MMA News Forums » MMA Forums » Noob Jack City

[zana1126]

Did Strikeforce's Deal With Fedor Emelianenko Force the UFC Sale? - Bloody Elbow

by Kid Nate on Mar 15, 2011

# Scott Coker didn't want to sell, but his partners, Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment, did.
Per MMA Junkie:

The fight promotion had been looking to raise capital in recent months, sources said, though it's unclear whether the search was motivated by imminent financial troubles.
According to the "San Jose Business Journal," Strikeforce generated $30 million in revenue for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
"Silicon Valley was relatively happy with the returns but didn't want to take it to the next level," one source said.

Josh Gross reported that Coker went to some lengths to stop the sale:

Sources confirmed Coker, the current Strikeforce CEO, attempted to wrest control of the brand, but in the end was unsuccessful. Instead, an agreement to sell Strikeforce's licensing rights, fighter contracts and video library closed with the UFC on Thursday or Friday.

# Strikeforce had been an extremely profitable regional promotion, but its deal with Showtime forced it to compete with the UFC for expensive, top-tier talent, in particular Fedor Emelianenko.
It's one thing to put on big live events in San Jose with local stars like Frank Shamrock and Cung Le, it's a whole 'nother thing to put together cards that will draw good ratings on CBS or sell pay per views. Once Strikeforce took the Showtime/CBS deal, they had to take big risks. Unfortunately nothing went right.

# The failure to put together a Pay Per View in 2010 meant Strikeforce couldn't afford the Fedor deal.
Dave Meltzer has asserted that it was the Fedor contract that forced Strikeforce to seek outside financing on his radio show.

[maavin]

does this mean we will finally get to see fedor and couture?? only 8 years late

[Kimbo> Rampage]

not sure, seemed like more of keeping fedor from signing elsewhere that made them do it, clearly his status and draw as well. you could tell in coker's past interviews that m1 was very difficult to work with. lol can you imagine the ufc doing a 50/50 copromotion with m1 just for fedor?

[Leucoethiops]

Originally Posted by rampage9712

not sure, seemed like more of keeping fedor from signing elsewhere that made them do it, clearly his status and draw as well. you could tell in coker's past interviews that m1 was very difficult to work with. lol can you imagine the ufc doing a 50/50 copromotion with m1 just for fedor?

I could see Fedor retiring soon, guy's gonna have nowhere to go...

[rivethead]

This is exactly the reason why Kid Nate = noobjack. His articles suck. In an attempt to generate controversy for his shit site, he takes one side of any given controversial topic, poorly covers it, and leaves it at that.

Did the M1 deal imact the sale? Yes, absolutely.

Is it the only contributing factor? Hell no.

Did the "scrap pack" brawl on CBS impact the sale as much as the M1 deal? Yes, it did, as it lost them a virtual ATM with CBS.
Did the fact that Silicon Valley was only in the business to cash in on MMA rather than slowly build a name/brand impact it more than the M1 deal? Yes, again.
Did Strikeforce's inability to effectively promote it's fighters and it's cards impact it the most? Yes. If SF had been able to effectively promote on the grand stage, none of the above factors would have been more than a blip on the radar.


The world isn't black and white. There were many, many contributing factors, and oversimplify it to the point where you say one of them "forced the sale" is shortsighted and crap journalism.

rh

[integer]

I agree, the article is completely biased. Many factors played a role for Strikeforce to sell. M-1 has a tradition of wanting to play by it's own rules, but the same can be said about the UFC. Two companies wanting complete control will never find a common ground until the other concedes.

M-1 has put on quality shows, and as a fan I appreciate their dedication towards mma. Time will show if they can remain competitive once their main star retires.