With the cancellation of their October fight card and with their November 3rd card in trouble, is Strikeforce on the verge of closing down the UFC’s sister company?
Watch the video below to see what Kenny Rice had to say on yesterday’s episode (or read it here) of Inside MMA:
“Inside MMA’ has heard from multiple sources that the relationship between Strikeforce and Showtime may be coming to an end. We are being told that the November 3rd event is in serious jeopardy, and there is a strong possibility that Showtime will no longer broadcast Strikeforce events. This could very possibly signify the end of the Strikeforce brand. Strikeforce was purchased by Zuffa, the UFC parent company, in March of 2011. We have yet to receive any word from either Showtime or Strikeforce as this development continues.”
VIDEO COURTESY OF HD NET FIGHTS and INSIDE MMA..
First, the Strikeforce heavyweights have been absorbed by the UFC, but we still see fighters like Jacre Souza and Gilbert Melendez fighting unworthy opponents when we all know they should be in the UFC fighting the best of the best. Saying you’re the best in Strikeforce is like saying you earned student of the year when you’re home schooled. I actually would love to see Strikeforce bite the bullet and immediately improve the state of MMA since the best fighters will be competing against each other under one major organization, which is of course the UFC.
Melendez and others have great potential for the UFC, and the lack luster fighters Strikeforce are still holding on to (Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy, etc.) still have a future with organizations like Bellator and One FC.
We all know when Strikeforce goes down that all the fighters that deserve to be in the UFC, will wind up there. The problem I see is Strikeforce would have folded a long time ago without the likes of Ronda Rousey in my opinion. I believe she has been the glue holding the company together for the past year. Invicta will always have a home for Rousey, but how long will it actually be around? Unless Zuffa buys Invicta in the future, which I could see happening, then fighters like Cris ‘Cyborg’ and Rousey could be yesterdays news faster than you think.
If Strikeforce can stay on life support long enough to promote and schedule the Rousey vs. Cyborg fight, then they might have potential to stay alive. But how long will they be kicking before the company collapses? The big question is, what will happen to the biggest cross-over mma star if she doesn’t have a major venue to fight in?
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