Does anyone watch Strikeforce Challengers series? I do....and I like it.
I am really starting to hate these Cagepotato 'articles'....and i use that term loosely.
So what if it doesn't fighters that have been pounded into my brain by over advertising.
I think that they do make a small profit for those events. Here is what they were paid:
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Showtime Bouts
Bobby Voelker ($4,500 + $4,500=$9,000) def. Roger Bowling ($3,500)
Lavar Johnson ($10,000) def. Virgil Zwicker ($3,000)
Billy Evangelista ($10,000) def. Waachiim Spirit Wolf ($2,000)
Julia Budd ($1,500+$1,500=$3,000) def. Shana Olsen ($3,000)
John Devine ($2,000+$2,000=$4,000) def. Brandon Cash ($3,000)
Preliminary Bout
David Douglas ($1,500+$1,500=$3,000) def. Dominic Clark ($1,500)
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And they had:
Quote:
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The event, which took place on Friday at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., was attended by 3,565 spectators and grossed $60,885 in ticket sales, according to figures released by the California State Athletic Commission.
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And who knows how much Showtime is paying them.
Do I think Bobby Voelker is ever going to make it to the UFC or to any other big organization? No...but that doesn't mean he can't be competitive and it doesn't mean that he can't put on entertaining fights. His fight with Eric Apple last year was epic.
The Billy Evangelista vs Spirit Wolf fight was amazing and to me, was just as entertaining as Diego Sanchez vs Thiago....if not more. Definitely more entertaining than the Shields fight and than the Lawler fight....I thought the Dong Yi Yang vs Camozzi fight was one of the most entertaining, and it didn't make it to air.
Back to the topic.
Every organization and every event out there doesn't have to try and be the best....especially when they don't claim to be.
I liken Strikeforce Challengers fights to Bellator fights with better production and commentating. Sometimes in Bellator tourney fights we are forced to watch bad matchups....bad for the fans. Bellator isn't a year round thing.
I still believe that the more organizations we have the better.
I think both can survive. Just because you want Fedor or Nick Diaz to fight different people or be forced to fight opponents they don't want to doesn't mean that they will.
If Fedor or Nick want to pick their fights they can. If Strikeforce goes away, instead of joining the UFC or Bellator, I could just as easily see both of them go to Japan and fight there.
Once the WEC and UFC have merged, there are going to be a shit load of extra fighters out there with no place to go. Either guys not getting picked up or getting cut after only 1 or 2 fights.
And if the UFC plans on still having just 4 scheduled fights for each PPV, that isn't enough for everyone to get TV time and get more sponsorship money.
A guy headlining a KOTC event or Strikeforce Challengers fight is going to not only get more money...but more sponsorship money than they would for fighting at a UFC prelim.
Bobby Voelker is getting paid a lot more right now than he ever would if he got a chance in the UFC.
So many Strikeforce haters....makes me wonder how many people actually watch Strikeforce Challengers events...or watch other organizations other than the UFC or other than Bellator.