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Can Strikeforce Survive in a Post-Merger World?

http://www.cagepotato.com/can-strike...-yes-heres-how

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Can Strikeforce Survive in a Post-Merger World? (Yes. Here's How.)

("Trust me, everything at Strikeforce is just fine. Say, anybody else hear those violins?")

In the wake of yesterday's merger between the UFC and the WEC, Strikeforce's quest to carve out an equal space in the MMA world just got even more unlikely. But if you're Scott Coker, this is no time to despair. It's time to fight harder — and finally fix the slew of problems that have been dragging you down. So here's what you do...

No more "Challengers" cards until further notice
The bottom line is, your roster isn't deep enough to pull it off, and nobody gives a fuck. We just came off of a Challengers event that was headlined — I said headlined — by Roger Bowling vs. Bobby Voelker. For God's sake, the next Raging Wolf card is more stacked. Strikeforce should abandon their minor-league series, and stick all those prospects onto the prelims of their larger Showtime cards (more on that next). If that means fewer events, so be it. Sure, you want to develop your brand by holding regular shows around the country, but just as importantly, you want to associate your brand with excellence and excitement. And let's be honest, Strikeforce can't be turning a profit on those Challengers cards anyway.

Get your television production together
You know how the UFC airs preliminary card matches during their PPV and cable events to fill time? It's a win for everybody involved: The viewers get more fights, and prelim fighters have the opportunity to get broadcast exposure if they put on great performances (and if time allows). Showtime has yet to figure out this technology, occasionally leading to four-fight cards that end abruptly in under two hours. Right now, there is absolutely no incentive for a fighter to take a prelim match for Strikeforce; you won't be seen on TV, and the money still sucks. If you want to build up prospects, stack the dark matches with talent — not no-name local fighters, as has been the trend — and let the public see them if they perform well. Again, quarantining these guys into their own Friday-night third-tier fight series that nobody cares about is not the way to do it.

Fire Stephen Quadros's makeup artist
It just needed to be said.

Hire a steady stable of ring girls
As I understand it, Strikeforce outsources their ring girl hiring to Rockstar, which means that the eye-candy changes from show to show. I've learned first-hand that not even the Strikeforce media relations team has any idea who these girls are, which makes it hard when you want to do a Hot Potato post about Girl on the Right. Through their superior promotional skills, the UFC has made us care more about a Mexican-American model named Arianny than 90% of Strikeforce's fighter roster. The idea is so simple that it's astounding Strikeforce hasn't done it yet: Hire the three hottest chicks you can find, and tell fans their names. Send them on promotional appearances, put them in magazines, and make them part of the show. And you guys were onto something with the body paint.

Get on basic cable
It's tough because the UFC has already put hotels on Spike and Versus. What about G4, or SyFy, or the SPEED Channel, or Fuse...? I know, none of those seem like an ideal fit for an MMA show, but Strikeforce has to find a way to get new, weekly content to fans who don't want to shell out the extra money for Showtime, especially now that their CBS partnership is a big question mark. I'm not talking about fight-compilation shows, like they used to have late-nights on NBC. They need their own Ultimate Fighter or Tapout — building home-grown stars through the magic of television — with the occasional live event. The Showtime-or-nothing distribution system that Strikeforce currently has in place guarantees that most people won't be able to watch their events.

Don't keep any fighter who you can't control
If one of your stars has a personal management team so large it requires offices around the world, that's a red flag. Basically, Strikeforce's inability to secure fights for Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, and even Nick Diaz is embarrassing and makes them look weak. These fighters are your employees; they should be fighting the opponents you give them, on your timetable, not just when it's convenient for them. Learn the phrase "exclusive contract" and cut ties with any fighter who doesn't want to play ball. You don't need the headaches.

Work with Bellator
And by "work with" I mean "merge with." Instead of Bjorn Rebney and Scott Coker squabbling over inter-promotional matchups that will probably never happen due to logistics, the two leagues should just bite the bullet and join forces. Swallowing up Bellator's fighters helps Strikeforce's roster problem. Taking Bellator's Fox Sports Net contract — as flawed as it is — temporarily solves their basic cable problem. With the UFC hulking up after the WEC merger, there's simply no room for two organizations trying to compete for the scraps. As a single entity, Strikeforce and Bellator may even be able strong enough to put on the occasional pay-per-view show, which has to be the end financial goal for any MMA organization. We'll call the new promotion... BELLAFORCE! Okay, maybe not, but you get the idea.

Well said, fuckin' Well Said!

If I could Rep the dude that wrote this I Would.
So instead I will Rep "KickAss32".

Strikeforce is what it is. It cannot be 'fixed'. Too many cooks in the kitchen and all that.

Dont ruin Bellator by merging with Strikeforce.

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Originally Posted by The8thPlague (Post 765584)

Well said, fuckin' Well Said!

If I could Rep the dude that wrote this I Would.
So instead I will Rep "KickAss32".

Well, the dude at Cagepotato AND kickass32 appreciate it!!!

An abysmally run organization with a great talent pool + a compitently run minor league organization with a very, very good talent = Strikefarce turning Bellator into Bellatard.

Strikefarce could quite simply fuck up a cup of coffee and the idea of them needing to beef up their roster by merging with Bellator would be awesome for them, because it adds great depth to all of their divisions(LW, WW and MW at least), but much like everything else that touches the 'Farce, Bellator would ultimately be underused, mismanaged and Shittimed into oblivion. I really root for StrikeFORCE wholeheartedly, but they're ridiculous and have never come close to cohernently challenging the UFC and this would do nothing but shore up their place as "second best"....which BTW I currently have as Bellator's spot.

Perfect example of Strikefarce's faricality is the fact that, as the article illuminates, they still don't have more than four fights that air on their cards and usually run out of goddamn airtime!!! They're soooooooo shortsighted. Wanna let Strikefarce survive, try and exist without Showtime.....which won't happen.

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Originally Posted by One-Way (Post 765594)

Dont ruin Bellator by merging with Strikeforce.

I agree with this. Some pretty cool match-ups for the title at LW, WW and MW for sure, but after that, it's just a question as to whether or not it will hurt Bellator.

I don't see how it would work anyways, they seem to operate and vastly different business models. Bellator seems more polished, stable, under control (more entertaining too IMO) and breed from within. Bellator appears to have much more control over their fighters than Strikeforce does too. Strikeforce seems more loosely run, flashy, far from stable, unorganized and they seem to sign talent as oppose to grow from within. I just don't see how the two would really mesh

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In the wake of yesterday's merger between the UFC and the WEC, Strikeforce's quest to carve out an equal space in the MMA world just got even more unlikely

I know he's not saying that SF is equal, but it needs to be said that they're not. They're competitive, but not equal. And I think Coker shouldn't try to be equal, but rather, focus on remaining competitive.

Which means doing everything the author states and working DREAM into the equation as well.

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Originally Posted by One-Way (Post 765594)

Dont ruin Bellator by merging with Strikeforce.

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Originally Posted by Fedorlei Gomipierre (Post 765603)

An abysmally run organization with a great talent pool + a compitently run minor league organization with a very, very good talent = Strikefarce turning Bellator into Bellatard.

Conversely, I see Bellator guiding any union, and turning Strikefarce into Strikeforce of old, just in a larger platform.

What I would hope, is that Bellator serves as a model to fix both SF's and DREAM's concerns, and serves healthy alternatives, not jury-rigged and inconsistent orgs.

rh

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)

And they had:

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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.

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.