Today, in an interview with Ariel Helwani of MMA Fanhouse, Zuffa and UFC president Dana White confirmed what would be considered a huge bombshell : He has bought his largest competitor, Strikeforce.
This is a huge move that comes on the heels of Japanese promotions withering and dying. According to the interview, White has extolled the virtues of the California based promotion and said that the numbers they've done for US Premium cable channel, Showtime, cannot be ignored. He also confirmed that despite the purchase, Strikeforce will conduct business as usual.
"Strikeforce is going to continue to run business as usual," White told Helwani. "There are 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.
He also added ""Could guys from the UFC leave and end up over in Strikeforce? Yeah."
I can't help but wonder what this purchase holds for the future of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. On one hand, it brings greater consolidation to the sport (thought White was also quick to refute the possibility of "superfights" featuring fighters from both promotions). On the other, it greatly gives the UFC a further grip and a wild card to some might say, "water down" the product. Scott Coker is going to keep his job as a General Manager of the promotion, not unlike Reed Harris did when Zuffa purchased the WEC.
It also leaves us to wonder : What does this mean for guys like Josh Barnett, Paul Daley, and of course, Fedor Emelianenko? Barnett and Daley have been publicly blackballed by White for various actions that got them tossed out of the UFC, and Emelianenko's disputes with Zuffa and his management team, M-1 Global, are well documented. Though White said this isn't a transaction that would bring "superfights", I can't help but wonder by the statement that UFC fighters could cross over that we might see Randy Couture jump ship to take on "The Last Emperor", regardless of how he does in his fight in Toronto against Lyoto Machida.
Until next time, fight fans.
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