ZUFFA PURCHASES STRIKEFORCE

The UFC apparently wasn't the only suitor of Strikeforce.

ProElite Inc., the once-mighty fight-promotion company purchased for pennies on the dollar in February 2010 by Stratus Media Group Inc., had been in active negotiations with the recently acquired Strikeforce and had met face to face with CEO Scott Coker, sources close to the negotiations today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

"There were offers made both ways," said one source.

Those negotiations came to an end today when UFC president Dana White announced that the UFC's parent company, Zuffa LLC, has purchased Strikeforce with the intention of running shows parallel to the UFC.

ProElite Inc. first inquired about purchasing Strikeforce mere months after it was taken over by Stratus Media Group in early 2010, and talks had intensified within the past month, one source said.

The revamped company's proposal to acquire the California-based promotion may have included cash and stock paid to Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment, a sports-franchise company that owns Strikeforce along with Coker, another source said.

The fight promotion had been looking to raise capital in recent months, sources said, though it's unclear whether the search was motivated by imminent financial troubles.

According to the "San Jose Business Journal," Strikeforce generated $30 million in revenue for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

"Silicon Valley was relatively happy with the returns but didn't want to take it to the next level," one source said.

But another source said the sports franchise had been losing cash and had grown skittish with its investment.

Two weeks prior, ProElite Inc. officials became aware of the UFC's interest in Strikeforce, though it appears they did not attempt to sweeten their offer.

White said Strikeforce will continue to operate as a separate entity from the UFC, though there will be changes behind the scenes at events plus changes to the look of shows. He said all fighters under contract with Strikeforce will serve out the remainder of their obligations with the promotion, which has a deal with Showtime for the next few years.

Fans may best remember ProElite Inc. as the parent company of EliteXC, which hosted 21 events from 2007 to 2008 before mounting costs halted operations. The company burned through millions of dollars raised in a 2006 initial public offering of stock. EliteXC operational costs and its purchases of ICON Sport, King of the Cage, Cage Rage and other international promotions were the primarily culprits for the estimated $55 million in losses. Most of its former executives, including onetime frontman Gary Shaw, since have left the promotion.

In early 2010, Stratus CEO Paul Feller said his company planned to revitalize the troubled brand and promote events, though to date, no such shows have taken place.

The company's last major event, the CBS-broadcast "EliteXC: Heat," drew a firestorm of controversy when allegations of fight-fixing surfaced after Seth Petruzelli's 14-second knockout of Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson. However, the Florida State Boxing Commission later cleared EliteXC of any wrongdoing in the October 2008 event.

Shocking news. I wonder if we'll be getting Strikeforce on ESPN soon?

I dunno, we didnt get WEC on tv here before the merger. I just hope someone here picks up SF and takes it off PPV channel.

Michael David Smith gives his two cents on what is going to happen with the UFC after Strikeforce was bought. Not surprisingly, he thinks business is going to get better in a lot of ways.



On the fights

What the UFC has always stood for, Dana White frequently says, is giving the fans the fights they want to see. And so while White says now that the fighters under contract to Strikeforce will remain in Strikeforce and the fighters under contract to the UFC will stay in the UFC, it's just a matter of time before we see crossover super fights. If the fans are clamoring for it, it would be crazy not to do it.

My money is on the first super fight coming in 2012, with the Strikeforce heavyweight champion taking on the UFC heavyweight champion. Imagine the hype surrounding an Alistair Overeem vs. Cain Velasquez fight, if Overeem has won the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament and Velasquez has beaten Brock Lesnar or Junior dos Santos. That would be the fight the fans would want to see, and it's the fight the UFC would make.

Eventually, I think the UFC will do exactly what it did with the WEC, and fold the smaller promotion into the bigger promotion. But before that happens, expect to see some Strikeforce-UFC super fights, even if those fights aren't currently in White's plans.

On the fighters

Most of the fighters under the Strikeforce banner, have to be thrilled at the idea of Zuffa's promotional muscle getting behind them. Someone like Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez is going to see his stock surge among MMA fans, many of whom are exclusively UFC fans and don't know who Melendez is.

Where it's a bad thing for fighters is that if you're a free agent, you can't count on two big promotions bidding for your services anymore. Fighters like Dan Henderson and Jake Shields, who benefited from switching promotions for more money, won't have that option anymore.

On the media

MMA still doesn't receive as much mainstream media attention as it should, and one of the reasons is that the mainstream media still doesn't really get how MMA works: The average newspaper sports editor wouldn't know Cain Velasquez from Kimbo Slice. For the mainstream media, this move will simplify things, and make the sport easier to follow, and therefore easier to cover.

On the TV deals

Strikeforce's television model is fundamentally different from the UFC's, with the UFC focusing on pay-per-view and basic cable while Strikeforce goes for premium cable on Showtime and, occasionally, network television on CBS. The UFC has tried hard to get a premium cable deal (a deal with HBO fell apart at the 11th hour), and getting the UFC on network television has long been viewed as a necessary step toward mainstream acceptance. Taking over Strikeforce means taking over the TV contracts, and it's a step toward a world where the UFC is able to gain more exposure on TV without cannibalizing its bread-and-butter pay-per-view business.

On the calendar

White has said in the past that he envisions a future time when there's never a week when the UFC isn't running shows somewhere in the world -- and maybe even running multiple shows on the same weekend. As the UFC is currently constructed, that's not possible. But with the addition of more fighters and more staff, you can easily see how 52 shows a year -- or more -- is a real possibility. In 2010, the UFC did 24 events, the WEC did eight events and Strikeforce did 15 events. Combining the three promotions makes it entirely possible that Zuffa could put out a schedule in which it never takes a week off. Not in 2011 or 2012, but some day in the not-too-distant future.

A little off topic, but Babalu Sobral is another I can't see leaving SF for the UFC. I don't think Dana will ever let him back in. I wonder what will happen to Tito if he loses another fight. Will SF take him or will he have to find another company.

Dana on Fedor.

"I don’t see any irony ... Even though Fedor is now under contract with Zuffa, I still have a hard time imagining he’ll ever fight in the UFC. We’ll see, but that’s my bet right now. There are few fights, though, that can’t be made now. And that’s the good thing. You know me ... I’m as big a fan of this as anybody and I love making the fights that everyone wants to see. At the end of the day, it’s all about making great fights and the fights the people want to see. That’s what we’re doing."

Well its been 24 hours now since i first heard the news, and i still dont know what exactly to make of it.



Guess we should just wait and see how it unfolds.



I think the best way for everyone in this situation, is to keep them both seperate, though UFC should give some fighters to help strenghten SF roster which is really thin. And then have a big SF v UFC card at the end of the year on PPV.

ChelseaQuinsfan wrote:A little off topic, but Babalu Sobral is another I can't see leaving SF for the UFC. I don't think Dana will ever let him back in. I wonder what will happen to Tito if he loses another fight. Will SF take him or will he have to find another company.

I think Tito will at the least end up at Strikeforce I mean Tito is still a draw ands would be a good signing for Bellator Zuffa will try and tie him up unless he rires the only way Zuffa will let Tito go is if he signs a Commentary deal with Bellator

Had a bit of time to digest the news, and I'm still uncertain as to whether this will be good or bad.

From a fighters perspective, I cannot see how it will benefit. From a fans perspective, it may, it all depends on whether we will see 'unification' fights, or whether SF will turn into UFC Div 2. I suppose only time will tell.

Well I'll be a blue nosed gopher!

Apparently Scott Coker tried to buy total control of Strikeforce from Silicon Valley Sports entertainment, but in the end they sold it to ZUFFA instead.

Evening chaps, I haven't read all of the post so sorry if I go over ground already covered... MAJOR news on the MMA scene today... I'm surprised firstly and a little disappointed secondly. Zuffa now own the two only significant MMA organisations in the business today, for fighters this means "my way or the highway"

i'll take any other sport in the world today as an example... You fall out of love with one team or you want to take on a different challenge, you move onto another team. Not in MMA you fall out with zuffa your FUCKED!

This is prob the end of Fedor and M1... are zuffa going to let people like Overeem and Barnett fight in dream and K1? as they will be losing out on the profits?

We will be soon paying stupid prices for events and look how many events there are in a year!

I know alot of you are saying it stops strikeforce from going out of business, but they may aswell of have... its going to be UFC1 and UFC2 it's POINTLESS! 2 or 3 years down the line they will merge, and they are going to clog up the scene... we already have to wait sometimes up to 12 months to see some title fights...

I'm slowly getting racked off with the way things are going, (zuffa) UFC are taking over the world and it fucking STINKS! If only the Japs could sort themselves out and get a good org going, I was reading that cro cop interview again earlier and watched his training videos thinking he doesn't want to be in the UFC and I know other fighters prob don't want to fight in america too but have to... Cro Cop has no care for america but you all know for a fact the man loved Pride and the Japanese... it's just such a shame!

I'm dribbling on but I hope you kinda understand what i'm getting at, as i'm typing this in a rage! and dancing on ice is on the bloody tele too

Yeah the word going around is that SVSE decided to auction off their shares of SF (50%), and got plenty of bids, but once Zuffa found out, they pounced and outbid everyone. Coker had no choice but to sell his remaining shares to Zuffa aswell and join them.

i agree Pins...its a bit sad.
MMA is an american owned sport now.

It's shocking mate there no competition anymore... Can't understand why they have done it their in a great position at the moment and expanding quite well as far as I knew, they must have been losing a lot of money it's the only reason I can think of!

I heard an interesting rumour that Coker is going to team up with Bob Arum's Top Rank and when the Strikeforce/Showtime deal is up they're going to start promoting MMA/kickboxing events together under a new banner. It will basically be a new strikeforce but not only that, they'll try and bring the K1 fighters and competition in the equation. Coker and Arum both have good working relationships with CBS/Showtime and believe they can come to an agreement that's beneficial to all parties. Fighters would basically be free agents and would fight under the new banner in a scenario more like boxing than what has been traditional in MMA.

I'm really happy about that, it would sort out K1, but it still means the K1 would have to come over America... K1 is Asian man! I am really pissed off about this whole scenario maybe a little over the top ha ha

Coker apparently made '$15-20Million' from this personally, enough start up capital to start a new org when Strikeforce folds right off the bat,
Arum getting involved may be a bit awkward, given his previous statements pertaining to MMA.

I agree but he knows the fight business and how to make money and promote fights. If he just lays the groundwork and lends the Top Rank resources but let's Coker run things, then it could work.

Zuffa, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, made its fourth purchase of a competing mixed martial arts promotion in the last five years on Saturday when it completed a purchase of Strikeforce from the San Jose, Calif.-based Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment.

In time, the deal will create a super company in which all, or virtually all, of the world’s elite fighters will compete in the same league.

That time is still not here yet.

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Prized fighter Fedor Emelianenko, who is coming off back-to-back losses, won't likely fight in the UFC.

(Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)
UFC president Dana White said Strikeforce will continue to be run as a separate company and be led by Scott Coker. MMA Fighting.com first reported the deal on Saturday.

Since 2006, the UFC has purchased the Pride Fighting Championship, the World Fighting Alliance and World Extreme Cagefighting. Zuffa officials indicated at the time of the purchase of both Pride and WEC that they’d be run as separate companies. Pride never ran another show after Zuffa purchased it in early 2007, while WEC did run as a separate company until it was merged into the UFC late last year.

“I know you have heard this from me before, but we have no intention of making any changes,” White told Yahoo! Sports by telephone from his Southern California home. “One thing we always do is honor our contracts. Showtime has a contract with Strikeforce and it will continue. They pull decent ratings. Showtime is happy with Strikeforce and Strikeforce is happy with Showtime. We plan to operate them as they are now, as a separate company from the UFC.”

That is largely because Zuffa doesn’t plan to interfere with the contracts that Strikeforce has with its fighters. Fighters currently under Strikeforce won’t be able to move to the UFC, no matter how good they are, until their Strikeforce deals expire.

However, those who sign deals with Zuffa now and in the future could find themselves shuttling between leagues. Eventually, when all of the current Strikeforce contracts expire, all Zuffa-contracted fighters will be free to float between leagues to create the best matchups.

It is conceivable at that point that Zuffa would shut down the Strikeforce brand and fold it into the UFC, but White said he’s not thinking that far ahead.

The UFC had the deepest roster of talent of any MMA promotion prior to the purchase, but Strikeforce had a number of elite fighters on its roster as well, including welterweight champion Nick Diaz, light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson, lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem and heavyweight contender Fedor Emelianenko.

With the contracts it owns between the UFC and Strikeforce, Zuffa probably now has 90 percent of the top 100 fighters in the world, though White, typically, believes it’s higher.

“I’d think we have 100 of the top 100,” he said.

White said the UFC needed the fighters, which was Zuffa’s impetus for the deal. He said it plans to increase the number of shows it runs and said it’s conceivable it could, down the road, have more than one show running in different countries on the same night.

The purchase also creates some fascinating subplots. White has repeatedly hammered Showtime Sports general manager Ken Hershman and has railed on Showtime announcers, particularly Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Steven Quadros.

He’s also had a very rocky relationship with officials at M-1 Global, which have partnered with Strikeforce in its Showtime deal, as well as fighters such as Henderson, Josh Barnett and Paul Daley. White cut Daley last year after Daley sucker-punched Josh Koscheck following a UFC match in Montreal, and said Daley would never fight in the UFC again. But White said Saturday that Zuffa would honor Daley’s contract with Strikeforce.

White, though, said he liked Coker and would have no problem working with him.

“If you know me, you know you don’t have to wonder whether I like someone or not,” White said. “I have never smashed Scott. I have always said I respected him and liked him and he’s going to continue to run the thing. He’s 100 percent in control.

“When we make decisions, we all get together as a team and make them and now that team includes Scott. But he’s running Strikeforce. Let’s be honest here: There are some people there, the Showtime executives, M-1, Henderson, who aren’t big fans of mine. But I don’t want them to be uncomfortable in their own league. Strikeforce is Showtime’s league and they have a contract with Strikeforce and we’ll let it run as it has.”

White said the changes that would be made would be mostly behind the scenes. He wouldn’t say if he would change Showtime’s announcing teams, though he said, “Showtime controls the production [for Strikeforce].”

“We’ll make some back-of-house improvements so the fighters will notice that things may run more smoothly, and the media may see a difference in how we do things, but this is still going to be Strikeforce,” White said.

The appeal of the purchase, though, is that MMA fans are one step closer to a super league that eliminates the issue of promotional boundaries preventing fights.

White for years tried to land Emelianenko, who has a business interest in M-1, and desperately wanted to match him at one point with then-UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and put the fight in Cowboys Stadium. But Zuffa could not come to terms with M-1 and Emelianenko hasn’t fought in the UFC.

The Japanese promotions are hemorrhaging money and the only other significant MMA promotion in North America is Bellator.

That means Zuffa soon will have the ability to make the best fights in every weight class, though, to listen to White, don’t expect to see Emelianenko in the Octagon anytime soon.

Zuffa has chased Emelianenko for five years and thought it landed his contract when it purchased Pride. But Emelianenko was a free agent and fought with other promotions, including the now-defunct Affliction and Strikeforce.

There is a certain irony in the fact that now that White finally has Emelianenko under contract, the Russian is coming off back-to-back losses and has talked of retirement.

“I don’t see any irony in that,” White said, chuckling. “Even though Fedor is now under contract with Zuffa, I still have a hard time imagining he’ll ever fight in the UFC. We’ll see, but that’s my bet right now.”

There are few fights, though, that can’t be made now. And that’s the good thing.

“You know me,” White said. “I’m as big a fan of this as anybody and I love making the fights that everyone wants to see. At the end of the day, it’s all about making great fights and the fights the people want to see. That’s what we’re doing.”

One of the best interviews Dana has ever given to be fair.

I'm trying to think, what top fighters are left that Zuffa doesn't have under contract? A couple in Sengoku? Anyone in Dream that doesn't have a deal with Strikeforce?

I wonder what Bloodstain Lane has to say about all this.

There is Hioki in Japan, but he is UFC bound apperently, Bellator have Alvares, Lombard, Konrad, Askren.

Also decent FW division in Warren, Soto, Sandro.


Theres probably a few more im missing in Japan like Hellboy, Kanehara etc..... But thats bascially it at the moment.

The Superfights WILL happen.

They cant happen now because fighters fighting for Strikeforce have contracts with SF that Zuffa still have to honor.

After the Contracts expire if they are top level fighters they will move to UFC. Eiteher SF will close or be used as a B league but I honestly see SF closing after current contracts expire etc..

So I wonder how many fights the top fighters have on their current contract?

I think Melendez signed a new one unfortunatly. Im dieing to see him fight edgar. Anyone know what others have? Diaz? Jacare? Hendo? Overeem?

I think the only ones UFC wont bring over are Fedor and Daley. I think they might bring Barnett over if he get to the GP finals and passes a piss test in the US.

It's pretty obvious when the Showtime/CBS Deal runs out that the Super fights will happen If the fighters choose to stay on with Zuffa the interesting thing though Is That Pro Elite II was willing to get in to MMA will they still want to come back even after losing Strikeforce to Zuffa.

Not sure on the Bob Arum rumour Uncle Bob is the last person you would expect to get in to MMA after what he has said saying that in terms of money to made he might think there is a chance but with Golden Boy being burned with Affliction I think he would have huge doubts

rudeboyben84 wrote:

I think Melendez signed a new one unfortunatly. Im dieing to see him fight edgar.

Melendez would destroy him. Gilbert's the number 1 LW in the world, Edgar is low end of the top 10.