Zuffa purchases Strikeforce

[The Best]

In a shocking turn of events, Dana White announced today that the parent company of the UFC, Zuffa, has purchased top North American MMA competitor Strikeforce. This deal is effective immediately. The brands will continue to operate separately and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker will managed the Strikeforce brand. Fighter contracts with Showtime or with Strikeforce will continue to be honored. Dana White made a point to repeat the refrain "business as usual" in terms of how the brands interact.

from www.sbnation.com.

Anyways as you guys read, UFC's parent company just purchased the only North American competition of the ufc, and that is Strikeforce.

Top fighters like Fedor, Overeem, Nate Diaz, Dan Henderson, and many more come along with the deal.

Any thoughts on this shocking buy, and how it will affect both companies?

 

[Buffalo Dave]

First it was PRIDE, then the WEC. Now add Strikeforce to the list.

UFC president Dana White today announced in an interview with MMA Fighting that Zuffa, LLC, the parent company for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has purchased Strikeforce.

Terms of the purchase were not immediately disclosed, but White characterized the transaction as "a good deal."

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the deal Saturday morning, though request for comments by both UFC and Strikeforce officials went unanswered.

White said under the terms of the purchase, Strikeforce talent will remain on the promotion's roster for the time being, though UFC fighters could potentially make their way into the organization.

"Strikeforce is going to continue to run business as usual," White told MMA Fighting. "There's contracts in place. These guys are on Showtime. Strikeforce pulls good ratings for Showtime. I think Showtime is happy with them. All those contracts will be honored. These guys are going to remain Strikeforce fighters.

"Could guys from the UFC leave and end up over in Strikeforce? Yeah."

Showtime officials also declined to comment on the transaction when contacted by MMAjunkie.com.

Similar to Zuffa's retention of World Extreme Cagefighting executive Reed Harris following the 2006 purchase of his company, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker will remain on with the company.

White ruled out the possibility off cross-promotion "superfights" featuring fighters from both promotions and said current fighter contracts, broadcast deals and business partnerships will be unaffected.

White suggested the primary motivating factor for the purchase was to acquire new talent as Zuffa, LLC continues its global expansion. However, White also insisted that Strikeforce will continue to operate as an independent entity, right down to negotiating for fighters' services.

"That's a separate business that has their own income," White said. "They have their own budgets and everything else that they do. They have they're own television deals. If they're that interested in acquiring (a fighter), it's no different than it was before."

White later clarified that fighters such as Paul Daley and Josh Barnett, who the UFC boss has publicly condemned for various reasons, would be free to negotiate with Strikeforce under the terms of the new deal.

WOW!! This could end up being really good for Strikeforce. Dana and Co. know how to run a business, with proper promotion and marketing. This will also greatly help Strikeforce's roster problems in various weight classes, with over crowding in the Lightweight class and Strikeforce not having depth in theirs, it will help Strikeforce out. As of now Dana is saying no cross-promotion fights, I really don't see that lasting to long, before he see's money to be made by doing so. It will most likely take a few years to disband like WEC did before SF just solely becomes apart of the UFC. Which would be kinda awesome because PPV cards would be obviously stacked.

Thoughts?

 

[X]

Holy shit, this is crazy. I knew Dana had the money to do this, but I didn't think he'd actually try it and I didn't think Strikeforce would so readily accept. In one sense you'd think this is sad as once again the UFC is virtually the only game in town so to speak in the US, but all I'm seeing in this is the potential for cross-overs with fighters, the main one of course being Fedor. God damnit I want to see Fedor in the UFC atleast once man, I don't care who he faces or if he wins or loses, I just want to see it and I know Dana wants to.

This should actually help Strikeforce though if Dana is serious bout keeping them as separate brands. They'll need to do something to try and separate it from the UFC and try to make it seem like they're offering something different though, otherwise people might just start to view it as the B-League for the UFC.

Crazy news.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

This is awesome news. I about geeked out when I read this. I highly doubt that Dana is going to let StrikeForce operate independently for too long, though. This seriously makes me happy, though. If Fedor doesn't retire, this means we FINALLY get to see Fedor in the UFC. How about them apples.

I sort of feel bad for the women, though. Dana has long said that he has no interest in women's MMA. If he does eventually collapse StrikeForce into the UFC, I wonder what will happen to them...Bellator, maybe?

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Anyways as you guys read, UFC's parent company just purchased the only North American competition of the ufc, and that is Strikeforce.

Top fighters like Fedor, Overeem, Nate Diaz, Dan Henderson, and many more come along with the deal.

Any thoughts on this shocking buy, and how it will affect both companies?

Strikeforce was never really competition to the UFC per se. The UFC trumps them in all aspects, besides having some top Heavyweights and a few other fighters. Lol it's Nick Diaz SF has, honest mistake I have made in the past too. Put if your read the article all the SF fighters stay with SF for the time being. Dana said no cross-promotion stuff. You'll see some UFC guys go to SF that are on a down slide I'm sure. I wouldn't rule out cross-promotion stuff entirely, there is money to be made by doing so, I'd say within a year we'll see some cross-promotion fights, just not right away. It won't effect both companies at all, it will just be like when they purchased WEC.

ITGG - We all heard Dana say that about Woman fighting in MMA, but it would be hard for him not to work in a Woman's division if/when SF dissolves. SF has most of the top Woman in the world under them (no pun), They do have some drawing power. I'm sure he would take back what he said, he has taken back his words before. As long as Woman's MMA keeps growing it would be hard for him not to, it's like throwing away money. Especially after that fight between Coenen/Carmouche, great fight, crowd was way into it. Like I said I'm sure he would re-consider, even more now cause they own the rights and wouldn't have to start a division from scratch.

 

[The Best]

I sort of feel bad for the women, though. Dana has long said that he has no interest in women's MMA. If he does eventually collapse StrikeForce into the UFC, I wonder what will happen to them...Bellator, maybe?

I agree, Santos and Coenen are great fighters, and it is entertaining to watch. Bellator probably is the logical choice for them to go if White doesn't retain them.

Again, I wonder what will happen with the current title holders, I wonder if eventually they'll unify them again like they did with Strikeforce, and if so who else agrees that the heavyweight division will completely take over mma? I'm just thinking of the dream matches you could put together with the two company talents, but again that is if Dana and Zuffa decides to combine the two companies.

Strikeforce was never really competition to the UFC per se. The UFC trumps them in all aspects, besides having some top Heavyweights and a few other fighters. Lol it's Nick Diaz SF has, honest mistake I have made in the past too. Put if your read the article all the SF fighters stay with SF for the time being. Dana said no cross-promotion stuff. You'll see some UFC guys go to SF that are on a down slide I'm sure. I wouldn't rule out cross-promotion stuff entirely, there is money to be made by doing so, I'd say within a year we'll see some cross-promotion fights, just not right away. It won't effect both companies at all, it will just be like when they purchased WEC.

Yeah i got it, I meant to say if the companies combine their fighters, which in my opinion might happen, not right away i don't think, but eventually I think they will.

 

[kingdirrtysouth1]

Damn, I did not see this coming! This is some crazy shit here! It'll be interesting to see where things go from here! It's been a while since I've been here, but I had to drop by when I came across this news! I can't wait to see where Srikeforce goes from here! I hope they don't drop the women! That would be a huge setback for women's mma!

 

[The American Legend]

Well this is awesome news, I'm really not buying the whole SF staying its own brand thing. As soon SF has fulfilled its obligations, it WILL fold into the UFC. All I ask is that Fedor drop to LHW, so I can finally see Couture vs Fedor. I'm still disappointed this fight didn't happen. Imagine if they both agreed it would be there last fight too? Awesomeness.

Anyway, great news for the UFC. This will really help bolster their HW division especially. Nobody can touch the UFC now. Nobody. Until some filthy rich sheik opens his own company and buys everything with his oil money

 

[INDYjon22]

It's really not that big of a deal. Both promotions will still operate as different companies, they are just owned by the same parent company. It's a lot like when WEC and the UFC were both owned by Zuffa. Neither company will cross paths anytime soon. In fact, this will probably play out better for SF then the UFC because SF is bound to deepen it's mid level fighters and gain some depth in its divisions when the guys who can't cut in the UFC just move over to Strikeforce. But the thing is, a lot of people are talking about co-promotion between the two and that just won't happen. Contracts will make that impossible. So speculation of Reem vs. Cain and Fedor vs. Couture can just be put to rest for now because those fights won't happen unless those fighters move from the UFC to SF. Brilliant move by Zuffa though, now they own the two major MMA companies in America.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

It's really not that big of a deal. Both promotions will still operate as different companies, they are just owned by the same parent company. It's a lot like when WEC and the UFC were both owned by Zuffa. Neither company will cross paths anytime soon. In fact, this will probably play out better for SF then the UFC because SF is bound to deepen it's mid level fighters and gain some depth in its divisions when the guys who can't cut in the UFC just move over to Strikeforce. But the thing is, a lot of people are talking about co-promotion between the two and that just won't happen. Contracts will make that impossible. So speculation of Reem vs. Cain and Fedor vs. Couture can just be put to rest for now because those fights won't happen unless those fighters move from the UFC to SF. Brilliant move by Zuffa though, now they own the two major MMA companies in America.

Right Jon, because Dana has NEVER gone back on his word.

I don't believe this at all. Dana DID tap their (WEC's) better fighters for the UFC. People seem to forget that once upon a time the WEC had EVERY division INCLUDING a SHW division.

James Irvin was their last HW champion (2004)

Frank Shamrock was their last LHW champion (2003)

Chris Leben was their last MW champion (2004)

Nick Diaz was their last WW champion. (2003)

The UFC brought most of those guys over long before they dissolved the lower weight-classes into the WEC. I believe Dana will bring their bigger fighters over and do some moving and shifting after a period of time. To think is otherwise is to underestimate Dana's greed and lust for super fights for PPV.

Also, I've been reading that Paul Daley might back out of his title fight with Diaz now for obvious reasons.

 

[SavageTaker]

Like Xfear said, this is crazy news and I see positives and negatives to it. Of course the first good thing about this is the possible fights that people have wanted to see. Dana did say UFC needs more fights so I would definitely expect to see a crossover of fighters here, it would be stupid for Dana not to try and set up a Lesnar vs. Fedor match somewhere down the line and there are many other possibilities.

However, as great as it all sounds this now means there is one fewer option for fighters trying to make it in MMA to go to. If they can't get into the UFC, the top dogs of the business, where are they going to go? Yeah, there are other companies but they won't make anywhere near as much money if I'm not mistaken. Also, it means that there will be less diversity eventually unless Dana, if he's smart (and I'm sure he is), decides to do a crossover of fighters from both entities.

I don't know, it all sounds pretty good but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Holy fuckballs, 2001 WWF anyone?

I'm not a big MMA fan, but Dana just made himself God-Emperor of North American MMA. We don't even have a viable alternative now. Strikeforce is going to go like WEC, and get a few of its divisions shut down and the rest weakened. And like 2001 WWF this is not a good thing for MMA fighters.

They've got nothing besides UFC as a serious gig now, and while there's bound to be more than a few epic crossovers for the fans, this may not be beneficial to the UFC in the long run...

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

There's still alternatives. Bellator, TPF, Dream, M-1 (I guess). This definitely lessens the market, but there are still alternatives. People who are saying this is a bad thing are trying to apply a WWE mentality to an actual sport. The NFL is extremely successful as its own entity. Same with the NBA and NHL. Dana, like him or hate him, is the best possible thing that could be in charge of MMA. Most athletic organizations never saw a mind like Dana's this early on in their inception. Dana turned the company from a 2.3 million dollar buyout to a billion dollar industry in under 20 years. That's fucking remarkable. This product wasn't even legal in most states before Dana and now the states that haven't legalized it are considered behind the times and stupid. I only think good can come from this. The UFC is not WWE. Theyre an actual sport. Sports need a major organization. They need all the top talent under one umbrella. None of the four major sports would be as successful if they spread out their talent among organizations. I defy anyone to tell me that the NFL would be a better product if Brees, Brady, Manning, Roethlisberger, Moss, Fitzgerald, AP, Chris Johnson, Turner, and Gore were all spread out in different leagues.

 

[MrHashasheen]

There's still alternatives. Bellator, TPF, Dream, M-1 (I guess). This definitely lessens the market, but there are still alternatives. People who are saying this is a bad thing are trying to apply a WWE mentality to an actual sport. The NFL is extremely successful as its own entity. Same with the NBA and NHL.

None of those sports have guys who can single-handling change the entirety of the sport in North America. He doesn't want women fighters? Boom, they're gone. Women fighters now have to work for small-time groups or outside the country. He wants to move the best from Strikeforce to UFC, thereby drastically lowering the chances of a lot of potential fighters from entering the UFC for quite sometime? That can happen.

It's the UFC that dominates thought when people think MMA, not any of those other places. Strikeforce and WEC getting bought only underlines that.

 

[The Crock]

This is pretty awesome, but I don't think it makes a big difference right now. They'll operate as two separate entities for the time being, but eventually I can see the UFC absorbing Strikeforce. The only things I can see happening right now is a few fighters from the UFC going down to Strikeforce. Obviously no big names, but guys on the downturn or guys that just aren't ready yet.

Another thing, Dana White is doing one hell of a job. He's making sure that his company stays safe, while allowing Coker to control SF, but not being direct competition to them anymore. Even though I don't think SF really was a huge ripple in the water anyway. Women's MMA won't be hugely affected. They'll continue to use them in SF and if they finally decide to axe the divisions, they always have Japan or Bellator, still pretty major places, not indy/local promotions.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

None of those sports have guys who can single-handling change the entirety of the sport in North America. He doesn't want women fighters? Boom, they're gone. Women fighters now have to work for small-time groups or outside the country. He wants to move the best from Strikeforce to UFC, thereby drastically lowering the chances of a lot of potential fighters from entering the UFC for quite sometime? That can happen.

It's the UFC that dominates thought when people think MMA, not any of those other places. Strikeforce and WEC getting bought only underlines that.

No, they just have owners and unions that lockout and cause work stoppages. Women's MMA, as much as I love it, isn't all that deep. It has serious divides from the top level of competition to the middle. It's almost ridiculous how good some of the women's champions are compared to their competition. Cyborg coming to mind.

Also, Dana is, quite possibly, the most fan friend "commissioner" of any sport I can think of. Say what you will about his personality, but the man gives the fans what they want. I don't see Fidel Goodell, Bettman, Stern, or Selig bending over backwards to accommodate the fans. They're more concerned with blackouts, revenues, profit-sharing, and expansion than they are what the fans want to see.

Framed in context, if an NFL game is not sold out, it's subject to blackout. Regardless of the match-ups. Also, the NFL doesn't provide the matches fans want to see in every market. I live in California. I cannot tell you the amount of times that I've had to watch a fucking Raider, Charger or Niner game over match-ups like Colts-Patriots, Falcons-Saints, Bears-Packers, etc...it's bullshit.

Dana doesn't do that to fans. He finds ways to give them FREE access to the matches they want to see. (Outside of main-events). He puts them on Spike and, now, Facebook. Find me another commissioner that's not charging their fans out the ass for access like this. NFL Network, Gameday, Total Package, etc...Most people cannot afford these things. Dana is doing more and more to give us more.

I'm SERIOUSLY not a Dana nuthugger, but I respect what he does for the fans and applaud it. As an MMA lifer, I want more and more, and Dana finds a way to give me that. When everyone else is talking about CBA's and lockouts, Dana is expanding and providing more avenues for fans to see the fights they want to see.

If people can't see that, I just don't know....

 

[Uncle Phatso]

I don't really see it as a huge problem, I'm actually kind of liking this. With the amount of fighters they have they could do a cross promotion of the best of the best. I know that people see the Ufc having the best fighters, but really Sf has a large group of good young fighters. This could lead to a group ppv of the Sf champions facing the Ufc champs. Or just you know a champion vs champion match here and there. If deffinatly opens up more challenges for the ubers in both company like Gsp, Anderson, and Fedor.

I would like to see some of the top fighters in Ufc come down to strikeforce. Have a few fights not just with champions but the dudes who are in the mix. The fighters that are sort of struggling in both Ufc and Sf right now. All and all I see alot of great fights now with, Wec and Sf under the Ufc banner. I think if Coker and co. work with Dana and his bookers we could see some amazing fights in the future.

 

[Tha Wolfpac]

Not really much left for me to say, but I'd like to see Strikeforce used as like a developmental territory, they can test out new guys before putting them with the big dogs in the UFC. Strikeforce won't fold and merge until Dana White/ Zuffa gets the most out of it that he possibly can. But this is just a treat for us as fans of MMA.

 

[Uncle Chester]

I understand that this acquisition is, on the surface going to be seamless but it still leaves a bitterly monopolistic taste in my mouth. There's no way on this fucking earth Zuffa and White aren't going to merge these two companies together into 1 organization. He's just waiting for things to settle down and fans to accept this risky shit. Strikeforce is a competitor- they're not merely a simple subordinate like Bellator but a company who in certain aspects is better than the UFC etc. heavyweight div. MMA is too big now and has too much potential to be a natural monopoly and it's scary how Microsoftish UFC actually is. Competition is dead, there's no way these two are clashing horns anymore. No more choice.

 

[The Best]

One thing you guys should take into consideration is that Strikeforce is still in contract with Showtime, and Dana has said that it will stay on Showtime for the remainder of the deal. That deal lasts for two more years. So, in probably two years we'll start seeing the two companies conjoining in my opinion, and Strikeforce will probably be somewhat of a developmental league, but who knows, when Dana White is in the equation really anything can happen.

 

[Window Licker 101]

Also, I've been reading that Paul Daley might back out of his title fight with Diaz now for obvious reasons.

Daley would be a complete cock for doing that, but nothing surprises me anymore. He doesn't realize that he's not employed by the UFC and Strikeforce is practically the exact same as it was two days ago, except owned by Zuffa.

Now anyway this deal feels almost surreal. Everyone believed this would be the year Strikeforce really threaten the UFC with their HW tournament etc but WOW out of the blue this happens. Zuffa, Dana the Fertita brothers are smart people. I think this deal will benefit MMA period.

However, things WILL remain the same until Strikeforce's agreed two year deal with Showtime expires, then Dana decides their fate. In other words rips out all of their talent and shuts Strikeforce down as a promotion

This is going to benefit Bellator alot I feel.

 

[jmt225]

A day's gone by now and I've read pretty much every perspective on this matter, and I've come to the conclusion that I don't like this.

A monopoly in MMA just isn't a good thing. The UFC doesn't need to be the NFL of MMA; it's better if we have other options, and can witness great fighters else where.

Plus, let's face facts... the UFC can already be boring as shit sometimes, and that's because fighters don't want to lose, so they go out there and don't take any risk, which causes nothing but snoozefests. Why do fighters do this? Because they know 2 loses in a row can get their asses cut, and adding Strikeforce's fighters to the mix will only make UFC fighters more insecure.

For this to work though, the UFC needs to put on more shows. 3 shows a month... 2 free, one pay-per-view. Otherwise, buying orgs will only make there be less MMA, and that will of course suck ass.

And I know that bald headed fuck said that nothing was going to change, but let's be real here... A) we can never take that ********'s word at face value, and B) once Strikeforce's contract with Showtime is finished (assuming Showtime doesn't cut ties with them sooner), the UFC will merge itself with Strikeforce. That's a foregone conclusion.

At the end of the day, I liked how MMA was Friday. I liked that Strikeforce was bringing in more Japanese fighters and doing everything it could to extend it's brand. Friday I was content with what the UFC was doing. Today, however, I'm unsure about it all.

 

[SavageTaker]

There's still alternatives. Bellator, TPF, Dream, M-1 (I guess). This definitely lessens the market, but there are still alternatives. People who are saying this is a bad thing are trying to apply a WWE mentality to an actual sport.

It doesn't matter whether MMA is an actual sport and WWE isn't because either way you look at it having a monopoly over any sort of industry just isn't going to turn out good. Aside from there being one less alternative available for fans to go to, there are many other things bad effects that come out of “monopolizing” an industry.

Aside from the less alternatives, it also means that fans basically have to put up with UFC (especially if they can't watch any other MMA company for whatever reason) even if they don't like what they are offering. Why? Because if UFC continues to monopolise their industry, then it basically means they can do whatever the please and people will just watch because that's what MMA there is to watch.

Another problem I could see the fans, the consumers, having to deal with sometime in the future is the pricing of events. Since there is no other real competition available, they can jack up their prices and fans just have to deal with it. Like I said in my previous paragraph, if they continue down this path then they will be the only game in town and they can do as they please.

I won't pretend I'm some expert in the world of MMA but quite frankly, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to see the negatives and positives of a company monopolising an industry; and that's exactly what UFC is doing here and will probably continue doing in the future.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

People need to understand that this isn't a monopoly. There's still DREAM, Bellator, MFC, and TPF. StrikeForce has several good/great fighters that never signed with the UFC and plenty of fighters that were basic UFC washouts, "retirees," or just not good enough for the UFC.

The majority of StrikeForce's roster, however, is comprised of UFC rejects. How on earth that is skipping over people is beyond me. It's not like StrikeForce had this never-ending pool of talent that the UFC just couldn't get. Looking at these fighters provides a clearer picture.

Heavyweights

Andrei Arlovski: Really? This is a wasted acquisition. Hopefully this pushes him to retire.

Shane Del Rosario: Excellent pickup

Fedor Emelianenko: I mean, this is good, but I don't actually believe, nor does Dana, that Fedor will ever debut.

Lavar Johnson: Too soon to tell

Alistair Overeem: Probably the biggest pick-up at Heavyweight and may actually force him to fight more regularly. Thank god he can't jump around to different organizations now.

Brett Rogers: The guy was/is a joke. He will be exposed soon enough

Ray Sefo: Good, but only matches up well with people like Barry and Kongo

Antonio Silva: I'm excited about this one. I think he'll do well.

Fabricio Werdum: Yeah, we all know how well Werdum did in the UFC

Josh Barnett: Same here.

Sergei Kharitonov: This is awesome.

Herschel Walker: His days are basically over.

Valentijn Overeem: He's like the Lil Nog, good pick up, doubtful he does anything special.

Daniel Cormier: This is good

Chad Griggs: Same

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

Here's the same thing with LHW's

Dan Henderson: Already fought in the UFC

Rafael Cavalcante: Good talent probably a middle of the road UFC fighter, though

Abongo Humphrey: Probably barely good enough for TUF

Muhammed Lawal: Good prospect, but needs work.

Gegard Mousasi: Probably their best name at LHW

Renato Sobral: Likely won't have a job because of his dipshit actions in the UFC.

Roger Gracie: I mean, this is okay, but Gracie doesn't really mean anything in MMA outside of BJJ training. The sport has passed the Gracie's by, they refuse to grow with it.

Trevor Prangley: Could probably use some serious training. He's probably too good for TUF, but he needs something.

Antwain Britt: Probably another TUF candidate.

Ovince St. Preux: Too hard to tell, he's too green.

Mike Kyle: He had a run in both the UFC and WEC and had mixed success. All in all, I'd say he's not that great.