We've all heard by now that Strikeforce has been purchased by Zuffa, and I'm of two minds about this.
Negatives? Surprisingly few.
Yes, that means that one company now runs almost all of the major MMA promotions. This isn't a positive however you look at it. Competition is good in every business and sports are no exception. With Strikeforce the UFC had a legit reason to be worried. Lately Strikeforce's cards have been devastatingly good, and the league in general isn't populated with the college wrestling borefests that permeate the UFC at the moment. Having that competition would have eventually forced the UFC to keep up the pace of their fights. Not through any artificial means, but by removing some of the chaff from their roster.
White came out and said that SF and UFC are going to remain separate entities. This is what we heard when Zuffa bought Pride as well.
That's really all the downside I can see. I hate to say it... but this may turn out to be a boon for MMA fans.
What, Me Worry?
If you go back and read some of my other articles, particularly the one about Fedor's last fight, you'll see why I can't exactly be unhappy about this. First and foremost it's now pretty much guaranteed that Fedor and Couture will be caged in anger in the future. As long as White carries through on the already mentioned cross promotions there is no reason for this fight not to happen. Fedor will fight under the Strikeforce/M-1 Global banner. Couture will fight under the UFC banner. Everyone saves face. Everyone makes money. Everyone goes home happy. Furthermore, given the rumors that Fedor was already considering moving to LHW to face Dan Henderson, it seems likely that a bout with Shogun or even Anderson Silva (if he moves to LHW full time) could happen.
The more interesting thing is what this does to the MMA scene as a whole. I can't see any circumstance where folding Strikeforce into the UFC makes sense. With WEC it was a different story. Their top fighters were all on the lighter end of the scale and integrating them into the UFC made perfect sense. You give yourself a whole new division to promote, increase competition in an already competitive weight class, and in general make yourself better. Incorporating Strikeforce wouldn't achieve the same result, and would probably do more harm than good. Right now SF is drawing solid ratings on Showtime, and the UFC is risking market saturation. UFC on Versus, UFC Fight Night, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Countdown, UFCFU, the list of UFC events available non-PPV is growing and adding a whole other promotion worth of fights to that list wouldn't do anything but make the viewing more difficult. I hate to use this comparison, but there's a direct correlation with the way WWE has separated itself (somewhat) into Raw and Smackdown brands. It adds another layer to the marketing possibilities. Zuffa has successfully attained the same setup.
The UFC has always been looked at by the casual MMA fan as the pinnacle of the sport. Strikeforce has been the second tier. Those of us that watch a little bit more know otherwise. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. Zuffa is now in a position to leverage those differences for our benefit. Cross promotion and possibly even more Strikeforce on free TV (The Strikiest Forcer? Doesn't really work... they'll come up with something better).
Surely you can't be serious?
Yes, I'm serious. And don't call me Shirley. I absolutely hate to say it, but this might turn out to be a good thing. From a hardcore fan standpoint, there's now the possibility of seeing some of the fights we've dreamed of for years happen. From a casual fan standpoint there's going to be another group of fighters they may not know about suddenly appear and make waves. For Zuffa it means having expanded promotional and roster flexibility. For Strikeforce it means their fighters will finally be seen in the eyes of casual fans as the UFC's equals.
When Zuffa bought Pride I honestly felt hollowed out. The death of Pride was one of the darkest sports days ever for me. The only thing worse was seeing Mike Modano wearing a Red Wings sweater. I had a couple of friends that watched Pride, but nobody outside of our tiny little circle knew what it was. It was our thing. It was something special, and then it died. This doesn't feel like that. It feels like a beginning, not an end. We'll see if it plays out that way.
