Zuffa/UFC Purchase #2 Strikeforce

Added on Mar 13, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

In a move that shocked the MMA community, Dana White announced yesterday that Zuffa(the parent company of the UFC) has purchased Strikeforce. Strikeforce was a distant second to the UFC, but number two none the less.

White told MMAFighting that this was necessary step if the UFC was to get as big as Zuffa would like to. White said he couldn’t give details of the buy, but said its official and the deal is already done. He said “It’s literally official right now. We literally just purchased Strikeforce. I don’t want to disclose any of the details on how the deal was done, but the reality is that we now own Strikeforce.”

White continued “As we go out and continue to expand, we need more fights. Let’s face facts. Strikeforce is a brand that fans have come to like and the fans enjoy the fights that they’re putting on. So it made sense to us. Our job is to put on the big fights that fans want to see, and as we continue to travel abroad, we have to put on the right fights in these other countries.”

Right now fans and jounralists have more questions then answers, and the answers probably won’t come until we see a handful of Strikeforce cards. Zuffa has a few strict sponsorship rules, there are a few fighters under Strikeforce contract that White has said “would never fight for him,” and of course there is the Co-Promotion question. “Strikeforce is going to continue to run, business as usual. There are contracts in place, and we honor contracts. These guys pull good ratings on Showtime, and all of those contracts are going to be honored. These guys are going to remain Strikeforce fighters.” As far as Co-Promotion is considered “We don’t co-promote with anyone, and we won’t be starting now.”

As far as Scott Coker is concerned, White said he is staying right where he is. White said “We’ve signed a deal with Scott Coker. He’s staying on. You’ve seen me battle with guys over the years, but I’ve never had a bad thing to say about Scott Coker. I’ve known Scott since the K-1 days. Scott is a good guy.”

There is a lot of speculation going on in the MMA media. Some are saying Strikeforce will be dissolved as soon as the Showtime contract is done, and even some are saying it will come much quicker. The one thing we can all assume will happen is that the production of the Strikeforce events will improve. The one thing that the UFC has done consistently over the past few years is the fantastic production of their broadcasts, and live events. A formula Strikeforce has never been able to master.