När en nyhet av den här magnituden äger rum sådär kanske var femte år inom MMA så innebär det förstås väldigt många frågor och artiklarna om det här skrivs just nu snabbare än jag vet inte vad. Själv blev jag mer förvånad när det här hände än när Zuffa köpte Pride. Mycket på grund av att Pride var på väg ner ekonomiskt och någonting skulle ske. Det är ungefär likvärdigt med att Sengoku skulle bli uppköpta nu i sista sekunden av någon organisation.
Det är en surrealistisk känsla som många upplever just nu. Bara det att se Dana White prata om det här tyckte Ariel Helwani var surrealistiskt och jag håller med honom. Här nedan har jag samlat upp vad en mängd olika MMA-sidor och en del fighters anser i det här skedet om att Zuffa köpt Strikeforce. Jag avslutar också att ge min egen syn på saken. Följande sidors åsikter och tankar har jag samlat, det skulle kunna vara fler men de andra tar i stort sätt upp samma sak som någon av dessa jag valt ut att citera redan tar upp:
- Kevin Ioles (Yahoosports) intervju med Dana White
- Paul Daley
- Sbnation
- BloodyElbow
- Figure Four Online
- Bad Left Hook
- The Telegraph
- BJPenn.com
- MMAtorch
- MMAweekly som snackat med Dan Henderson
- Urdirt
Yahoosports Kevin Iole var snabb med att intervjua White om det här efter Ariels. En del rätt intressanta saker kom fram under Kevins intervju:
One thing we always do is honor our contracts. Showtime has a contract with Strikeforce and it will continue. They pull decent ratings. Showtime is happy with Strikeforce and Strikeforce is happy with Showtime. We plan to operate them as they are now, as a separate company from the UFC.
That is largely because Zuffa doesn’t plan to interfere with the contracts that Strikeforce has with its fighters. Fighters currently under Strikeforce won’t be able to move to the UFC, no matter how good they are, until their Strikeforce deals expire.
However, those who sign deals with Zuffa now and in the future could find themselves shuttling between leagues. Eventually, when all of the current Strikeforce contracts expire, all Zuffa-contracted fighters will be free to float between leagues to create the best matchups.
Många har också funderat på vad som kommer ske med de som Dana White och Zuffa inte gillar som är signade hos Strikeforce. Paul Daley blev förbannad och hotar mer eller mindre nu att hoppa av sin kommande match mot Diaz. Han skriver såhär på Facebook:
Business as usual, what if i dont wanna fight for DANA WHITE/ZUFFA?……Dana white bans me for life from the UFC, Then buys STRIKEFORCE, and thinks im still gonna be EASY and fight on one of the most anticipated fights of the year (vs Diaz)? Which will no doubt make ZUFFA/Dana White money.
Daley vs Diaz still on?…..Someone better holla at my manager real quick.
Dana White är dock rätt tydlig angående det där, jag citerar Yahoos intervju :
When we make decisions, we all get together as a team and make them and now that team includes Scott. But he’s running Strikeforce. Let’s be honest here: There are some people there, the Showtime executives, M-1, Henderson, who aren’t big fans of mine. But I don’t want them to be uncomfortable in their own league. Strikeforce is Showtime’s league and they have a contract with Strikeforce and we’ll let it run as it has.
White said the changes that would be made would be mostly behind the scenes. He wouldn’t say if he would change Showtime’s announcing teams, though he said, ”Showtime controls the production [for Strikeforce].
We’ll make some back-of-house improvements so the fighters will notice that things may run more smoothly, and the media may see a difference in how we do things, but this is still going to be Strikeforce.
Sbnation tar upp hela grejen med TV-bolagen och hur komplikationerna kan vara där:
what does this mean for the UFC’s alleged impending deal with NBC? With CBS, Showtime and Spike under the Viacom umbrella, is this move solidifying the UFC-Viacom partnership or an asset acquisition designed to woo a reluctant NBC-Comcast?
One also wonders what this means for a potential Strikeforce pay-per-view. I suspect those plans are on ice. Pushing that heavy a price tag on consumers would be difficult regardless and borderline highway robbery now that Strikeforce is part of the Zuffa stable.
Bloodyelbow tar upp TV-spelen och Bellator:
•What does this mean for EA Games? They have partnered with Strikeforce to compete with THQ’s UFC video game.
•Where does this leave Bellator? I said today on the BE radio show that if their ratings slide they could be off MTV2 in six weeks, but currently I’m thinking Viacom keeps them around until Spike TV concludes its negotiations with the UFC. If the UFC leaves Spike TV, Bellator could step into the vacuum.
Dave Meltzer på figure four online (wrestling observer) tar upp dessa aspekter:
The UFC can run enough shows to keep 200 fighters busy. Right now they’ve got 260 fighters under contract.
•”Strikeforce has too many fighters under contract. The UFC has too many fighters under contract.
•”At some point down the road they’d like to be running events in Europe on the same night they’re doing events in the U.S. but that’s not the situation now.”
•”Can the UFC give up mega-fights it needs for pay-per-view for a network show on CBS? It’s tricky.
Bad Left Hook spekulerar om det ena och det andra:
Now, Showtime has not yet ”lost” Strikeforce. The company line at Zuffa is what they’re saying, and in the short-term, Strikeforce will still be on Showtime, with big fights and big shows. But that’s not going to last, because the upside for UFC just isn’t there, unless they can possibly strike some kind of huge deal with Showtime to promote special, non-PPV UFC events on the network after the Strikeforce TV deal ends. Is that likely? Probably not. UFC does quite good business without the help of Showtime or HBO or anyone else. Their brand is such a force in the niche sports world that they’ve managed to turn SpikeTV into ”that channel with UFC.” They don’t need the ”higher class” association of a premium cable network, and they aren’t struggling to get their shows exposure. In other words, while boxing promoters are largely at the mercy of the few TV networks that give a damn about their product, UFC is not.
As for boxing fans, this could go one of two ways, but in the near future I’d expect this to be a positive. Showtime has to be expecting HBO to come hard in the boxing rivalry in the second half of 2011 and beyond. The potential for losing Strikeforce could make Showtime more ready than ever to batten down the hatches and go to war with their rivals in boxing, as significant losses in the boxing landscape could cripple their sports division in terms of being that sort of legitimate competitor and even industry-leader. HBO has the money to throw at any problem. Showtime has the vision to beat them, and it seems like they’ve taken HBO by surprise this year. How much of a curveball this development throws at Showtime remains to be seen, but needless to say, it’s a major story and could have a big impact on what we see going forward, even if you don’t care one lick for MMA.
The Telegraphs Gareth Davies väljer att komma med en bunt förslag och idéer:
Arguably, given that problem with dual world champions, maybe Strikeforce should have a super-middleweight division with the likes of Dan Henderson, and a new roster of fighters such as Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and others who are not big enough to be light-heavyweights in the UFC.
…
In Strikeforce, perhaps they should consider having just Grand Prix champions, and women’s divisions, so they stay as a separate entity. Or arguably, a feeder organisation.
…
One answer could be twelve Strikeforce events a year for women’s title fights and for men’s Grand Prix titles. That way, it would give Strikeforce a chance to have their own identity separate from the UFC, and not just have B-listers as a feeder fighting organisation.
BJpenn.com tar upp något de anser bra med dealen:
On the Brightside of things, with all the talks of Melendez vs. Edgar, GSP vs. Diaz and Overeem vs. Velasquez, making these fights that at one time seemed impossible may actually be more probable than not in the future. At least their checks are getting cut from the same cloth now.
MMATorch frågar sig en del frågor som om Strikeforce verkligen vill bli en farmarliga eller ej?:
Would Showtime want to be affiliated with what it might see as ”the minor league of MMA”? Maybe not. But if the ratings go up, would they care that much? Perhaps. If so, then when the deal comes to an end and Strikeforce moves to Versus or Spike, no big loss. Heck, Dana White is probably looking to do that anyway. Their current TV partners aren’t going to love Zuffa treating a product for a competing network as the equal of UFC anyway.
This set-up would prevent the UFC brand from being watered down with too many ”Fight Night” style ”take it or leave it” line-ups, build a more concrete picture of what wins and losses mean to fighters, and create a separate brand that covers all weight divisions with a specific purpose and often fights as exciting as any in the MMA world.
If Mac Danzig or Stephen Bonnar or Keith Jardine have a losing streak, rather than get cut and disappear into the MMA indy circuit, or hang out on unaired UFC prelim fights, Zuffa can take advantage of their name appeal and fan base and move them to Strikeforce where fans can continue to follow their story of trying to regain traction and earn a spot back in UFC. Or, perhaps act as gate keepers to the next up-and-coming sensation and make a good living doing so.
MMAweekly har snackat med Dan Henderson för att se vad han har att säga om det här:
It’s a little shocking. I had no idea,” Henderson told MMAWeekly.com on Saturday. “I know there were rumors 6 months ago, but I was pretty shocked. I don’t know what to feel about it, I don’t necessarily think, it might not be the best thing for the sport. But then again you’re going to start being able to see all these match-ups that everyone wants to see. Who knows.”
I had no plans of leaving, but I don’t know what this is going to do those plans, but I have one fight left on my deal and we’ll see what happens I’ve never said anything bad about them. I always appreciated everything they’ve done for me and for the sport. It’s just I was paid more money to go elsewhere, and that’s what I did. Dana’s the type that needs to talk a little smack if he doesn’t get his way, but I’ve got no hard feelings about anything
Urdirt är lite besvikna och resonerar såhär:
However, I am a little disappointed by the purchase. Whenever there is competition, fighters are always given the opportunity for a second option to negotiate a better contract for themselves. With the sudden fall of Japan MMA and now Strikeforce, fighters will not have much leverage in trying to get the best deal available. Zuffa really has all the leverage now; they won’t drive contract prices up or outbid themselves when it comes to trying to sign fighters to either organization. Strikeforce was the second best primer organization in MMA, and although that will likely remain, it is now part of the Zuffa umbrella. In the end it really seems as though fighters on a whole have lost out. Here’s to hoping that Bellator can pick up the torch dropped by Strikeforce ownership. But truthfully speaking, that seems extremely unlikely. Bellator will put on some good shows, but will probably never compete with the UFC, and if it ever does, there is a good chance the UFC buys them too.
Själv så är jag mest förvånad över köpet och tycker det är rätt kul då jag verkligen vill samla elitens elit så mycket som möjligt. Nu kommer det inte bli så omedelbart, men det känns som en rimlig konsekvens i slutändan. En del jättebra fighters kommer vara utanför Zuffa även i framtiden, men för mig gör det ingenting om UFC blir ännu mer vad NHL är i hockey och vad NBA är i basket osv. Jag har aldrig gillat boxningens alla bälten och istället älskat episka smått legendariska matcher som kan ske i större utsträckning och oftare om fighters tillhör samma organisation.
Tv-dealer, Tv-spelen, PPV:s och sånt tror jag löser sig med tiden. Det är ändå egentligen nånstans grädden på moset. Det är galorna, idrottarna och produktionerna samt infrastrukturen kring sporten som är viktigast. Att det är lite cowboystil över Zuffa kan tyckas lite extremt, men det händer saker och vi blir förvånade över att dom vågar och faktiskt gör sånt andra drömmer om bara. Med den här dealen öppnas en dörr upp för ännu fler storskaliga galor utomlands också vilket jag gillar.
Jag är antagligen den första som säger:
Välkomna till Sverige Strikeforce
Det är givetvis inte aktuellt nu, men jag hade inte haft något emot en Strikeforcegala i Malmö ena månaden och en UFC-gala på Globen nästa. Detta parallellt med grymma lokala svenska galor. Det händer mycket inom MMA-världen ännu och jag kan inte påstå att framtiden ser speciellt mörk ut.
