The Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson rivalry has officially come to an end.After being awarded a controversial split decision, Melendez quickly shut down the idea of a fourth fight with his longtime nemesis in an interview with Showtime Sports.”No. I …
The Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson rivalry has officially come to an end.
After being awarded a controversial split decision, Melendez quickly shut down the idea of a fourth fight with his longtime nemesis in an interview with Showtime Sports.
“No. I won the trilogy. This was supposed to be the end of it, like, let’s settle this. Didn’t we hear this over? ‘Let’s settle this once and for all.’ I think it was settled once and for all, but if you guys want to pay me triple or double, we’ll talk.”
For the first time in a long time, Melendez found himself in a fight at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier. The reigning lightweight champion was busted up on the feet and even taken down a few times by a game Thomson, who came into the bout as a major underdog.
When the verdict was announced and Melendez was declared the winner, an eruption of boos echoed throughout the entire arena in disagreement with the decision.
Despite being on the wrong end of the decision, Thomson was overly respectful after the fight and even asked fans not to boo Melendez. He did admit that he would be interested in a fourth bout if Strikeforce gives him an opportunity.
Unfortunately, the feeling isn’t mutual for “El Nino.”
If his interview with Showtime Sports wasn’t a convincing enough answer, Melendez’s actions at the post-fight press conference should be the final nail in the coffin.
USA Today posted updates of the incident on Twitter.
“Reporter asks Scott [Coker] if there’ll be a fourth fight. Gilbert: “Let me answer that: No.” and laughs.”
Last night, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and former champ Josh Thomson completed their trilogy of fights, with Melendez earning the win in the rubber match by split decision.
When Thompson secured Melendez’s back in the fourth…
Last night, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and former champ Josh Thomson completed their trilogy of fights, with Melendez earning the win in the rubber match by split decision.
When Thompson secured Melendez’s back in the fourth round and threatened with a rear naked choke, many believed that he deserved the victory. After all, the fight was close, and Melendez looked tired in the championship rounds.
This mentality destroys Melendez’s stock in people’s minds, leading them to believe that if he could not dominate Thomson, then he would falter against the top lightweights in the UFC. However, many still believe that Melendez is arguably the best 155-pound fighter in the world, based on his wins over fighters such as Clay Guida, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Shinya Aoki and Jorge Masvidal.
So, what is fact here? Is Melendez a sham? Is he a good talent but not championship material? Or is he really the best in the world?
People seem to really be underrating Thomson. Even here on this site, he has been talked about as a person that should not even be an obstacle for Melendez at this stage in his career.
Now, Thomson is not a top-tier mixed martial artist. However, he is extremely well rounded and holds some impressive victories, including some solid wins in the UFC. He managed to turn Melendez’s eye into a giant mess last night.
It is obvious that Melendez was the better mixed martial artist. However, his cardio suffered, and his accuracy faded when the swelling continued to increase. And yet, he was still able to outpoint Thompson and win the decision.
Even though it was close, and he was in some bad spots, Melendez is still a top lightweight. Maybe he isn’t the guy that will come to the UFC and start a reign at the top, but he showed us that he is still a top talent, and that he needs to come to the UFC.
Thomson proved more than anyone that he too belongs in the UFC. His last stint with the company ended when he was on the receiving end of a highlight KO by the former uncrowned king of the division, Yves Edwards.
Honestly, this was a great fight, with two talented 155ers battling it out for the third and presumably final time. It is no reason to degrade either fighter. They showed heart, talent and versatility, proving that they are worthy of being present on the big stage with Gray Maynard, Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson.
Maybe they won’t win the title, but they will both be competitive and exciting in MMA‘s most stacked division.
Mauro haters, hit mute now. Actually, everyone hit mute and read what I say about the fights below. (Video: YouTube/ShoSports)
Bruised and battered. Cut and bloodied. Josh Barnett’s face wasn’t one of a man who got out-wrestled last night. Olympic-level or not, wrestling doesn’t leave you looking like you put your head through a meat grinder. Don’t get me wrong, he did get out-wrestled last night, he just got out-struck as well. He got out-everythinged, if you want to get technical.
It didn’t have to be that way, of course. A lot of men would have wilted earlier–much earlier–in the onslaught of Daniel Cormier’s attack. But Barnett never thought of taking the easy way out, and today his face testifies to the evolving game of Cormier. The AKA product showed great versatility in his striking, staggering Barnett with heavy hands, head kicks, and knees. His combinations come fast, hard, and often, which explains why his hand surgeon is on retainer (yeah, he broke his hand again last night). When he did grab hold of “The War Master”, his grappling pedigree shone as well. He sent Barnett stumbling across the cage from the clinch and dolled out single-leg frequent flier miles, at one point flipping the former UFC champion in the air before slamming him to the mat.
Mauro haters, hit mute now. Actually, everyone hit mute and read what I say about the fights below. (Video: YouTube/ShoSports)
Bruised and battered. Cut and bloodied. Josh Barnett‘s face wasn’t one of a man who got out-wrestled last night. Olympic-level or not, wrestling doesn’t leave you looking like you put your head through a meat grinder. Don’t get me wrong, he did get out-wrestled last night, he just got out-struck as well. He got out-everythinged, if you want to get technical.
It didn’t have to be that way, of course. A lot of men would have wilted earlier–much earlier–in the onslaught of Daniel Cormier’s attack. But Barnett never thought of taking the easy way out, and today his face testifies to the evolving game of Cormier. The AKA product showed great versatility in his striking, staggering Barnett with heavy hands, head kicks, and knees. His combinations come fast, hard, and often, which explains why his hand surgeon is on retainer (yeah, he broke his hand again last night). When he did grab hold of “The War Master”, his grappling pedigree shone as well. He sent Barnett stumbling across the cage from the clinch and dolled out single-leg frequent flier miles, at one point flipping the former UFC champion in the air before slamming him to the mat.
If Cormier looked great last night it was only because Barnett forced him to. Josh had DC in trouble on more than one occasion, visibly hurting him in the second frame with a right hand-left knee combination, and later working dutifully for leg-locks on the ground. He too will have to nurse a broken hand suffered in the opening frame, but hopefully he’ll find his way to the Octagon soon.
The rubbermatch between Gilbert Melendez and challenger Josh Thomson was far more evenly contested and therefor far more difficult to judge. The old rivals started off slowly in a pair of cautious opening rounds. Both men found a home for their fists in those first two frames, but with the more active hands and several short-lived takedowns the champion edged out Thomson on the cards. “The Punk” came alive in the third, turning up the heat in a pivotal swing-round that could arguably have gone either way on a night where the scorecards bore little resemblance to the action taking place inside the cage.
Thomson took control in the championship rounds. Another slick trip takedown in the fourth round ended with the challenger taking Melendez’s back and threatening with several rear naked choke attempts. “The Punk” outlanded the champion two-to-one in significant strikes in the final round, taking Melendez down and maintaining top-control to close the bout.
Thomson suffered from repeated unintentional eye pokes throughout the bout, and a potential point deduction would have yielded a majority draw in a bout that either man could have been awarded under the Unified Rules. Under Melendez’s hometown ‘Stockton Rules‘, however, that belt is changing hands. “El Nino” got busted up in the exchanges and looked far more worse for wear after the fight. Though Thomson wasn’t exactly unleashing hell from above as the final bell rang, momentum had clearly shifted in his direction in the latter half of the battle. No matter who you had ahead, there will be no fourth fight and Melendez is keeping the strap.
In a far more decisive battle, Rafael Cavalcante evened the score in his rematch with Mike Kyle. Only seconds into their bout, “Feijao” connected with a knee to the grill that sent Kyle flying back against the cage. The Brazilian swarmed him on the ground with a torrent of hammerfists, many to the back of the head, before Kyle worked his way back to his feet. Perhaps inspired by Jon Jones pulling guard at UFC 145–not!–Feijao jumped around MAK’s waist and sunk in a guillotine. Kyle stayed standing for a bit before attempting to slam his way free of the choke, but Feijao rolled with the momentum and cranked away for the tap once they hit the ground.
In the evening’s opening tilt, late-replacement Chris Spang needed less than a round to dispatch Nah-Shon Burrell and even up his family’s MMA record over the weekend. Spang dropped Burrell halfway through the first then threw more high knees than a Rockettes performance. Fortunately for Burrell, he was out on his feet for much of the abuse, and referee Josh Rosenthal mercifully called the bout once Burrell collapsed his way out of Spang’s thai clinch and sprawled out on the canvas.
Also, if you didn’t catch the Virgil Zwicker-Carlos Inocente throwdown in the prelims, do yourself a favor. The only part of Zwicker’s body that Inocente doesn’t smash was his heart. It’s an entertaining scrap that casts Zwicker as the loveable anti-Sapp.
Main Card (on Showtime): -Daniel Cormier def. Josh Barnett by unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
-Gilbert Melendez def. Josh Thomson by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
-Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante def. Mike Kyle by submission (guillotine choke) at :33, R1
-Chris Spang def. Nah-Shon Burrell by KO at 1:35, R1
Preliminary Card (on Showtime Extreme): -Isaac Vallie-Flagg def. Cesias “JZ” Cavalcante by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
-Carlos Augusto “Guto” Inocente Filho def. Virgil Zwicker by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
-Gian Villante def. Derrick Mehmen by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
-Quinn Mulhern def. Yuri Villefort by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
-Bobby Green def. James Terry by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
The trilogy between Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson was completed on Saturday night at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier.After a hard-fought five rounds, Melendez came away with a very close split-decision victory (49-48, 48-49, 49-48) in a fight that…
The trilogy between Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson was completed on Saturday night at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier.
After a hard-fought five rounds, Melendez came away with a very close split-decision victory (49-48, 48-49, 49-48) in a fight that most would agree could have gone either way.
Once the decision was read, Thomson’s body language expressed extreme dissatisfaction. It appeared he was gearing up to rip the judging. Thomson’s cooler head prevailed, and he had this to say inside the cage to Showtime commentator Mauro Ranallo (via Contra Costa Times):
One thing I want to say is please don’t boo Gilbert. He’s one of the best fighters if not the best in the world. Please, he’s a great fighter man. He knows I love him he’s a great fighter. If I’m going to lose to somebody I’m glad it’s him.
Ranallo also posed the idea of a fourth fight in which Thomson responded enthusiastically with,”Who wants to see a fourth fight!”
In comparison, this is how excited Melendez was about a proposed fourth fight: “Yeah, sure whatever.”
The two men put on a great fight, but it is time for “El Nino” to move on to the UFC. As classy as Thomson was in defeat, Melendez seemed equally as disinterested in continuing his career with Strikeforce.
The good news is, Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier is a hell of a matchup — a classic generational battle between a battle-tested old veteran and a hungry up-and-comer. (As it turns out, Barnett is only like a year-and-a-half older than Cormier, but work with me here.) Also on the main card: Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson fight for Strikeforce’s lightweight title for the third time, while light-heavyweights Mike Kyle and Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante throw down in a rematch of their own.
Handling the play-by-play for the tonight’s Showtime broadcast of Strikforce: Barnett vs. Cormier is our own Elias Cepeda, who will be posting live results after the jump starting at 10 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let us know how you feel in the comments section. You ready for war? Because guys, we are always ready for war.
(The time for talking is over. The time for looking into a camera and screaming has just begun. Photo via Esther Lin/SHO Sports.)
The good news is, Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier is a hell of a matchup — a classic generational battle between a battle-tested old veteran and a hungry up-and-comer. (As it turns out, Barnett is only like a year-and-a-half older than Cormier, but work with me here.) Also on the main card: Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson fight for Strikeforce’s lightweight title for the third time, while light-heavyweights Mike Kyle and Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante throw down in a rematch of their own.
Handling the play-by-play for the tonight’s Showtime broadcast of Strikforce: Barnett vs. Cormier is our own Elias Cepeda, who will be posting live results after the jump starting at 10 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let us know how you feel in the comments section. You ready for war? Because guys, we are always ready for war.
We are live!
Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Chris Spang
Round 1 – Spang is taking this one on short notice. Let’s see how ready he is for the opportunity. Spang with an overhand right, Burrell counters with a hook. Spang pushing forward, leading with the jab and looking for more hook counters.
Spang lands a huge head kick but Burrell seems unfazed somehow. He throws punches, most land only glancingly. Spang pushes Burrell against the cage. On separation Spang lands a couple more punches.
Burrell lands an uppercut, straight combo. Spang drops Burrell with a left hook. Burrell gets back to his feet but he’s clearly hurt. Spang unleashes knee after knee to the head from the Thai plum. Spang punches on separation then grabs the plum again and drops Burrell once more. He dives in for some ground strikes and referee Josh Rosenthal steps in to stop the fight.
Chris Spang with the first round TKO win.
Tyron Woodley and Nate Marquardt get interviewed, as they are soon fighting. Nate looks huge. Crazy that he’s supposed to make 170.
Rafael Feijao Cavalcante vs. Mike Kyle
Rematch from three years ago. Back in ’09, Big Cavalcante got TKO’d by Kyle.
Round 1 – It doesn’t take long for Cavalcante to get his revenge on Kyle. Feijao throws an overhand right that misses, but after Kyle ducks low to avoid it, the Brazilian capitalizes and lands a knee to the head that drops Kyle and when “Mak” gets back to his feet, Cavalcante locks on a guillotine choke, jumps guard and, after a fight, Kyle taps out 33 seconds into the round.
Feijao by first round tap out.
Strikeforce 185lb champ Luke Rockhold and Tim Kennedy get interviewed because they are going to throw down July 14th. Luke implies that Kennedy has been ducking him. Kennedy compliments Rockhold, then threatens to twitter punk him tonight if given the opportunity. As we know, Kennedy is a dangerous man on twitter.
Round 1 – Both men start out fast, moving in and out, exchanging flurries of punches. A minute and a half in, Gilbert scores the takedown. Thomson immediately starts to work his way up to his feet, cage walking against the fence.
Thomson gets back up and free. Gilbert stalking Thomson. They clinch and Gilbert lands a hard knee to the body. They free back up. Thomson switching up his stance repeatedly. Gilbert paws with the jab, both feeling each other out.
Thomson throws a body kick that is blocked. He throws another that is caught by Gilbert. He uses it to take down Thomson. Thomson swivels to inverted guard and promptly gets a hammer fist to the face. Horn sounds.
Round 2 – They are back at it again, swinging hard, mostly missing. Thomson throws a head kick that is blocked. Gilbert walks Thomson into the cage, scoring with multiple body shots. Thomson circles out.
Gilbert leading with the pawing jab and trying to follow with a hard right but Thomson gets out of the way. Thomson charges forward with punches but misses.
Gilbert lands an uppercut. Thomson gets hit with a punch but apparently also with an eye poke. It buckles him, he gets time to recover. Thomson lands with a cross but Gilbert lands another uppercut. He seems to hurt Thomson. Josh doesn’t back down but Gilbert gets another takedown.
He has Thomson against the cage and Josh is attempting to walk his way back to his feet. He gets up and Gilbert throws a flurry of punches at him as soon as he does. Under ten seconds left and Josh shoots for a takedown. He doesn’t get it, as Gilbert uses elbows to the side of the head to defend. Horn sounds.
Round 3 – Gilbert throws two wide hooks that land, shoots for a takedown. Thomson defends and charges forward, landing a punch combo flush to the face of Gilbert. Thomson shoots and gets stuffed.
Uppercut from Thomson lands clean on Melendez. Gilbert responds with his own uppercut. Thomson throws Melendez to the ground but Gilbert rolls backwards and stays away from Thomson. He’s back up to his feet.
Gilbert with an uppercut to the body of Josh. From the clinch Gilbert lands several hard uppercuts to the jaw of Josh. Thomson responds by charging forward. Gilbert’s right eye is starting to swell. Thomson says he’s gotten poked in the eye again but gets back to action right away.
Round 4 – Thomson opens the round with another high kick that is blocked by Gilbert. Gilbert triples up on the jab and finishes with the overhand right. Thomson lands a huge right hand, throws another high kick that is mostly blocked. Gilbert lands his own big punch on Thomson.
Melendez has had enough of this and lands another double leg take down. He’s pressing Thomson against the fence, Josh gets back up to his feet. Gilbert lands a one-two punch combo. Thomson throwing the push kick and circles out.
Gilbert shoots for another double leg off of a jab lead. Thomson defends well. Melendez lands an elbow on separation. They are back standing in free range.
Melendez’ right eye is bleeding more. Thomson tries to use his own jab. Josh throws but whiffs on a four punch combo. Thomson with a trip takedown on Melendez and some nice straight punches to the grounded Gilbert.
Thomson in Gilbert’s full guard. Melendez sits up turtles up and Thomson takes his back. Under a minute left and Josh has Gilbert’s back, working for the rear naked choke. Thomson switches to a short choke grip. Melendez is in deep water but gets his chin back under the grip. Melendez stands, tries to shuck Thomson off of him.
Josh has the back still as the horn sounds.
Round 5 – Thomson is psyched at the start of the round – bounces up and down, nodding and smiling at Gilbert. Melendez with a short hook to Josh’s head. Thomson fires back, Melendez shoots and scores another double leg take down. Josh gets back up to his feet fast.
Gilbert has an egg swelling over his left eye now. Thomson lands a right punch. Thomson lands a right hook and uppercut in close range. Gilbert lands a stiff jab. Thomson lands a straight right, followed by a four-strike punch and kick combo. Thomson shoots for a take down and gets stuffed.
Thomson says he’s gotten poked again and gets time. Doesn’t take much, though, and they are back in action. Gilbert lands a left hook to the head of Thomson. Josh charges forward with a punch and knee combo but mostly misses. One minute left in this war.
Gilbert shoots for a double and gets stuffed. Thomson lands two more punches on the feet. Thomson lands another trip take down with thirty seconds left.
Gilbert is in full guard, throwing rabbit punches. Thomson staying safe, crowding Gilbert. Thomson throws three elbows to end the round.
Decision time is next!
Judges score it 48-47 Thomson, 48-47 Melendez, 48-47 Melendez. Split decision win for Gilbert Melendez. Split crowd, half cheers, half boos. Thomson is irate.
Even so, Thomson is all class telling the crowd, “Please don’t boo Gilbert. He’s one of the best fighters, if not the best fighter in the world.”
Thomson calls for a fourth fight, the crowd wants it too. Gilbert says, “yeah, sure, whatever,” before giving his teammate Nate Diaz props, calling him the next lightweight champion of the UFC.
Round 1 – Barnett pumps the double jab out sharply right away. Cormier lands his own jab now. Barnett throwing fast but Cormier throws three for every one punch Barnett can
Cormier goes to the body and head with combos. Barnett getting tagged but is unfazed. Cormier not eager to look for take downs at all, seems completely comfortable on the feet. Cormier begins to find his range with the right cross. Barnett lands his own punches now.
Cormier still doubling Barnett’s shots. Barnett catches a kick from Cormier and throws a right cross that lands and hurts Cormier. Barnett follows with a knee that hurts Cormier further. Cormier grimaces but gets his composure back and presses Barnett against the cage.
Barnett does not give up and closes with his own flurry of strikes. Cormier is bleeding but landed twice the strikes.
Round 2 – Barnett returns with his jab. Cormier starting to finish up his punch combos with leg kicks. Barnett backs Cormier up with punches, Cormier throws a knee. Cormier lands a hard short upper cut. Barnett returns with a straight cross. Cormier lands a huge combo to the head and body.
Cormier shoots for and gets a single leg take down, halfway through the round. Cormier in Barnett’s full guard. Cormier is smothering and posturing, throwing the occasional punches. Cormier starts to open up with forearm and elbow strikes. Barnett shoots a triangle choke but gets shrugged off by Barnett. Barnett fires an arm bar attempt into a leg lock attempt. Cormier defends it all and returns fire with more elbows.
Barnett’s face is a bloody mask with thirty seconds left. Cormier ends the round hammering away with punches.
Round 3 – Barnette backs Cormier up once again. Cormier lands a counter right from in close. Barnett shoots for a single and then double leg take down. Cormier defends and circles away from the cage. Barnett with an inside leg kick.
Cormier shoots for a single leg then switches to a high crotch take down and lifts Barnett up into the air and slams him into the ground. He lands in side mount on Barnett. Barnett looks to be in trouble from side control but gets up to his feet.
Cormier lands an overhand right then a left hand. Cormier lands another right hand, Barnett lands his own. Cormier shoots for a single leg but gets dedended.
Cormier lands a head kick that hurts Barnett. Cormier follows up with knees to the head. Barnett is hurt but returns fire with his back to the cage. Cormier circles and Barnett’s back while standing. Round ends in that position.
Round 4 – Barnett is bloodied but still opens up the round attacking. He backs up Cormier with feints and jabs. Cormier weaves to his right to avoid a jab and runs right into a knee from Barnett. Cormier lands a left hook.
Nice left-right combo from Barnett. Left lead high kick from Cormier lands. Right high kick from Cormier lands! Barnett closes the distance and pushes Cormier against the cage. Cormier circles out and gets back to the center of the cage.
Barnett lands a right lead punch. Jab-hook combo from Cormier. Cormier shoots in and then pops up and lands a right hand, then changes levels again and lands a take down. Barnett immediately rolls for a leg lock and looks to have Cormier in trouble but the wrestler turns and burns and gets out of danger.
Cormier is in Barnett’s full guard, lands a short elbow. Barnett works for a kimura shoulder locked but is shrugged off by Cormier. Referee stands them up.
Another left jab feint into knee to the head from Barnett to Cormier. Round ends with Barnett pressing Cormier against the cage.
Round 5 – Barnett walks down Cormier and throws a body kick. He follows up with a push kick. Quick break for referee Josh Rosenthal to dry up some water on the mat that Cormier points out.
Barnett presses Cormier against the fence once they get back at it. Knee to the head, straight right combo from Barnett. Left high kick from Cormier blocked by Barnett.
Cormier lands a one-two punch combo on the stalking Barnett. Cormier ducks under a spinning back fist from Barnett, takes him down. Barnett gets back to his feet but is lifted and nearly slammed again by Cormier. Barnett stays on his feet again, almost immediately.
One minute left. Cormier has a left under hook on Barnett, pressing him against the cage. Barnett gets double under hooks but still has his back pressed against the cage with thirty seconds left. Cormier gets his left under hook back in. Ten seconds left and they are in free standing. Cormier is content to just run away the final seconds.
The horn sounds and Cormier raises his hands. What a great, competitive and brutal fight between the two heavies but Cormier likely won all five rounds.
Decision time is next.
We finally have a Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion. Daniel Cormier wins a unanimous decision. Scores were 49-46, 50-45 and 50-45 in favor of Cormier.
An emotional Cormier says that “It means everything to beat somebody like Josh Barnett. I’ve lost a lot of people in my life. This is for all of them…this means the world to me.”
Barnett says that he “broke the ever living crap out of my hand against Daniel in the first round…I was going to make him earn this…today Daniel was better.”
That’s it, folks. Great night of fights, thanks for cage surfing with us.
Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix Saturday is also a grand finale for the heavyweight division. Though there may be one more fight left in the league for the participants in the main event, Strikeforce is set to move on without a heavyweight divisio…
Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix Saturday is also a grand finale for the heavyweight division. Though there may be one more fight left in the league for the participants in the main event, Strikeforce is set to move on without a heavyweight division after that.
So, can Strikeforce really keep driving even while the wheels are falling off? Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker seems to think so.
Coker, who is one of just a handful of former executives still retained by Strikeforce after the takeover, is convinced that we’ll see Strikeforce on Showtime “for many years to come.”
Coker’s remarks focusing on the renewal of Strikeforce’s cable television deal with Showtime also belie the main reason why the UFC hasn’t completely consumed the brand just yet.
Multiple moves made since the purchase transformed Strikeforce into an entity obviously being groomed for ultimate demolition. Still, the league hung on despite losing a slew of popular fighters to the UFC.
Rather than take the structure down like one of those controlled explosions instantly reducing everything to dust, Zuffa seems to be taking their sweet time removing one brick at a time from Strikeforce’s foundation.
The bigger and bolder promotion that snatched up the second-tier fight club for a song is under a more intense microscope these days, and their past evisceration of PRIDE went a long way to taint the UFC’s image. Those scars are still fresh.
MMA fans might seem more ready, willing, and able to see Strikeforce lumped in with the UFC these days, but Zuffa’s brass is still slow playing this one.
Few people were privy to intimate details of the purchase agreement hatched to make the Zuffa/Strikeforce deal happen, but it’s probably a pretty safe bet that there was something in that contract to prevent a complete collapse of Strikeforce.
Additionally, there are some fringe benefits Zuffa enjoys by keeping the other fight club a going concern. For one, women’s MMA is starting to gain a foothold with fans, and keeping Strikeforce running allows Zuffa to be on the cutting edge of developing the women’s field.
Dana White‘s been outspoken about not wanting to add women to the UFC, and he’s taken some heat for that stance. Thanks to the dynamic fighting of women’s MMA sensation Ronda Rousey, White and Lorenzo Fertitta are coming around to the idea that girls really can fight. If they folded Strikeforce into the UFC completely, White would have to eat crow and let the ladies fight in the octagon.
So, keeping the Strikeforce train rolling down the tracks will keep a brand of mixed martial arts under the Zuffa label on a major cable network sharing the spotlight with boxing. The Showtime team also had their own independent media machine, which is a big plus for Zuffa, even though they still supplement that PR production and marketing on their own.
As much as Strikeforce’s doomsday seems imminent, it could actually be a long way off at this pace. What’s more likely is that the league will wind up in a situation like the WEC, hosting lighter-weight fight cards and maintaining a long, healthy, independent history until it simply is no longer feasible or desirable for any reason to keep the entity separated from the UFC.
While some might see the UFC’s acquisition of the best fighters in Strikeforce as the beginning of the end, it’s really not. It’s actually the beginning of the metamorphosis. The competitor is now part of the team, and it’s taking on the look of the guy who gets picked last every gym class. That’s where the UFC wants their underling: underneath them when it comes to quality.
If the intent was to actually build Strikeforce into a powerhouse, the league would be adding more superstars instead of siphoning them off to fight in the UFC.
Keeping the league in a confined space where it can’t grow into an upstart threat to the UFC’s domination might seem silly to fans who want to see everything blended together, but right now Zuffa wants and may actually need Strikeforce to stay independent.
As fighter contracts begin to expire, there will be more Strikeforce guys making the exodus to the UFC, but not enough to kill the whole business model. Whatever the ultimate plan is, if Strikeforce winds up getting folded into the UFC completely, it’s going to take a lot longer than most MMA analysts are speculating.
While we watch and wait, Scott Coker is doing his level best to maintain the legitimacy of his operation. He takes the tone of someone who knows something we don’t. He goes to great lengths to defend and promote what’s left like a trained executive should.
Whatever agreement he signed to keep his job may hold the clue to why Strikeforce is still allowed to live on while so many other Zuffa acquisitions suffered a much different fate.
Now, if Coker suddenly decides to quit or gets his walking papers for some reason, that’s when Strikeforce fans can really panic. Then the speculators pointing to imminent disaster for Strikeforce will have something to really back up their claims. Meanwhile, enjoy the show while it lasts.
Last night, Strikeforce lightweight champion 
