I compare this to the NFL’s acquisition of the USFL. Strikeforce were hemorrhaging money and were really never going to be competition with their bungling and incompetency and I’m the kinda guy who roots for the underdog. Now the Baldfather will just bide his time and absorb the best stars. Overall, this will be beneficial to the sport I think.

I think there’s already a sort of loose union in place when it comes to fighters being grouped into camps. It gives them a sort of interesting collective bargaining power. Remember the Jon Fitch videogame incident?

But people salivating over getting to see names like Fedor or Overeem in the heavyweight division are sadly mistaken. Fedor will retire because Dana won’t deal with M-1. ‘Reem would have to actually fight more than twice a year, piss clean AND give up any kickboxing ventures. I seriously can’t see him doing that once his Strikeforce contract is up.

Lorenzo Fer-tit-ta is a man-gyna. Like how he flex’s his bi-ceps at the weigh-ins? Back stage? Every chance he gets….that pecker pokes his little ass-face in the camera. Piece of shit.

What sucks more is that he knows me… Too well….

What your back sir. Or YOU’LL be fired next! That would be awesome.

Stations sucks.

Chuck Norris for Strikeforce President position!

@Dagnut Well I’m not trying to be biased. Yes he hates sites like these and he has a lot of other opinions that differ from the majority, but he and his company, as businessmen, are smart enough to turn those detracting statements around. I’m not saying this is a sure thing, as we’re all human. Personally, he’s an ass, but in the business side of MMA, he’s the one to go to. Remember that without him and Zuffa, UFC would have gone down almost absolutely.

The NBA is the perfect example of an organization that is reliant on healthy competition. They use a draft system to even the level playing field and foster healthy competition between clubs. It doesn’t matter how the fuck you word it, competition is vital for churning out a quality product. The UFC now has no major competitors. If you can’t see what this means for the future of MMA you need to turn off the fucking blinkers and get with reality. A monopoly has the same impact regardless of the industry.

You know who hates their life right now? Jay Heiron lol sucks for you bud.

You guys! Diaz vs Sanchez!!!!!! YES CARTWHEELS!!! This would lead into the perfect fight for gsp either way it goes.

@waxedpants

wrong website asshole

I can’t believe piprocks hasn’t commented yet — he may have gone and hung himself.

@ccman
Not painful at all buddy …. have I disagreed with you before ?
I don’t remember due to my lifestyle choices but if we did disagree I am sure I was right.

I have to agree with a lot of the comments here, I think this is a major step down for the sport! As we’ve seen with Pride, and what has happened since (Sengoku) the merger of the UFC/WEC and now Strikeforce will mean less MMA for fans, and based on the way the UFC runs its events it is likely we’ll have to channel surf between 12 different channels and visit some social network to watch 7 of the 8-9 fights on a given card.

Was that painful waxed?
And since when is stern not a meglomaniac dictator?

@ccman

ccman is correct.

Stop comparing it to the NBA, the NBA has independent elected commissioner who is to sever the interests of all the clubs and players alike..not a megalomaniac at the helm…an idiot who has managed to alienate lots of TV executives, lot of states blah blah blah I could go on but whats the point…you seen the guys reaction to this site and you still defend him? I despair I really do

Well atleast if they get rid of Gus Johnson, we get to listen to him announce NFL games still come fall. Shit…. wait.

@KingAtRock there is no basis for what you’ve said. “Horrible” PPVs? MMA “dead?” WEC still performed well even after Zuffa Ltd purchased it, and the merger will help athletes in lower weight divisions to have their time in the limelight. Besides, Dana White claims it’s just business as usual for now. Now if ever the SF roster merges with the UFC, it’ll be good exposure for them to the “casual” fans who think UFC = MMA. Besides, SF does put on good shows once in a while, it’s just the terrible managing done by Coker and Co. that makes it suck. So no, I wouldn’t hastily say “HORRIBLE” PPV’s for UFC. From a business perspective, Dana White and his corporate fellows know their stuff and he’ll have more of a chance to handle things better than Coke. And lastly, it’s not a monopoly. The “minor leagues” are still there to stay and I’m pretty sure Zuffa would be smart enough not to purchase them. It’s like how Basketball has NBA, but alongside with it your local basketball circuits. Both are needed in the respective sport.

Welcome to the Walmart of MMA. Just like wec, strikeforce will get swallowed and HORRIBLE HORRIBLE ufc pay per views will follow.

“unified mma” lol.

It’s called a monopoly.

MMA is dead.

Ya know. When the ufc bought pride half the world rejoiced. Half mourned. Turns out it was either sold or folding. When the ufc bought wec? Same thing. Rejoice was hope cross promo fights, half screamed monopoly. You can hate the ufc and dana white all day, they did grow the sport. All other promotions are benifiting from their hard work (look at small promotions flocking to toronto, the ufc greased all those wheels) and fighter salaries. And sponsor money is going up because the ufc has grown the sport.
Know history, preferably because you watched it, and know math\business before you whine. Please. Sf was going under. Belive it. The math on their shows has not worked for years.

@Dagnut So true. It’s not good how people think UFC is the sport and not MMA but it’s sort of forgivable. Anyway, @DranoKills, wtf. What the hell is a sport without athletes? I’m saying it’s just a little of both. A good analogy is the relationship between Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach. Without Roach, Manny would just be some speedy puncher with a mean left hook. Now, he’s developed an all-around game. However, without Pacquiao, Roach wouldn’t have been popular enough to have earned Coach of the Year awards 4 or so times. The sport refines the athlete through competition, and in turn the athlete makes known the sport. Who would want to watch a bunch of no-name bore-ass Mixed Martial Artists dance around for 15 minutes? That said, who would want to pay 50 smackers to watch a fight card in a no-name organization?

@ DranoKills
Thats bollox people could tell you who Jordan was and not have a clue about the bulls..about basketball and not know the NBA..because you live in the states you take it for granted that everyone knows ..they don’t..people know who Tyson is couldn’t tell anyone he fought or any of the belt names he held.
People wouldn’t know who the fighters where without Zuffa?Theres a world outside the US..remember pride? fighters were on tv doing commercials in japan…I don’t live in a fantasy world fighters are NOT ALLOWED promote themselves.
People outside the US know who your sports stars are, but have no clue what NFL or NBA stands for or what sports it relates it…UFC is not a sport..MMA is the sport

Dagnut Says:

Sat, 03/12/11 – 06:52

@RwilsonR
Shouldn’t Arlovski and Hendo have a choice?? your missing my point here
As far as raising the profile Of the sport, yeah White has done that but he’s pissed of so many people I think he’s polarized opinion against the sport…shouldn’t it be the fighters and MMA as a skill and art form that raise the profile and not a couple of billionaire casino owners and a loud mouth boxerise coach?
You think it’s acceptable that he can demean fighters who won’t sign for him or play his game? Fedor for example?
Fighters deserve the fame not the brand… the average joe would Know who tiger woods was but could the tell you the name of the tour he plays on? Do you know what belts Ali held?
————————————————————–
allow me to answer your questions:
1:fuck no it is NEVER about the athlete, it is always about the team he or she is on. without those so called billionaire casino owners and that loud mouth boxerise coach ( is that a word?) none of these fighters would be known to anyone outside 5 miles of their home. fighters don’t promote themselves, nor do they do TV deals. You live in a fantasy world dude, if you think otherwise.
2:Yeah I think when you piss off the most important person in MMA today you deserve everything you get, period. Fedor is a fine example, him and his crazy bitchass russian mob croonies blew their chance at big money while he was still this mythical unbeatable machine. now he has been exposed for the fat can beating nobody he is, I think its great fucking karma that Dana can rub it in. fuck the fedor’s of the world, learn to recognize.
3:fighters and all sports athletes have fame dude, but they got it from being part of a brand name, not the other way around, again you live in a rose colored fucking world to think otherwise.
anyone not know who won the superbowl? anyone have a clue who won the grey cup? who was the quarterback? running back?
uh huh thats right WITHOUT googling that shit you have NO clue, but you know the brand when you hear it. how important is the athlete now again…….thats what I thought!

I also want to address something that I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with regarding fighter pay, but that Spicymeatball’s comment inadvertantly got me sidetracked on.
 
Spicymeatball said: “Look at the MLB, NFL, NBA, NASCAR, and the NHL. All work because it is the best 1 percent of the athletes in each sport.”
 
He is right. They do represent the top one percent of the sport when you consider all of the athletes who play for fun, in high school, in college, at gyms, in minor leagues, etc. And I would argue that for all the complaining about MMA pay not being comparable to these other pro sports, it actually is closer than you think. If you consider the pay for the top 1 percent of MMA fighters, they are being well compensated. And at this point, only the champions and very top challengers in this sport represent the top 1 percent in relative numbers to sports like baseball and football. So a guy like Ben Askren, or even Evan Dunham, might seem criminally underpaid, but his relative position to another sport might be comparable to say a farm team in baseball in terms of their relative place in the sport.
Obviously even the top 1 percent in this sport don’t make what some other athletes make in other sports, but considering the relative youth of this sport, they still do pretty well.
Most times the easy thing to do is to stick up for the little guy. The poor struggling athlete who is giving it his all. Still, it is a choice that person made. Sometimes it is the big guy who deserves some credit, as they are the one who took the risk to create something where they could provide jobs to the little guy. And when you reflexively ask for arbitrary pay levels because you emotionally want to help the poor fighter without regard to business decisions, often times you can end up leaving those fighters without jobs (see EliteXC/Affliction).

@ dranokills
Good call. I could see SF being used like the minors for a bit. He can drop some peeps off of SF’s roster, integrate promising new comers all before moving them into the UFC. Also, he can move some fighters from the UFC down to the “minors” if they dont cut the mustard. They might handle it a little bit like the WEC also where they start absorbing a couple of weight classes into the UFC first, or perhaps just certain fighters.

@ ballkick
Yes, I think a fighters union will be needed to keep the better interest of the fightes in perspective.

Given the apparent demise of top tier MMA promotions in Japan (read:rest of the world), Dana saw the opportunity to realize his dream of making the UFC bigger than the NFL.With the sport gaining main stream traction and his brand hosting events around the world, bottle necking the top talent was the missing key.I agree with the two year merger window. Strikeforce may continue to exist afterwards as a UFC-d league and host the development of prospects or the dawn days of former standouts as well as providing a venue for the occasional freakshow, James Toney v Herschel Walker anyone, all this on premium cable/network TV and building up to the (real) UFC PPV buzz. However one of the key things in the interview that is really going overlooked is Danas admission of the other partners i.e. Abu Dhabi as having decision making/promoting abilities…. Hmm Interesting. Regardless good or bad the deal is done now just hurry up and wait.

Luffa made a business decision,….I doubt anyone in the same shoes would have done different.
I will reserve judgement on the pro”s and con’s till we see what comes down the pipe.
I am an optimist and think this will all play out for the best.
However,I believe a fighters union is sorely needed to keep the Kings on there toes and honest. These guys put there bodies and health in more jeopardy than any other Pro sports.

Dana “Fucking” White!

Anyone who thinks this is bad for the fans is an absolute moron. Look at the MLB, NFL, NBA, NASCAR, and the NHL. All work because it is the best 1 percent of the athletes in each sport. The UFC will be no different. For people saying this hurts the fighters look at the all the major sports, eventually the fighters will be able to form some sort of union and get what they deserve. The MLB is over 100 years old, NHL, NBA, and the NHL are over 60 years old. These things take time. MMA is extremely young when comparing them to the other major sports. Look at boxing the reason its circling the toilet bowl is because the fighters have too much power. Pieces of shit like Mayweather have ruined the sport by commanding 30 million dollar purses and fighting boxers they know they will beat which sucks for the fans. When all the best fighers are fighting under the UFC banner they can form a Union like everything else. I’d much rather have the best fighters all fighting for the UFC than they be spread around dozens of organizations beating up cans. When the UFC starts making as much money as the other major sports the fighters will get increases in pay also. And lets be completely honest Strikeforce was being run into the ground anyway, Coker does everything half ass and on a whim, now there can be some stability in the matchmaking and event planning.

Way to make incredibly exciting news totally lame. UFC gobbles up Strikeforce. Potential for total badassness of epic proportions. All the big SF guys fighting the big UFC guys. How incredible. But wait… what is that? Business as usual? No SF vs. UFC fights? No sharing fighters? No Rogan and Goldy commentating SF fights? We still have to listen to fuckin’ lipstick guy, screamer, and braces guy? LAME.

@RwilsonR

Fully agree this is a move in competition with other sports NOT other MMA. This is a UFC powerplay, Microsoft/Walmart style. I don’t think it’s coincidence it’s occuring the day after a new NFL lockout. Well played. GSP is on the cover of Men’s Health and I saw him twice on major billboards at the local mall. Mainstream baby, they are all in. Brilliant!

I say let the chips fall where they may. Good or bad it doesn’t matter. It’s happening, so deal with it.

@ Dagnut – whether Hendo and Arlvoski “should” have a choice is immaterial. That is like saying Tim Sylvia should have had the choice to be paid $800K/fight by Affliction. If the choice exists, great for them. But they are not enititled to a choice, or to be paid more than they are worth by an organization that isn’t doing it for sound business reasons. Anybody who is seeking employment from others is not entitled for the job market to be what they want it to be.

i remember when shane Carwin sent out a message on twitter asking for Coker’s number because he was upset with the UFC. Now Shane’s like, ‘aww Dana, I was just bustin your balls….’

I’m not saying I agree with Dana White, or the way he conducts himself. That isn’t even entering into my argument. I’m just saying this wasn’t really a competitive envioronment with SF, and it won’t really change the level of competitiveness now that Zuffa owns them.

@RwilsonR
Shouldn’t Arlovski and Hendo have a choice?? your missing my point here
As far as raising the profile Of the sport, yeah White has done that but he’s pissed of so many people I think he’s polarized opinion against the sport…shouldn’t it be the fighters and MMA as a skill and art form that raise the profile and not a couple of billionaire casino owners and a loud mouth boxerise coach?
You think it’s acceptable that he can demean fighters who won’t sign for him or play his game? Fedor for example?
Fighters deserve the fame not the brand… the average joe would Know who tiger woods was but could the tell you the name of the tour he plays on? Do you know what belts Ali held?

@ RwilsonR…you don’t have David stern giving 20 second updates on twitter about who he likes and who he doesn’t like…why do we even care what this guy thinks? You talk about offering a good standard of competition..well it’s gonna be even more difficult now to come against this giant who will even bother…this is fighting…fighters have shorter harder and worse paid careers than any other sport…yet you think its fair that one company controls them all?
We talk about the NBA, the NFL or MLB…we talk about the teams and the players…yet for some reason White is probably a bigger name than 90% of the fighters..

@ Dagnut – it may well be bad for fighters in the short run, but if it allows the sport to achieve a higher profile, that will ultimately be better for fighters in general. Plus, the UFC has shown a reluctance to get into bidding wars over fighters, already, so I’m not sure it changes much. They seem to want to pay what they see as the value the fighter brings to them, and will let them go if they can’t come to an agreement (see Arlovski or Hendo). That type of attitude won’t be affected by this.

@ Karma- good point on the video library. That helps them promote the fighters they will get, especially to casual fans.

^^^^Bad for the fighters as well…when a fighter goes to renew his contract now White will just say…”where you gonna go?”…horrible I can can guarantee this went down like a shit sandwich with all fighters but they are too afraid now to speak out now.

I absolutely agree that a freely competitive market leads to better products for the consumer. 100% agree. However, a lot of those complaining about “competition” miss a few key points. First, competition is only good if it is a true competitor. A true competitor brings innovation and ideas to the marketplace, and forces the existing players in that market to adjust, innovate, and improve their product to compete. Competition that does a good job of this will be able to develop and maintain a useful marketshare of their own. If they put out an inferior product, hemorrhage money, and don’t provide anything different or better than the existing players in the market, then they will go away either through outright failure, or limited failure with useful assets being acquired by competitors. So what is happening now is the result of competition, not the absence of it.
 
Those complaining about whether we are better off since the UFC bought Pride only offer a false comparison. Pride was failing, and going out of business. It could not continue. The comparison is actually whether it would have been better off if the UFC had purchased Pride’s assets or not, and whether anyone else would have done so had they not. Given the state of Japanese MMA, my guess is it wouldn’t have happened. The market couldn’t support it. And one thing we did gain since the UFC purchased Pride is more legitimacy in the sport, which has helped it expand.
 
Another point, somewhat addressed by Hesh, is that sports leagues function a bit differently and usually worked best with the best athletes/teams under one umbrella. However, that does not mean competition does not exist, and that these leagues aren’t costantly challenged to improve their product from that competition. It is simply competition from a broader standpoint. You cannot necessarily look at competition in this frame of reference as simply MLB vs. another basebal league, or NFL vs. another football league, or UFC vs. another MMA league. The type of competition that drives these leagues to continue to produce a product that consumers want is competition amongst a general sports/leisure activities category. The UFC is vying for market share from other sports. It doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of people who are fans of multiple sports, but all of these leagues are competing to put out a product that is preeminent in the sports consumers’ preferences. From this standpoint, the UFC is driven to compete to make itself the biggest sport it can, and continue to expand its customer base. As I said earlier, the acquisition of SF isn’t necessarily just for immediate revenue. It is part of the UFC’s competitive structure in gaining market share against other sports in a consumer’s preferences.

After watching that interview I can’t help but want to ask Dana White if he is going to use strikeforce as the training ground for UFC, like in baseball , there’s the big leagues, and then there is strikeforce which is the minors.
I think thats cool, and if it hurts someones feelings ..oh fucking well. You fight like shit you get kicked down to the minors, ha!

This is just like when the WWF purchased WCW, very bad for the product in the end. A lack of competition between organizations is garbage. Come on Bellator represent!

@ Hesh To Steel..dilution of talent? It will become harder for talent to make it..with one company controlling the stars..how hard will it be for kids to break through?
Fighting is probably the hardest way to feed your family…you guys talk about “ah he’s to old now”..they should have a promotion they can go to and trade of the name they spent years of blood and sweat building up,while White can just dismiss them when they don’t want to jump through his hoop…The sport needs legends…why shouldn’t have the massive pay checks and the right to choose their fights?
How long will it be before the word MMA is gone from the vernacular to be replaced with simply UFC?

I’m all for people fighting the best talent there is whether in Strikeforce or UFC or wherever else, but sometimes I’d just like to stick to fantasizing about how fights would go if, say, Nick Dee and GSP were to meet up. The UFC roster ACTUALLY instead of hypothetically fighting the SF roster brings me down but you know, that’s just me.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
fucking strikefarts.
“all your base are belong to us… BITCHES!

goddamn this is fucking funny.

@ RWR

I’m with you there. Though, I put Hendo as a top dog, I do believe he is getting old and KTFO-prone; like an old beat up truck that does everything to please you and one day it just dies.

I could see DW sending Fitch or BJ to SF to fight Diaz if Daley became irrational or got injured prior to the fight.

What about Alistair fighting in K1 and Dream still?

Who’s taking bets on what weight class gets desolved first and funneled into the UFC?

Sure, Pride isn’t around anymore as an organization. Their best fighters are with the UFC, and their worst fighters are probably fighting in smaller promotions. Now that we have the examples of other sports leagues to follow along with the failures of boxing as a “how-not-to” guide, I think people developing a fight league now have plenty of guidance as to best practices. It shouldn’t take 100 years to figure all this crap out. I’m still of the opinion that competition between companies that produce tangible products is great, but competition between sports leagues just means dilution of the talent pool. With regard to rule changes I’m not aware of how that works, since I’m pretty sure the rule approval process has to have something to do with state athletic commissions, so it’s probably not as easy as we think.

@ HeeltoSteal…all these other sports are a 100 years old..they’ve had time to work out the kinks…to get to a level of competition where the bets comprised was reached for rules and spectators alike…as far as boxing goes…boxing fell part in a different era…and in boxing we still have co promotion and unified fights which are always the big ones and the best to watch …what will fighters Like Henderson do now? You think it’s right he controls their image…what sponsorships they pick up?
This won’t mean more MMA it will mean less!!!!wheres is pride right now?….dust

“There won’t be any super fights. When I say business as usual, we don’t co-promote. We don’t co-promote, period.”

Dumbest shit I’ve ever read.

I actually agree with Dagnut on rule changes. You can’t rage against a guy like Fitch for winning under YOUR rule system. If you don’t like Fitch winning fights with that style, change the rules. Perfectly valid point.

All this “competition is healthy” stuff works for electronics and cars but doesn’t really work for sports. Boxing has a ton of promotions that rival each other and that world is a complete mess. As a fan, I’d rather see all the best talent in one place. If Pacquiao and Mayweather were both MMA fighters signed by the UFC, do you think they’d have been circling each other for years the way they have and gotten away with it? Do you think it’s better for basketball fans if Lebron, Kobe and Kevin Durant were in 3 separate leagues?

And you can disbelieve Dana White, but at the end of the day, he wants what we want, because WE’RE the ones that pay his salary. Zuffa wants to expand MMA worldwide, have all the best talent so they can put on more shows in more countries. More MMA is good for the fans and good for Zuffa. That doesn’t mean that Dana White CARES about you, Phil, but it does mean that he wants to create something that you’re interested in watching.

Competition is the reason the western civilization dominated the world..competition makes our sport what it is!!! competition between organisations makes them push the promotions..promote bigger events against each other… America is built on this principal..you lead the world with this etos..Ford V Chevy..Pepsi V Coke..what ever the fuck it is…MMA is too young to be at this stage…we still haven’t figured out a decent judging and scoring system ..we’ve inherited a boxing system FFS…
Anyone who says theres no justification for the hate on white…ask your self this…why is he so famous? why does he get beamed into your TV on a reality show…for this exact reason ..you become used to him …you buy his line of bullshit and when he pulls shit like this you just think ” Great more fights..better fights!”
I know I’m not the only one who remembers Pride…are things better now for the fight fan? are they fcuk..I’m forced to sit through bullshit tedious decisions…with boring wrestling…White complains about the scoring and judging but wheres the rule changes? bollox he knows the current rules and judging favors wrestlers which puts mid america white guys in your living room who the punter can identify with…
We watch a great fight like Shogun V Machida 1 and no one knows what the fuck to do after it…White like a plank trying to convince us its the judging system…like fuck it is change the rules.
Yeah I’m drunk and Im ranting but some of it makes sense

All I’m saying is that I don’t believe a damn thing Dana says. It’s not just that he doesn’t let people wear Affliction shirts, I get that. It’s how vindictive he is about everything. He goes on his little rants his eff yous, says Overeem isn’t even a top 10 HW, then will just completely reverse his position on things. I’m just making a statement that I don’t think the word of Dana White carries much weight. Maybe he is a brilliant business man but some of the things he does just boggles my mind.

Well jesus fucking christ, if you didn’t see this coming then you’re a fucking moron. Dana is a super fucking rich businessman and Strikeforce was his only relatively major rival – this was inevitable. No pats on the back, even my fucking 12 year old sister understands why monopolies operate.

Competition is healthy, this will eventually have a negative impact on the sport. If you’ve got no competition you’ve got no real reason to continually refine you’re package for the fans. Dana is out to make money, nothing more.

I for one never seen this coming, but am excited that some of the burning questions in MMA may be answered in the next couple of years. It is unfortunate that Zuffa didn’t take the reins away from Pudgy-Boi Coker and force the hand on some of these match-ups that all us fans would like to see sooner rather than later.
But suffice it to say I am pleased by this announcement and can’t wait to see these match-ups in the future.
We are certainly a huge step closer to seeing if the Fedor’s and Overeem’s and Diaz’s are ready for the big time. Or if they dont wanna play,…take their ball and go home.

@RWR don’t forget the libraries of footage and what not.

I totally agree with Hesh, and have been saying this all day. The main reasons for this acquisition are access to the Showtime deal, and secondarily the fighters, specifically the HW division. Though I don’t necessarily agree that Zuffa will double, or even measurably increase ppv revenue through this deal. I think it is questionable whether or not SF was even profitable for anyone other than Showtime, and that is only because they received a big piece of the pie while only investing air time. I think if the numbers come out you will see SF was likely more in debt than profitable, and that was likely their impetus to sell. So I don’t think the UFC is doing this to dramatically increase revenue, but rather to secure access to Showtime, and shore up market share.

In other news: Since Dana is supposedly a man of forgiveness & all about making smart business decisions, how’s about dumping the anonymous tits and ass, and bringing back Natasha, Logan, and Ali to be Strikeforce’s ring girls?

@Letitrain
Just excited for the sport man. This kind of stuff is going to be a positive thing for everyone involved I think. I don’t know HONESTLY what the future holds but I do know that as long as Dana is running the show it’s in good hands. Sorry I can’t join that whole hate Dana white train I never disliked the dude theres no justification to it.

Oh, Gus Johnson, how we will miss you when you go. No one will ever come close to rockin’ the tranny announcer look like you can, big guy.

@Dagnut

No No sir. I think you have a valuable opinion. I don’t think Dana will buy everything up. Close to it? Yes. I can’t honestly tell you what I would do if he didn’t let me fight or this happened or that happened. There is always going to be smaller productions. There will always somewhere else to fight even if it isn’t on Pay per view or spiketv. Now that aside, Dana has always come off fair and good to his word for the most part. Like what he did for Diego and Kampmann at the last fight. That was some straight up shit man. I don’t think YOU ARE RETARDED I think other people are come on dagnut you know I love you. HOLLA

One would think you bet money on it, Karma. With all your bragging about making a guess that panned out.

DW has gotta be stoked, he just made M1 and EA shit a brick simultaneaously.

@ Karma – I would put Gil at about the same place in the overall rankings as I would put the rest of the SF champs. No higher than 5, and about 2 solid wins away from a title shot. And no, I think if they combined the leagues, you would see real quickly that Aoki has been oversees for years. The wrestlers with better stand-up would destroy Aoki in the UFC. Since that is Gil’s best win recently, I would not rank him in the top 5. He might be gifted a title shot, but I don’t think he is deserving yet. And I don’t think Melendez could take Edgar, Maynard or Penn at LW.

^ Well put the both of you

@ KarmaAtemyCat…your an aspiring fighter so I’ll put this in simple terms you might understand…If White keeps buying up all the promotions…and White dislikes you(which he’s quite partial too), and most importantly you dislike him and think he’s a fake, vile , hypocritical, money hungry, scum of the earth, with no respect for fighters…who discourages any fighter from trying to control their own image rights…who discourages any fighter from competing in other disciplines….who is hell bent on complete control….WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU DO THEN?
..and I’m the retard and your the guy who loves the sport…sweet.

^^
precisely

Also the keywords in the interview from Dana were ” tweaked ” and ” help” in reference to their future managerial dynamic (Coker/White). Loosely translated those words mean ” we’re going to fix some of the stupid shit those dbags couldn’t get right”

If you were convinced that Dana White “hates Strikeforce and thinks every fighter there sucks”, then you’re a bit naive. Dana said what he said about SF because they were competing with Zuffa. Now they’re PART of Zuffa. For the time being, the SHOWTIME deal gives SF exposure from a medium that the UFC doesn’t have access to. Someone else commented above that the people buying SF PPVs are the same people buying UFC PPVs, so Zuffa purchasing SF doesn’t bring in more viewers. This is correct, however, it DOES bring in a ton of money. If John Doe buys a UFC PPV and an SF ppv, he’s still one viewer, but now Zuffa has doubled their PPV income for that viewer. Dana White will always promote the UFC, but now he doesn’t have to promote AGAINST SF. At the end of the day, the two companies have different ways of conducting business but both are reasonably successful, so for the time being, there’s no need to blow up SF.

@ BigPhil – Dana’s scorched earth policy against Affliction is their fault for trying to compete with his business, not his fault. He controls advertising and sponsorships for his company. Coke doesn’t have to provide ad space on their can for Pepsi. If anything, the fact that Dana hated them so much, but then made a deal where they are now a key sponsor shows his consistent ability to forgive and forget, and make smart business decisions. He may hold a grudge when someone wants to hurt his business, but he has shown an ability to make nice when it is a smart business move.

@Torxxx
How do you come to that elusive deduction?

@RWR Gilbert isn’t a legit Champion? Aoki isn’t a challenger?

wow… I liked Dana until now….. Looks like I’m gonna have to start following Bellator now. UFC anymore = judges scorecard fights…

@ Kimbo’s Bread – to tell you the truth, I think all the SF champs would lose to a good number of the UFC challengers, let alone the champs. While they might make a good fight of it, ultimately the highest I would put any SF champ in their respective division is about 5 or 6. Diaz hasnt fought a decent wrestler since leaving the UFC, but he has always been easy to put on his back. He stays active, but loses decisions. And even though Diaz has gotten better, I think the current wrestlers at WW are a lot more submission savvy than they were several years back, and are able to avoid most of what he would offer. I think Jacare has a lot of potential, but is still developing, hasnt been tested, and relies too much on natural athleticism and doesn’t gameplan well. Hendo is Hendo – tough fight for anyone, inconsistent, and increasingly one dimensional and slowing down. I’d like to see Overeem fight 3 times in one year where he is tested each time. Beyond that, I still don’t know how Overeem would do against some of the big wrestlers, and he really hasn’t had any tests recently either. Not hating on any of them, but I think the only one of the SF champs that we have a good idea about how they will do against the best in their division is Hendo since he has competed against them over the last few years. And I don’t think Hendo even ranks in the top 5 of MW or LHW, but is somewhere in the 5-10 spot at LHW. Probably around 8 or 9.

doubt*

I don’t he’ll have a lot of say in that though Phil because with Showtimes hands in the pot and the contract with M1 Global. I don’t know maybe your right.

Yeah , watch the helwani interview. All Dana’s talk about Coker still running things his way is total PR bullshite. We all know who will be calling the shots.

That said. At least Strikeforce events will be on fucking time now.

I really don’t believe it will take two years to integrate the two promotions. And just because Dana said it doesn’t mean a damn thing. This is the guy who hates Strikeforce and thinks every fighter there sucks. This is the guy who used a scorched earth policy against Affliction sponsoring fighters when they started promoting but now sells cards as UFC presented by Affliction. You can’t totally hate Dana because he did help to get MMA where it is today, but there is no denying the guy is a total scumbag.

And I also think this is bad news for MMA as a sport.

We need some Drano in this thread.

@Hesh

Well put sir.

Like usual, half the comments display a complete lack of understanding of what’s going on here. The most telling thing will be to see what happens with SF fighter contracts. If they stop offering long-term deals that’ll be the writing on the wall indicating a merger in a couple of years once the showtime deal is over. If not, then they’ll continue to operate as two lines of business within the same company like Dana said in the interview about 1000 times. Having all the top MMA talent in the world under the same company is a step in the right direction. Like it or not, the best thing for the sport, the best way to get the best guys to fight each other is to have ONE major league. While this might not be great for the fighters, it IS great for the fans.

@Gorg

Haha, Google is my eyewitness.

Sometimes things like this happen in MMA.

“Waxedpants Says:
Holy Shit! I pass out on a 2 day benzo bender and this is what I wake up to ? Godzirra destroyed Japan and Zuffa bought Strikeforce?” Hahahahahahahahahaha

Yeah… Sorry about that Japan deal, but I had nothing to do with buying Strikeforce!

And Karma: Pics or it didn’t happen!

I’m refusing to believe this until April 2nd.

@Focusyn
I’ve always been like this. When I’m right I throw in the faces of those people who tried to argue the point. Dually note I am right on a regular basis when it comes to MMA related things such as well this. It has nothing to do with my ego just a bit excited. Sorry if I shit on “The coats” or around “The Coat area” it was not my intention.

Holy Shit! I pass out on a 2 day benzo bender and this is what I wake up to ? Godzirra destroyed Japan and Zuffa bought Strikeforce?

Did I wake up in the wrong dimension again ? I gotta lay off the drugs.

wonder what this means for GSP’s move to 185….Maybe he’ll wait and fight the 179 lb fighter in strike force?

Do they have anyone that would pose a challenge?

Is it April the 1st?

Damn Karma does your ego really need to be stroked that bad? Who gives a fuck if you called it; it wasn’t a far fetched prediction at all- just a genius business move that many of us dreaded.

@ RWR

Jacare is the weakest of those champs. Besides Munoz, he’d lose to any of those UFC guys.

I’m not sure this will be a good thing. Just like the WEC getting absorbed by the UFC, I think this will eventually lead to less shows overall. I hope they don’t fuck this up. If they fire Mauro maybe I’ll reconsider my hesitation on this deal.

Damn. Game changer indeed.

Overeem vs Lesnar.

The mere thought of it! GRAAH!

Anyone who employs GuJo and Framrock deserves to be shit on no matter who the owner is.
I imagine that as long as SF has a contract with Showtime, Dana will milk that as an advertising platform, while slowly bleeding SF dry of the best talent, as Steampunk said.
@ El Guapo – I just don’t think any of SF’s champions deserve to fight the UFC champions yet. Not that there aren’t some great fights to be made between the two leagues, but SF just doesn’t have deserving challengers for GSP and Silva right now. That being said, if they were to fully integrate tomorrow (which that does not seem to be their intention at all), here are some logical matches for SF champions in the UFC that I would love to see:
Diaz vs Kampmann
Diaz vs Sanchez 2
Diaz vs Condit
Diaz vs Kos
Diaz vs Alves
Diaz vs Penn
At middleweight:
Jacare vs Marquardt
Jacare vs Maia
Jacare vs Bisping
Jacare vs Toquinho
Jacare vs Munoz
Jacare vs Okami
At LHW:
Hendo vs Franklin 2
Hendo vs Rampage 2
Hendo vs Machida
Hendo vs Bader
At HW:
Overeem vs JDS
Overeem vs Carwin
Overeem vs Lesnar
 
in each case I think the SF champs are two fights away from a UFC title shot, except perhaps Overeem if he beat someone like JDS or Lesnar, but they are fighting each other. That is only because HW is a less deep division.

I agree Spicymeatball I agree completely you and exect make very good points.

Man I just wish Strikeforce would send over its top talent to the UFC now, the UFC’s middleweight division is so stale right now, Diaz could be an instant contender at 170, Gilbert Melendez vs Edgar, all the Heavyweights, Fedor to 205 the options are endless.

People forget that all of Dana’s shit talking about Strikeforce was mostly about them acquiring Fedor. It doesn’t really change the sport a whole lot anymore other than The UFC isn’t in direct competition with Strikeforce anymore. This was really just a strategic business decision for Dana and it gives him the inside track to signing guys like Overeem when their strike force contracts are up. People should stop being butt hurt and realize this will just enhance the product all around.

@Danomite
Yes sir that sounds about right for TWO YEARS. Then its balls to the wall merger time.

I just watched the interview. Sounds to me like Dana wants to keep Strikeforce as a ‘minor league’ promotion that he can use to build up guys before bringing them into the UFC. I actually like the idea. We can continue to see one-sided KOfests on Strikeforce and see the top guys fight each other in the UFC, but now Strikeforce will look like they are run by competent human beings instead of a bunch of a-holes.

As long as they run that half asses broadcasting team. Yes. We will continue to shit on them.

Two questions:

Is CP going to continue shitting on Strikeforce moving forward?

Is CP banned from Strikeforce press events?

I can’t wait to read the coverage SF receives from this site.

lol watch the interview…

wish i could edit out the redundant opening sentance.

@El Guapo

Well in two years their all going to be under the same flag I suspect WHICH MEANS it wont matter whos champion of what. Just great fights with amazing fighters.

at least there will be a few future “fun” matchups for Couture in the future after he loses to Machida. Maybe he can be matched up against Herschel Walker so he can cash another huge check while doing minimal training and preparing.

Destroyed? Really?? Me and Charlie have Brown Pride…wait for it… “Duh! Winning!”

Hey guys I got you an awesome picture to look at!!! LOL!!!

hxxp://i55.tinypic.com/2u9k4u1.jpg

@The Handsome One – I want to see that. Cain would get destroyed. DEE STROYED.

Paul Daley is gonna get his ass fired. Dude should have been trying to rebuild his bridge not smash the rubble into smaller pieces and light them on fire.

^ Oops. Check that. Nobody wants to see that.

Overeem vs Velasquez

Why would anybody want to see Strikeforce’s champions take on the UFC’s champions?? Ummmmmmmmm… becaaaause….uhhhhhh….hmmmm.

i opened up cagepotato and thought to myself, it can’t be April 1st already can it? i checked the calender and nope, it’s still march so i guess this is true. I thought DW was gonna buy K1 next, i didn’t think something like this would happen. Didn’t watch the interview but hopefully these are some things I want answered or things I want to happen:
- Dana must really want to get on showtime/sign fedor/squash all competition out of spite/stubbornness
-will Dana use Strikeforce as a way to put on entertaining one-sided squash matches while using the UFC to put the best fighters in the world against each other?
-Does this finally mean the end of GuJo and Frank Shamrock?
-will he continue to shit on Strikeforce every chance he gets because they’re still going to operate as “separate entities”?
-is the Strikeforce HWGP going to operate on time now that they will have the money to actually pay for more than two fighters to fight on the same night? so many questions… so many answers that probably were answered on the interview i’m too lazy to click on…

Gimmie a couple minutes to upload it Cecil! Just trying to respond to some random hate thats being generated for no apparent reason other then me calling this entire situation from before it was a wet dream.

Oh and fedor is gonna retire for sure now :/

Hahaha! Paul Daley is already crying on the UG threatening to pull out of the Diaz fight.
 
MUUUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Pics of Karma’s jacked-up nose, please…

@fried taco

And rEplace shamrock with don frye please

I really just have three things to say here.
 
1) Bwahahahahahahahah!!!!
 
2) OMGWTFBBQ
 
3) Hey M1: BWaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!111111111111111111

So Steampunk22,RWR & Karmaatemycat serving logic like it was pie to fat kids.

I think Steampunk has the situation right.

@RWR the only reason I see them purchasing Sengoku is the fighters and because their making moves in asia.

@ Karma – no, I don’t think they’ll purchase Sengoku. Same reasoning as why I don’t think they have interest in Bellator.

before saying it will be good or bad for the sport, let’s see what happens. This could turn out to be the best thing for everybody, so you never know!

Now Paul Daley is talking shit like “I don’t know if I want to be fighting under Dana White/Zuffa, making them money”.
 
I just bought tickets to Daley vs. Diaz this morning. If Daley doesn’t fight on April 9th, he’s gonna be feeling MY left hook. muhfuka

See I think you are wrong. He CLEARLY stated NO CO PROMOTING. It wont happen for ATLEAST 2 years. God my caplocks button is becoming warn down from all this emphasis on the facts. No seriously though nobody saw this coming? Nobody thought ZUFFA would purchase Strikeforce? Does nobody see them picking up Sengoku if Japan doesn’t melt down(TOOOO SOOON). I dunno just saying I did call this. It’s not my fault I’m an objective observer of the sport. Did I mention I have a jacked up nose from training last nite who wants to see pictures?

@ Karma AMen Brother!! Amen.. I wonder is Fedor out of the picture after that? Or does Dana figure a way to get him in the octagon or get his guys over there without co promoting? My money is on Fedor retiring at the end of the two years.

I knew once Dana saw the latest Gina Carano pics he was going to have to get her somehow! Now go Gina and make Dana a sammich!!!

I would want to see Diaz fight GSP, but only because I fucking hate his ass and would greatlsy enjoy GSP beating him to a pulp.

Holy fucking shit.

Karma is actually mostly right. If you watch the whole interview, DW says that there is not going to be any crossing sides for fighters while those fighters are still under contract. When contracts are up, SF or UFC can court whomever they want but fighters will not be switching brand under contract; new contracts must be signed. “No Co-Promotion” is the key phrase here, even within the same parent company.

IMO, its likely that UFC will just bleed SF out over the next two years, shedding any excess weight and using it as a holding company for fighters it doesn’t want to totally let go of. I would guess that no fighter is going to be signing a SF contract that will be longer than that 2 year expiry date. Once that hits, the UFC will absorb SF the same way it did WEC. Shed the excess garbage, bring in the top talent.

Plus they get access to the video/media library that SF has, good way to hype incoming top talent.

@ El Guapo – why would anyone demand either of those fights? Hendo’s last fight at MW was a one-sided loss to a WW, and Diaz has done nothing to deserve a fight with GSP or make me think he would even be a challenge for him. I would be amazed if Hendo retains his quarter-mil/fight + merchandizing rights once his current contract is up, anyway.
The good thing will be that we will get to start settling arguments once there is some integration as the better guys eventually get filtered into the UFC. That could happen sooner rather than later if there are contract renegotiations, or some of the fighters are nearing the end of their SF contracts. Diaz should fight someone like Kampmann to see where he stands, not GSP.

Well so much for Josh Barnett. Have fun wrasslin’ in Japan, roid boy.

I wonder what the deal was, though, because unless Zuffa was able to make the acquisition without too much money I just don’t see a great reason to buy SF now. It isn’t like it adds viewers, since I would be amazed if there are any SF viewers that aren’t already UFC viewers. SF may have been carrying a ton of debt, making the deal pretty cheap for Zuffa. Plus, Strikeforce’s contracts are likely completely transferrable to the new ownership since they weren’t made in a backroom between Sakakibara and some Yakuza thugs. I just don’t really see what Zuffa gets out of this that expands their business that much. I love this sport, but I just don’t know if they can get people to buy any more PPVs than they already put out there.

Fuck you, DANA! rot in hell

I don’t think Dana has any interest in Bellator, so I wouldn’t worry too much. I think he was likely interested in SF’s HW division and possibly the Showtime exposure. Bellator has one or two mid-tier fighters, and maybe two more decent prospects, but nobody yet proven as world class. As that handful of fighters get more name recognition, they will simply leave Bellator to go to the UFC or SF.

I really thought some bazillionare was going to buy SF other than DW, but I am so happy it is him. There are how many different websites, clothing companies, smaller shows, a virtual explosion of MMA in the WORLD because of DW!

I agree with Karma….

WAR UNIFIED MMA!!!!!

@ Smitty

Well, no shit. It’s just the way the he presents himself that is super annoying.

@ PurplePancake
No, he just watched the interview.

@KarmaAteMyCat
I don’t know if that’s quite right.
I think White saying “no superfights” means just that the Strikeforce champs don’t get an automatic title fight against the UFC champion in their division, but that doesn’t mean he won’t offer a couple of those guys fights in the UFC instead of Strikeforce. If both sides agree, contracts can be shredded, why not?

Didn’t any of you dummies watch the interview??? This is gonna be a great thing in a couple years!

Oh look, it looks like Karma has the inside info. I know he can’t reveal his sources (I’m guessing its none other than DW himself), but I’m grateful for him revealing his superior insight and connections for us plebes. He hasn’t even gone to TUF auditions yet and he already is already on the inside. That guy is GOOD.

What does that mean for Daley?

Karma… what?

Okay SUPERFIGHTS are not happening contracted individuals are staying in their respected brand. For 2 years AT the VERY least this merger can’t go down. The two companies will still try and sway talent to come to their respected BRAND. All Strikeforce employee’s remain just that STRIKEFORCE employee’s Dana isn’t doing cross promotions it isn’t happening not until the two years is up and anyone saying this is bad for MMA is a complete fucking retard. Just saying BRO JUST SAYING! No but for CEREAL I called this shit I just have to keep saying this because I did and because it’d good to be on the side of Karma Which you are my Nation which you are!
WAR UNIFIED MMA!

So you dont want to fight here Fedor? FUCK YOU! I’ll buy the whole fucking organization.

Wow, is this for real? I would’ve never expected that.
I don’t really give a fuck about Strikeforce, but I kinda hope Bellator stays independent, I like their style. And I hope this doesn’t lead to fewer fights, Strikeforce was entertaining a lot of times.

Strikeforce VS UFC Heavyweight Tournament. Make it happen.

Dana’s first order of business: fire Frank Shamrock. PLEAAASSSSEEEEEE!!!!

Look people first and foremost dana is a fucking genious…..hypocrite maybe , but first and foremost he’s a fucking business man with the fertitta brothers took a defunct old school ufc and made it what it is today. took over wec now merged. bam all the more awesome fights, now he has strikeforce…BAMMMM…. after a year or so he’s going to fire that fuckweed coker, and once the strikeforce things with showtime come to fruition, hell fucking merge them all.. then well have fucking fights like every 2 weeks… how do you see this as a bad deal??

i call it fucking smart business sense…

Dana call me i need a job homie.. let me call the shots ringside … oh and pick up them jap hotties from japan that are out of work… i got an idea for a womans bukkake fight championships…Hooahh mutherfucka Hooah!!!!

RIP Strikeforce… it’s only a matter of time before you are bled dry.

GSP vs Nick Diaz

Spider vs Hendo Part Deux

But i dont think she really counts as a women her penis is bigger then mine

@Friedtaco
ROFL

@fried

Yea Dana said cyborg will be fighting Aldo for the title in two months

It’s not April fools day yet. You can’t be serious. Are you kidding me? That’s not possible. Couldn’t be true. I don’t believe you. You’re putting me on. Are you pulling my leg? Are you yanking my chain?

@SethF: Beautiful.

@CrushCo – the clock is ticking! Zuffa > Microsoft

Now the guy’s got Dana as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Dana. Trouble with the bill? He can go to Dana. Trouble with the cops, deliveries, M-1, he can call Dana. But now the guy’s gotta come up with Dana’s money every week, no matter what. Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning, huh? Fuck you, pay me.

Oh, wait, what about the women? Does this mean there may eventually be women in the UFC? At least women fighting for Zuffa!

What the FUCK?!?!?!?!

@Fried Taco: what’s the over under on the Bellator purchase? Two months?

wow dana is a big ass hipocrit.

At least we still have Bellator…

I called this shit for the past year straight. Told you fuckers. I told you. God sorry it’s just good to be right.

Bad news for the sport IMO.. monopoly is never a good thing..what a hypocritical as$hole.