Strikeforce to Sally Forth, Plans 6-8 Events on Showtime in 2012

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Strikeforce will continue to appear on Showtime in 2012, broadcasting between six and eight live events on the premium cable network.

UFC President Dana White, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and Showtime Sports Executive Vice President Stephen Espinoza jointly announced on Thursday that the Zuffa-owned promotion has come to terms with the premium cable network for a new broadcast deal.

UFC parent company Zuffa purchased Strikeforce -- then the UFC's largest rival -- in March of this year. Since the acquisition, three of Strikeforce's five male divisional champions have made the move to the Octagon.

Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz and light heavyweight king Dan Henderson made their UFC returns this fall, earning exciting victories over B.J. Penn and Mauricio Rua in October and November, respectively. Strikeforce heavyweight titlist Alistair Overeem will debut in the Octagon on Dec. 30, as “The Demolition Man” locks up with former UFC champ Brock Lesnar in a No. 1 contender's bout at UFC 141.

Though White has stated in the past that he was eager to bring Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez to the UFC sooner rather than later, the UFC boss asserted on Thursday that Melendez would continue to fight in Strikeforce's hexagonal cage for the foreseeable future.

“Gilbert is pumped to stay in Strikeforce,” said White. “If he wins his next fight, he will continue to defend his belt in Strikeforce, and he is absolutely f---ing excited about it.”

Additionally, White and Coker confirmed that both the Strikeforce 135- and 145-pound women's divisions will be featured in 2012.

“The women's divisions [are] very popular, so we're going to keep both,” White said. “Cris 'Cyborg' [Santos] is a huge star. People are excited to see her fight.” The executives also announced that following the conclusion of Strikeforce's heavyweight grand prix, the promotion will do away with its heavyweight division. The tournament final between Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier is expected to go down in March. According to Coker, the winner of that fight will compete once more, and then the promotion will say goodbye to the big boys.

“After the tournament finals, the winner will fight a top-rated heavyweight, and then we'll do away with the division. Nothing is determined [regarding the opponent], but we'll have a dialogue with [Strikeforce matchmaker] Sean [Shelby] and the [officials] in Las Vegas, and we'll determine who that heavyweight will be.”

Coker went on to explain that Strikeforce will focus on building contenders and champions in the remaining divisions, working towards crowning new welterweight and light heavyweight titlists in 2012.

According to Espinoza, the Showtime broadcast team will generally stay intact, though event assignments are to be determined. Regarding the Strikeforce Challengers series, Espinoza explained that fights that would have taken place at those events will now likely take place on event undercards, which are slated to be broadcast on sister network Showtime Extreme.

“We've decided to consolidate the programming,” said Espinoza. “The preliminaries [will air] on [Showtime] Extreme immediately preceding the televised main [card]. Whether or not it will still be called 'Challengers,' I don't know. I think it makes more sense to make it one, huge, cohesive night of programming.”

Strikeforce kicks off the new year on Jan. 7 with a middleweight title fight from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In the titular main event, American Kickboxing Academy standout Luke Rockhold will defend his 185-pound belt against UFC veteran Keith Jardine. The event coincides with a free preview weekend on Showtime.