Rafael Cavalcante’s recent drug test failure following his fight against Mike Kyle is another unfortunate happening in a string of negatives for Strikeforce.
Cavalcante’s failure follows a drug test failure by ex-Strikeforce employee Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. In addition to his failure, Lawal blasted the athletic commission, which led to his release from the company.
Lawal has now signed with Bellator, which hurt Strikeforce as Lawal was one of the top stars in the company.
In addition to those two drug test failures hurting Strikeforce, another loss of a significant star has hurt the company. Paul Daley recently requested, and was granted, his release from Strikeforce. With his loss, Strikeforce lost yet another marketable star to their opposition, Bellator.
All of this falls on the heels of Brett Rogers’ arrest and release from the company last year, an event that created a bad image for the company. It cannot be directly attributed to the slumping of the company, but it definitely hurt its image.
Oh, and remember Brandon Saling, the man who had one fight with Strikeforce before they found out he was a Nazi sympathizer with a past of sexual misconduct? That definitely brought negative attention to Strikeforce.
With all of these marketable fighters no longer in active competition with the company (Daley, Rogers, Cavalcante and Lawal), in addition to the poaching of talent by the UFC (Dan Henderson, Nick Diaz and the entire heavyweight division), it is no wonder why Strikeforce’s numbers have been so bad lately.
The company is having trouble garnering respectable ratings for their shows. The recent drug test failures have now shown that Strikeforce is on its deathbed, if it isn’t already dead to begin with.
I don’t think the company has the strength to rebound at this point. Bellator is gaining steam through exciting shows, company-made stars and the signing of former Zuffa talent. Bellator is on a path of overtaking Strikeforce in the near future.
Strikeforce’s numbers will continue to falter and will lead to the overall demise of the company. Some of the fighters will make it to the UFC, such as Luke Rockhold, Tim Kennedy and Gilbert Melendez. Others, who don’t have as much name value, will be left unemployed, looking for opportunities from other promotions.
Strikeforce had a great run, but its faults have been exposed recently. At this point, it is safe to say that Strikeforce is dead and buried. Enjoy the memories, because it will soon be a thing of the past.
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