The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the pound-for-pound undisputed king of mixed martial arts organizations. Dana White, UFC and Zuffa have all become synonymous with MMA.
Though several promotions have challenged the UFC, eventually they all “tap out” and submit to White and Zuffa czar Lorenzo Fertitta.
The only promotion to even test the UFC was the Pride organization in Japan. Many of the UFC’s biggest attractions—Rampage Jackson, Shogun Rua, Chuck Liddell, the Nogueiras to name a few—were Pride legends. Unfortunately, rumors of corruption and the loss of a major TV deal doomed Pride resulting in its consumption by the UFC.
EliteXC tried and failed miserably. WEC was purchased by Zuffa and eventually swallowed up by the UFC. Enter Strikeforce, the new No. 2 promotion in MMA.
While they entertained many UFC castoffs, Strikeforce possessed decent talent of their own, including Alistair Overeem and Gilbert Melendez. Ultimately, they too fell under Zuffa’s thumb. Since then, we have all waited for the UFC to squeeze and devour Strikeforce “Boa constrictor”-style.
In the latest turn of events, UFC president Dana White announced on Friday that Strikeforce has renewed its deal with Showtime and will continue in 2012, minus the heavyweight division. Having already pilfered some of the organizations top talent, why won’t they shoot this dead horse already? Here’s why:
“you can shear a sheep many times, but skin him only once.” – Rounders (1998)
The UFC is a sports organization. Like Major League Baseball, the UFC is the dominant league of its sport and must keep an influx of talent. Once the UFC cuts a fighter, he typically joins another organization. If he wins some fights and proves himself, he could get another shot at the UFC.
Instead of cutting fighters, they could be sent down to the UFC’s minor league, also known as the Strikeforce promotion.
A UFC farm system would offer:
- A steady pipeline for potential talent.
- Continued revenue from fighters deemed not to be UFC-caliber.
- Opportunities for up-and-coming fighters to have a chance to get TV exposure early in their careers.
- Cultivate and develop women’s MMA without risking damage to the UFC brand name.
Regardless of the UFC’s assurance that The Ultimate Fighter show is here to stay, it’s not generating enough home-grown talent. After producing three UFC champions from its first four seasons, none of the winners from the last 10 seasons have become champion and only two winners—Ryan Bader and Roy Nelson—could even be considered legitimate title contenders.
The UFC is a financial juggernaut, but it has the potential to become a global fiscal machine. If the Strikeforce brand is utilized to its full potential, UFC could soon become known as “the fifth major.”
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