MMA Discussion Thread - SPOILERS! - Page 437

E-Man · 03-12-2011, 12:58 PM

What I wonder is how the heavyweight grand prix will be effected. Moving back the rest of the first round was a really bad move IMO, and doing that pushes it back so long that it may not even be finished by the time their deals with CBS and Showtime is done. I have a feeling that some Strikeforce fighters may "graduate" to the UFC before Strikeforce's contracts expire, but the real matchups may not happen until next year some time. I'm just glad my boy Jacare can fight some better competition now. I doubt he fights Anderson, but an MMA fight with Maia after their grappling trilogy or against Palhares would be sweet.

josh07039 · 03-12-2011, 01:08 PM

I know that we can't trust dana at anything he says because he did say that Pride would be a separate entity when ZUFFA made that purchase,but I imagine that the UFC would be able to make loads of money making certain fights with Strikeforce fighters so I assume that there is something in the way of making that happen. Maybe the contracts with Showtime are an impediment to any awesome cross promotional fights happening.

FuzzyGopher · 03-12-2011, 01:13 PM

Does this mean that Overeem and Fedor are employees of Dana White now? How awkward.

josh07039 · 03-12-2011, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FuzzyGopher

Does this mean that Overeem and Fedor are employees of Dana White now? How awkward.

The way dana described it made it seem that he won't have any business dealings with them, but technically he is their boss. I think it would be awesome to see Dana in the crowd at a Fedor fight as a big **** you to M-1. "Hey guys.....I tried to sign your only valuable fighter, instead, I just let Strikeforce sign your boy and I bought them. Suck it you crazy Russians."

FuzzyGopher · 03-12-2011, 01:17 PM

That's some crazy billionaire revenge right there.

E-Man · 03-12-2011, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by josh07039

I know that we can't trust dana at anything he says because he did say that Pride would be a separate entity when ZUFFA made that purchase,but I imagine that the UFC would be able to make loads of money making certain fights with Strikeforce fighters so I assume that there is something in the way of making that happen. Maybe the contracts with Showtime are an impediment to any awesome cross promotional fights happening.

Well he pretty much said that they were going to honor the contracts that Strikeforce had and then he pretty much insinuated that SF will be folded and that the UFC will start to negotiate with who they want. I imagine it will be like how in the NFL teams get the first crack at free agents before they leave to test the FA waters. *thinks about the NFL lockout and then cries*

I bet that the UFC will have some kind of no compete period for free agents that gives them an incentive to sign with the UFC quickly so they can fight. Bellator is all that stands now, and I doubt that they can make any momentum with the way they do their fights in seasons. I really like their tournament format though, so at least they offer something different for upcoming prospects like Askren and Konrad.

FuzzyGopher · 03-12-2011, 01:43 PM

I don't believe for a second that Strikeforce and the UFC will operate as separate entities in the longterm. I know Dana emphasized that multiple times in the interview but didn't he say the same about Pride and the WEC? I think he'll let Strikeforce run it's own shows with some UFC influence for a while and then eventually merge.

josh07039 · 03-12-2011, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FuzzyGopher

I don't believe for a second that Strikeforce and the UFC will operate as separate entities in the longterm. I know Dana emphasized that multiple times in the interview but didn't he say the same about Pride and the WEC? I think he'll let Strikeforce run it's own shows with some UFC influence for a while and then eventually merge.

He's just going to wait out the Strikeforce/Showtime/M-1 contracts and then buy up all the talent on their roster that he wants and say goodbye to Strikeforce. Some people on the net have said that maybe Strikeforce will be a feeder organization but that really makes no sense because if you take the same card that Strikeforce could run and brand it as UFC it will automatically be more popular, fair or not.

FuzzyGopher · 03-12-2011, 03:01 PM

Exactly. It's probably too expensive and too messy to buy out all the fighter and TV contracts. They will just let Strikeforce die a slow and painful death while they slowly pick through the scraps and keep what they want. And it's probably a lot cheaper to run 1 organization that it is to run 2.

nepg · 03-12-2011, 03:27 PM

I expect Zuffa to use SF to get into Japan from Coker's FEG and K-1 connections. Once the Showtime contract is up, we'll see massive changes. This is a ticking time bomb. But, for now, I do believe it will be business as usual for SF.

BlindSite · 03-13-2011, 12:41 AM

Few things people are missing.

When Zuffa purchased PRIDE they did actually plan to allow it to run as a separate entity, but Pride was incredibly corrupt and pretty much was in the pocket of Japanese organised crime, and it was never going to be able to be run 100% independently. Even when they tried to run it with loose controls the criminal element throughout the entiriety of the organisation caused problems.

Strikeforce obviously doesn't have those issues.

While think that in a few (probably 2 or more) years we're likely to see the good talent absorbed into the UFC and certain titles unified, or whatever I don't think we'll see any superfights or any direct destruction of Strikeforce in the coming months.

Right now Strikeforce turns a profit and it has access to other media markets the UFC for whatever reason had trouble making deals in. Namely with Showtime.

For now it's going to continue to turn a profit and at the very least the crap inside (organizationally) will be given the door and the UFC can help to streamline operations.

Do I think Strikeforce will eventually close its doors? Yes

Do I think it will happen before 2013? No

Strikeforce is realistically just beginning to grow its brand and like with the WEC it'll be able to operate independently until the UFC sees the opportunity to expand its roster and it's PPV schedule to include more cards overseas.

With the UFC I think we'll eventually see a PPV card ever week or two weeks with free events mixed in rather than one or two free events around the normally monthly PPVs.

With Strikeforce the UFC can develop talent, and keep around talent who need to get healthy, get their heads right or tune themselves up.

There's something like 262 fighters currently on the UFC's roster, and it's not going to hurt being able to send the Keith Jardine and Tyson Griffins of the world to another promotion, not lose profit or the ability to show their new or old fights while they fix themselves up and become possible contenders again.

This is a good move for MMA despite what Dana haters have to say, but most of them are just Fedor Nuthuggers anyway.

josh07039 · 03-13-2011, 12:40 PM

The one thing I disagree with is that the UFC benefits from keeping Strikeforce around as a feeder organization. The strikeforce name just doesn't have the weight that the UFC name does. If you want to build a guy up it makes more sense to have him associated with the UFC name because, fair or not, people see it as more legitimate.

I agree that Strikeforce will be around for longer than many people think, but I do think that fighters will trickle over to the UFC faster than they would have had Strikeforce remained independent.

fenikz · 03-13-2011, 05:40 PM

Ugh I hope Jones doesn't rape Shogun but I can kind of see it coming, he is just so big and athletic. How long until he simply can't cut to LHW anymore? I've heard he walks around at 240

nepg · 03-13-2011, 11:27 PM

Oh yeah, Strikeforce is going to be kept around.

PrideFC fanbois try to say that Dana lied when he said they'd keep that org. going, but Zuffa genuinely tried, but it was impossible for them to get a deal done over in Japan because the mob that runs the media and arenas in Japan does an amazing job of keeping foreigners out.

Once the contracts run out and when SF's deal with Showtime is up in a couple years, SF will change drastically, but it's unclear how and nothing will change until then.

WEC was different because they had different weight classes than the UFC, but SF directly competes with the UFC with the exception of their women's divisions. There will be some dramatic changes.

One of the main points with SF-UFC eventually becoming one is that SF's 185 division is filled with guys who would be fighting at 170 in the UFC.

Caddy · 03-14-2011, 04:04 PM

What happens when the UFC disbands Strikeforce in regards to the womens divisions? I know Dana has said previously that he will not have women fighting in the UFC...

SeanTaylorRIP · 03-14-2011, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caddy

What happens when the UFC disbands Strikeforce in regards to the womens divisions? I know Dana has said previously that he will not have women fighting in the UFC...

The women's divisions will be gone for sure. Have to look elsewhere to fight. I don't believe for a second Dana's lies that everything is business as usual and that Coker will run SF without interference from him. That's BS, as the owner of SF any decisions they make impact Zuffa financially, I don't buy for a second that Dana won't get his hand in things.

nepg · 03-14-2011, 07:45 PM

I don't disbelieve Dana in regard to Coker. SF has been a profitable organization for awhile because of Scott Coker. I think they'll leave him alone as far as booking fights and signing fighters goes. I see Zuffa helping promote the SF events and opening up new venues to SF.

With the women...I think Scott Coker has 2 years to build up those divisions and prove they can be competitive. If he can bring women's MMA to that next level and put together a couple divisions that aren't dominated by a couple fighters, then Zuffa will keep it around when the time comes to merge and reconstruct SF (a la WEC when they got rid of the bigger weight classes).

Caddy · 03-17-2011, 01:47 AM

G-S(p)ot vs Dunham at 132

MichaelJordanEberle (sabf) · 03-17-2011, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nepg

I don't disbelieve Dana in regard to Coker. SF has been a profitable organization for awhile because of Scott Coker. I think they'll leave him alone as far as booking fights and signing fighters goes. I see Zuffa helping promote the SF events and opening up new venues to SF.

With the women...I think Scott Coker has 2 years to build up those divisions and prove they can be competitive. If he can bring women's MMA to that next level and put together a couple divisions that aren't dominated by a couple fighters, then Zuffa will keep it around when the time comes to merge and reconstruct SF (a la WEC when they got rid of the bigger weight classes).

I think you nailed the problem with women's sports in general. There's just no competition. ****** Cyborg kills everyone you put in front of her. In women's hockey, the Olympics are basically just warm-ups until Canada and the USA play each other for the Gold. WNBA... well no one watches anyway, so I don't know if they have that problem. Oh and softball, USA always just kills everyone. There just aren't enough women competing in any sport at a high level to really justify their presence at major events or leagues.

E-Man · 03-17-2011, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caddy

G-S(p)ot vs Dunham at 132

******* YES!

SuperMcGee · 03-19-2011, 05:50 PM

Earlier today Jon Jones chased down a thief, took him down, and then Greg Jackson kept him in a leg lock until the police came. That'll get you pumped.

fenikz · 03-19-2011, 05:51 PM

WAR SHOGUN!

nuthugger 4 life

nepg · 03-19-2011, 06:33 PM

It's odd that we really haven't heard anything from Shogun's camp. This is going to be a ******* war. Someone's getting ****** up. I don't want to be one of those Jon Jones bandwagoners or Shogun underestimators, but it's tough to see what Shogun is going to do against Bones.

UKfan · 03-19-2011, 06:34 PM

I am really excited about this card. Glad we get to see Barboza on the undercard as well, dude's a killer, his leg kicks are sick!

ccB · 03-19-2011, 07:08 PM

Remember where you heard the name first!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charm City Byrdgang

MMA PROSPECT ALERTL:

Watch out UFC 155ers because this beast has just been signed

Meet Edson "Junior" Barboza, 5'11 155 lbs, 6-0 professional record.

(you gotta love the tribute to Wandy with the walkout music)

This dude is basically a beefed up Jose Aldo, and fufills my MMA fetish of amazingly athletic Brazilians who with a single strike could knock your head off your shoulders.

hopefully Niojakani doesn't kick him in the face and make me feel stupid :/