Just days removed from a UFC press conference where president Dana White revealed he could not get a deal with top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko done due to M-1 Global's insistence on co-promotion, Strikeforce decided to move in.
The organization announced Monday that Emelianenko is now part of their organization and is expected to debut on Showtime later this fall. For all parties involved, this is a no-brainer deal.
Strikeforce gets a huge PR bump by adding Emelianenko, regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, to their roster. In addition, they will also get their roster filled out by M-1 talent - something they desperately need for the slew of cards they have planned for the rest of '09 and beyond.
M-1 can only bring good things to the table for Strikeforce. Always outpowered by UFC, the household name in the industry, the cooperation of M-1 should help Strikeforce to gain strength in the MMA world. With UFC's alliance with Affliction, Strikeforce really had no choice but to give things a shot with M-1.
For Fedor, he has the opportunity to ply his trade in front of a national pay-channel audience, not just a PPV crowd that is wary of plunking down $40 just to see him. The opportunity for exposure - especially if Strikeforce can work the CBS angle - has certainly increased for him. Not as much potentially as if he inked with the UFC but still better than a few months ago.
From here, it's in Strikeforce's hands to use Fedor as a building block. If the organization can successfully recruit more top heavyweights to fight with Fedor (otherwise his matches may be boring), Strikeforce could easily gain a leg up on UFC in its quest to match the behemoth. While there are already a few talented fighters enlisted with Strikeforce (i.e. Brett Rogers and Alistair Overeem), Strikeforce still needs to add to the depth of its heavyweight division.
And yes, even UFC wins by this signing. Fedor will stay fresh in the public eye which will help keep him a constant question and annoyance to White and the rest of the UFC brass. And what happens when White gets annoyed? He gets angry and even more aggressive in making his product that much better.
White had some choice words for Fedor when revealing his frustrations in failing to secure the rights to his fights. To date, White has been pretty politically correct when it comes to his words about Strikeforce; expect that to change, because a war has begun.
The organization announced Monday that Emelianenko is now part of their organization and is expected to debut on Showtime later this fall. For all parties involved, this is a no-brainer deal.
Strikeforce gets a huge PR bump by adding Emelianenko, regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, to their roster. In addition, they will also get their roster filled out by M-1 talent - something they desperately need for the slew of cards they have planned for the rest of '09 and beyond.
M-1 can only bring good things to the table for Strikeforce. Always outpowered by UFC, the household name in the industry, the cooperation of M-1 should help Strikeforce to gain strength in the MMA world. With UFC's alliance with Affliction, Strikeforce really had no choice but to give things a shot with M-1.
For Fedor, he has the opportunity to ply his trade in front of a national pay-channel audience, not just a PPV crowd that is wary of plunking down $40 just to see him. The opportunity for exposure - especially if Strikeforce can work the CBS angle - has certainly increased for him. Not as much potentially as if he inked with the UFC but still better than a few months ago.
From here, it's in Strikeforce's hands to use Fedor as a building block. If the organization can successfully recruit more top heavyweights to fight with Fedor (otherwise his matches may be boring), Strikeforce could easily gain a leg up on UFC in its quest to match the behemoth. While there are already a few talented fighters enlisted with Strikeforce (i.e. Brett Rogers and Alistair Overeem), Strikeforce still needs to add to the depth of its heavyweight division.
And yes, even UFC wins by this signing. Fedor will stay fresh in the public eye which will help keep him a constant question and annoyance to White and the rest of the UFC brass. And what happens when White gets annoyed? He gets angry and even more aggressive in making his product that much better.
White had some choice words for Fedor when revealing his frustrations in failing to secure the rights to his fights. To date, White has been pretty politically correct when it comes to his words about Strikeforce; expect that to change, because a war has begun.
About the Author:
Artie Sullenberger is a mixed martial arts addict. He immerses himself in both UFC and Strikeforce, and loves nothing more than to see both entities growing as they have. He regularly reports MMA news at his favorite sports forum at RootZoo, a top sports community.
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