The Ultimate Fighting Championship continued it's push into the mainstream on Saturday, as the UFC's parent company Zuffa, purchased the second biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world, Strikeforce.
This ground breaking deal caught every person in the MMA community, including the fighters of both promotions and fans off guard. The deal happened so quickly, that the first time it was even considered as a possibility was when the announcement was made.
According to UFC President Dana White, the reason for the purchase of Strikeforce was the realization that Strikeforce was a brand that had a following and was well liked and to also “take this thing to another level.” The UFC wants to become the biggest sport in the world and they feel it is their job to put on the fights the fans want to see. Adding Strikeforce to their roster, helps aid in their plan for global domination, since the UFC plans to travel into several new countries this year, such as India, China, Korea and Japan and they need to make sure they have the right fights to get fans interested and excited to purchase their product. In addition, they need the extra fighters, since they plan on putting on more and more events this year and in the future.
This is not the first time the UFC has made a mega purchase of their major competitor. Back in 2007, the UFC acquired the rights of top Japanese promotion, PRIDE FC. That purchase brought major stars into the UFC such as Rampage Jackson, Wanderlei Silva and the current Light Heavyweight Champion Maurico “Shogun” Rua among others. Zuffa's idea at the time was to operate the two promotions independently. They were hoping to capitalize the most out of their product, and have the UFC and Pride as two separate promotions, however, when that goal was not achieved, Pride ultimately became integrated into the UFC.
The UFC is trying this formula again, as White constantly reiterated that business will be handled as usual. Strikeforce will remain a separate organization and the Strikeforce fighters will remain Strikeforce fighters. Long time owner and operator of Strikeforce, Scott Coker will retain his day job of promotions general operations and managing the contracts of the brand. All that Zuffa will bring to the table is helping the promotion grow and get better, showcasing new talent, while helping out behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, this does not mean a Superbowl type event, as the UFC does not and refuses to co-promote even within a promotion they now own. Any current dreams of seeing Alistair Overeem vs Cain Velasquez or Nick Diaz vs Georges St. Pierre are right now not in the works. However, how long this “plan” works out, could just be a matter of time.
The main reason, the two organizations are not merging now has to do with Strikeforce's current contract with Showtime. Strikeforce's deal with Showtime runs out in about two years, so it is likely the promotion will stick around until then and will be somewhat of the little brother to the UFC, until they ultimately combine.
While I'm sure many people are upset about this, I feel it could be a good thing. With Zuffa backing Strikeforce up and promoting them during UFC events, it will add to the viewership of the Strikeforce product. Great pound for pound top five fighters that the casual MMA fan never heard about because they are not in the UFC such as Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez will now have a greater audience to showcase their skills and become bigger stars.
It will also help out the entire Women's division. Strikeforce was the biggest promotion for women to fight and featured talent such as Gina Carano, Miesha Tate, Marloes Coenen, and Cris “Cyborg” Santos. Dana White has long stated that the reason he does not add a Women's division to the UFC, is because he feels that there are not enough good girls out there to create an entire division. Hopefully, with the added exposure in the two years, enough women will decide to become full time mixed martial arts fighters and the UFC will finally add a division devoted entirely to females.
Until the inevitable merger happens, I personally hope some Strikeforce fighters graduate and make the switch over to the UFC. I am a huge Nick Diaz fan, he is my favorite fighter and I know he would not only make an immediate impact in the welterweight division but I feel he would give GSP a real run for his money, since I feel Diaz has the better boxing and on the ground there is no one better. Alistair Overeem is another fighter who I hope comes over sooner rather than later. Overeem is the current Strikeforce Heavyweight champion and also the current K-1 World Grand Prix Champion. The sheer thought of an Overeem vs Cain Velasquez matchup waters my mouth at the excitement and explosion the two could bring inside the cage. Other marquee fighters such as Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza who could quite possibly have the best JiuJitsu in MMA challenging Demian Maia in a Brazilian JiuJitsu fans dream fight. I also would not mind seeing Dan Henderson knocking Michael Bisping's head off again in a rematch of their UFC 100 fight as well as seeing two heavy hitting heavyweights battle such as Brett Rogers vs. Shane Carwin. Also, how could I not mention the one and only true dream fight in MMA as the two legends could finally meet inside the octagon in Fedor Emelianenko vs Randy Couture.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, it's only a matter of time before MMA and the UFC becomes the BIGGEST sport in the world and this deal proves it. There are so many great fighters from all over the world now competing under the same roof, that it is only a matter of time before some dream match ups take place right before our very eyes. Fighting is the earliest sport known to mankind, it is in our DNA, every person walking God's green earth has a primal nature within them, it is survival of the fittest, only the strong survive and soon enough the UFC will stand tall as the premium and defining sport of our generation.
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