MMA Paper Trail: Struck Down
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Strikeforce will promote its final event on Jan. 12 in Oklahoma
City. | File Photo: Stephen Albanese
Since Ultimate Fighting Championship parent company Zuffa LLC purchased Strikeforce in 2011, many overlooked public pronouncements and viewed the transaction as little more than a countdown until the number-two promotion’s fighters were absorbed into the UFC. After nearly two years and a history of lukewarm relations with Strikeforce broadcast partner Showtime, divorce proceedings appear to be under way.
The UFC and Showtime are reportedly negotiating the terms of a separation after the cancellation of two consecutive Strikeforce events in September and November due to the loss of main events to injuries. The final Strikeforce event, in January, has also lost its headliners, Luke Rockhold and Gilbert Melendez, due to injury. Showtime’s contract with Strikeforce, still valid after the UFC purchase, was to expire in March, though it contained options to extend.
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Photo: Sherdog.com
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It is known that Showtime has exclusive rights to Strikeforce fighters so long as the network has a television deal with Zuffa. It is not clear, though, to what degree those rights extend beyond the cessation of a television contract, and it is believed that is at the heart of the ongoing negotiations. Showtime’s rights to Strikeforce talents were strengthened after the UFC scooped up Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem and Nick Diaz after their contracts expired or were otherwise voided.
The news effectively marks the end of Strikeforce, which dates back the 1990s as a kickboxing promotion based in San Jose, Calif., and promoted the first sanctioned mixed martial arts event in California in 2006. That event, headlined by Frank Shamrock vs. Cesar Gracie, still holds the United States record for paid attendance for an MMA card. Strikeforce purchased the Showtime contract from the defunct EliteXC, the organization that launched MMA on Showtime in February 2007 and dissolved the next year.
Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza has said he intends to have MMA on the network in 2013, whether or not it is branded Strikeforce. Espinoza said he may even look to work with more than one promotion. World Series of Fighting, Xtreme Fighting Championships, and all-women’s promotion Invicta Fighting Championships have been bandied about as possibilities.
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