and you know so much more than Scott Coker?" I am not professing to know more about MMA than Scott Coker, but since he and I have never met, I also won't profess that he knows more about it than I. I hope he knows more about the inner workings of Strikeforce, but that remains to be seen.

I also want all of you to know that I am in fact a fan of Strikeforce. I'm not an immense fan of their television production (who is?) but I do enjoy having them around as an MMA promotion. The fact is that their CBS shows are free, and free MMA is (almost) always good MMA, and should they ever fail as a company, we the fans will ultimately lose out.

Lastly, I am NOT under the impression that everything the UFC does is perfect or without flaw. The UFC has made some booking and business decisions in the past that have left collective MMA fans scratching their heads wondering where the logic was. I know this, so any statement I make isn't an attempt to vilify Strikeforce yet give the UFC a pass; this article is just concentrating on Strikeforce.

Now, where to begin?



In order for a promotion's brand name to have meaning, fighters must be willing to represent that promotion; they must want to be associated with that promotion, and they should strive to eventually be the standard bearer of that promotion. If you're not trying to be the best, then why are you even trying? I understand that not everyone will be the champion, but if becoming the best (or one of the best) isn't the goal, then what is the point? I wouldn't ever understand an argument that some fighters train as much as they do simply to lose; it would be illogical.

Promotional Champions should want to the best in their respective divisions and they should be willing to actively defend their right to wear that championship. Being a Champion isn't just about wearing a belt; it is about representing the best of everything in regards to that respective division and promotion. The Champions should be the apex of their division, and winning their title should be the pinnacle of their career.

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The Strikeforce Welterweight Championship

When Strikeforce acquired ProElite's assets, one of the goals was to crown a Welterweight Champion. The two obvious front runners at the time (from my limited perspective) for the Welterweight Title were Nick Diaz and Jay Hieron. At that point in mid 2009, both fighters were riding 5 fight winning streaks and appeared anxious for a shot at Welterweight Gold. Initially, Nick Diaz was slated to face Joe Riggs at the Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg card on August 15, 2009 for the Welterweight Title, but Joe Riggs pulled out and Jay Hieron was chosen as a replacement (still for the Welterweight Title). Nick Diaz then failed to show up for his mandatory pre-fight drug testing and couldn't get his fight license. Jesse Taylor was scheduled as a replacement, but the Welterweight Title was no longer on the line.

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Now, allow me to clarify something. Attending pre-fight drug screenings is a fighter's responsibility, so failure to do so should typically be viewed as an act of unprofessionalism and untrustworthiness on the fighter's part. This is something the fighter has to do on their own; the promoter is powerless if this doesn't happen. Logic would seem to dictate that such an indiscretion as this would leave Nick Diaz out of the title picture, but that wasn't the case. Jay Hieron went on to defeat Jesse Taylor while Nick Diaz was given a free pass.

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At the Strikeforce: Miami card on January 30, 2010, Jay Hieron fought Joe Riggs, the original opponent whom Nick Diaz was supposed to face for the Welterweight Title. Nick Diaz faced Maruis Zaromskis, the DREAM Welterweight Champion. Jay Hieron defeated the man who was previously worthy of challenging Nick Diaz for the Welterweight Belt, but got nothing. Despite the fact Zaromskis hadn't ever fought in Strikeforce and Nick Diaz had only fought once in DREAM, Nick Diaz's victory earned him the Welterweight Belt.

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Since Nick Diaz won the Welterweight Title, his only fight has been a non-title bout in DREAM. His involvement in the Strikeforce: Nashville brawl earned him a three month suspension. With his win over Joe Riggs, Jay Hieron's contract was fulfilled and there hasn't been any news of him resigning with Strikeforce or being offered a title shot if he does.

Now, I understand life's not fair; I get that. But doesn't this manner of business seem a tad shady? I understand Nick Diaz is a bigger name in MMA than Jay Hieron, so maybe he was really the fighter Strikeforce hoped to crown as their first Welterweight Champion to begin with. I'd bet the assumption was that should Hieron and Diaz meet, Diaz would be the victor, and he might have been. But that's something that should have been settled in the cage and not the boardroom. The issue is that while Nick Diaz is a bigger name, he's also somewhat of a loose cannon. The end result was Strikeforce placed their Welterweight belt on the fighter they wanted to wear it, but they also screwed a fighter who was (in many fan's opinion) equally deserving of a shot.

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The Strikeforce Middleweight Championship

Jake Shields won the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship after defeating Jason Miller on the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers card on November 7, 2009. Prior to that, Shields had fought under the now defunct EliteXC banner, during which time he'd finished all 4 of his opponents via submission; 3 of them in the first round. Shields' first bout in Strikeforce saw him finish Robbie Lawler, the former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, at a catchweight of 182, via submission in the first round. Shields' bout with Miller was primarily a grappling contest and was panned by the majority of viewers due to a lack of action. Miller had only suffered defeat 6 times up to that point in his career, and had only been finished twice. While the bout might not have been exciting, Shields outclassed Miller and ultimately won.

In December of 2009, Strikeforce signed Dan Henderson to a 4 fight, 16 month deal. Henderson was coming off a great knockout win over Michael Bisping at UFC 100 and was scheduled to challenge Jake Shields for the Strikeforce Middleweight belt. Many fans and pundits didn't believe Shields posed much of a challenge for Dan Henderson. Shields was a natural Welterweight fighter and Dan Henderson was an MMA legend as the former Pride Middleweight (Light Heavyweight) Champion and Welterweight (Middleweight) Champion. While the bout was viewed as competitive, the collective opinion was that Henderson would defeat Shields.

Strikeforce heavily advertised Dan Henderson as a legend of the sport, former NCAA Division I Champion, and Olympic champion. These advertisements were sprinkled throughout CBS broadcasts leading up to the card, but didn't make any mention of Jake Shields until the week of the event. The outside appearance was that Strikeforce had already determined Shields would lose this bout, so they instead concentrated their efforts towards pushing the man they thought would be their "new" Middleweight Champion to the viewers.

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Shields and Henderson met at the Strikeforce: Nashville event on April 17, 2010. Henderson caught Shields with a big punch in the first round and had him in trouble, but Shields weathered the storm and then out-grappled Henderson for the remainder of the bout to retain the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. One can only guess that Shields' victory must have earned him a rather smug sense of satisfaction by derailing Strikeforce's plans and proving the doubters wrong. Reportedly, Strikeforce had signed Henderson for a considerable sum of money; at least more than the UFC was willing to pay him. His loss to Shields was certainly not something they had planned for.

The Strikeforce: Nashville card also marked the final fight for Jake Shields' contract. Following his win over Henderson, Shields was seen at multiple UFC events in the company of the UFC President, Dana White, which of course sparked speculation that Shields would sign with the UFC. At the very least this created a situation where Shields would be able to have two rival promotions bid for his services. Interestingly, while Strikeforce maintained the contractual right to match any offer Shields received from the UFC or any rival promotion, they instead chose to release him from his contract. Now, I can hear a number of you saying to yourselves "Shields was boring". That maybe the case, but he'd also been very reliable and durable. Perhaps Strikeforce new Shields was going to sign with the UFC anyways, or maybe they wanted to avoid a bidding war, but they seemingly dropped their Middleweight Champion without much of a fight. Given that Shields is easily a Top 5 Middleweight in the world and was reliable during his tenure with Strikeforce, his release is somewhat of a shock. The release indicates two possible scenarios; Strikeforce couldn't afford to retain the services of one of their champions, or Shields had become so disenchanted with Strikeforce that he wouldn't consider staying with them. Given their disrespect of Shields leading up to the Henderson bout, I am betting he left due to the latter.

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The Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship

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Following the demise of Affliction MMA, Strikeforce staged somewhat of a coup by signing Fedor Emelianenko. Emelianenko is viewed by many as one of the best Heavyweight MMA fighters of all time and his signing with Strikeforce was viewed as a major score for the promotion. Emelianenko's first fight with Strikeforce was against the then undefeated Brett Rogers. The action was back and forth for much of the bout before Emelianenko finished Rogers via TKO in round 2. The next logical opponent for Emelianenko was Alistair Overeem, the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion.

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Alistair Overeem became the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion on November 16, 2007, with his defeat of Paul Buentello. Since that victory, Overeem had competed in seven MMA bouts and six kickboxing bouts, none of which were under the Strikeforce banner and none of which were in defense of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Title. On May 15, 2010, at the Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery card, Overeem defended his title for the first time in 2.5 years against Brett Rogers. If you recall from the previous paragraph, Rogers was coming off a loss to Emelianenko, so why he was challenging for the title instead of Emelianenko was a mystery to everyone except the Strikeforce executives. Overeem defeated Rogers, which immediately created speculation that his next title defense would be against Emelianenko.

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On June 26, 2010, on a card named Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, Emelianenko faced Fabricio Werdum to become the #1 contender for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship. Werdum was on a two fight winning streak but was considered an incredible underdog in this bout. In a shocking victory, Werdum submitted Emelianenko in the first round, handing the Russian his first ever actual loss. Humble in his post-fight interview, Werdum offered Emelianenko a rematch. While one fighter offering a defeated opponent a rematch is humble and classy, Werdum should instead be focusing on facing Overeem for the Strikeforce heavyweight Title. Apparently though, fighting Emelianenko again carries more weight with Werdum than actually challenging for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Title.

On July 6, 2010, Cagepotato.com reported Scott Coker made the following statement on an edition of Sherdog Radio: "My feeling is maybe Fedor should fight Alistair Overeem and whoever wins that fight gets to fight Fabricio Werdum. Alistair vs. Fedor? I'd love to see that fight happen."



Pardon my French, but what in the blue fuck? Since when does losing a fight earn a fighter a crack at the title? Why should Emelianenko get a shot at Overeem's belt while Werdum gets to watch? I completely understand that Werdum offered Emelianenko a rematch, but isn't it the promoter's job to book fights that make sense and enforce some semblance of ranking and structure within their weight classes? All three fighters are healthy, so replacing one with another isn't necessary. The appearance is that this was another instance of Strikeforce assuming "their guy" would win and allow them to book subsequent bouts based off that victory. Werdum won though, and instead of changing their plans, they are proceeding with their original plans despite its blatant lack of logic. Werdum should be facing Overeem for his sorely under-defended belt and Emelianenko should be facing another contender in order to get back on the winning track.

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And there you have it; three division titles awarded or defended haphazardly by the only MMA promotion in the US capable of being #2 to the UFC. The executives as StrikefArce are making decisions that seem like they want to fail. But is all hope really lost? I hope not, because I have some ideas.

Room for Improvement

I don't want it to appear that I've given up hope on Strikeforce. Strikeforce has been involved in MMA since 2006, so I'm not assuming they are ignorant on how to run a promotion, but there are some changes they must make in order to survive as the #2 promotion. Again, I'm not going to say these changes will be simple or convenient, but they run the risk of become a second-rate joke if they don't do something. Ultimately, fans will begin to tune them out if they feel the product is forgettable or simply not worth viewing.

1. Make Championships mean something and force Champions to defend them. Allowing a title to go undefended for 2.5 years is completely unacceptable; allowing a fighter to compete throughout the world without bothering to acknowledge that championship is outrageous. Winning the title should be the highlight of a fighter's career; when it isn't, that promotion needs to make some drastic changes to boost the prestige of that title.

2. Book fights that make sense. Giving fighters title shots when they lost their previous fight is an insult to the fighters who are coming off victories. Victors must be rewarded for their hard work while defeated fighters must be encouraged to make their way back towards the top. Maintaining an illogical pecking order that doesn't take wins and losses into consideration doesn't help fans or fighters get excited about potential future matchups.

3. Book fights while you can. Stop trying to make "#1 contender bouts" that don't really mean anything. If you want to book Fighter A against Fighter B, then book it; don't make Fighter A fight Fighter C for the opportunity to face Fighter B, that's just stupid and it only leaves plans open to being ruined.

4. Stop predicting winners. The simplest way for a promotion to lose credibility in the eyes of the fans and the fighters is to book fights and publicly treat the "expected winner" differently before the fight even occurs. In any fight, one fighter will win and one fighter will lose, and attempting to guess who will do which is a futile endeavor. Strikeforce did this with the Shields/Henderson bout and the Emelianenko/Werdum bout and both times it ended poorly for them. Be an honest broker with both fighters.

5. Reward loyalty. Strikeforce had a loyal Champion in Jake Shields, and instead of rewarding him they marginalized him when they over-promoted Dan Henderson. Fabricio Werdum won the right to challenge for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Title, yet Scott Coker doesn't seem to want to make that fight happen. The Champions should be the face of the organization and should be rewarded as such. Treating them and other top contenders otherwise is an insult to their hard work and will only drive them to another promotion.

6. Remember who is in charge of the promotion. The word on the street is that M-1 Global is difficult to deal with when it comes to booking fights for Fedor. If that's the case, then Scott Coker should show them the door. If an outside agency isn't allowing a promoter to book the fights he wants to book, then that outsider agency has now become a hindrance instead of a partner. I would advise Scott Coker to book Fedor as he wishes, and when either M-1 or Fedor refuses the bout, release him from his contract and proceed without him. The odds are that M-1 won't be able to reach a deal with the UFC, so they won't be doing any other business in the US otherwise. Say goodbye to them and get on with your promotion.

7. Under promise and over deliver. One of the worst things a promotion can do is tip their hand too soon in regards to new ideas and get fans excited about an initiative that hasn't been completely planned out yet. Oftentimes plans have to be changed which disappoints the fans who looked forward to see those ideas to fruition. Strikeforce did this with the Middleweight tournament to crown the next champion. Fans read about the tournament and became excited because the matchups sounded intriguing and tournaments in and of themselves are a normally fun. Apparently that idea was scrapped and now the belt will be awarded to the winner of the Tim Kennedy/Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza bout. No disrespect to either fighter, but their simple matchup is somewhat of disappointment when compared to an 8-man tournament.

And there you have it, 7 simple ways that Strikeforce can shift gears and become a more respectable promotion without having to sign new fighters or change their entire business model. Maybe they'd work; maybe they wouldn't. Like I said in the first paragraph, these are just my opinions.

Hit me up with some comments and let me know if you have any other ideas.

And someone get me Scott Coker on the phone.