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MMA News : Strikeforce

STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Strikeforce planning a head to head matchup with the UFC in December

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Oct 5, 2009 - 8:50:22 AM
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Strikeforce will be going head to head with a UFC live event for the first time this December, and it's by their own doing. According to a report from Dave Meltzer at Yahoo! Sports, Strikeforce is tentatively locked in for an event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA, on December 12th, the same night UFC 107 takes place in Memphis, TN.

A report from MMAJunkie.com also states that in addition to the 12th, Strikeforce has the 5th locked in as a possible date for an event. Whether they're planning two events or just one for either possible date remains to be seen.

Should they run the event on the 5th, they would be head to head with The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, which comes live on Spike. That event will feature the finals of the heavyweight tournament in the highest rated edition of the reality series, as well as bouts between Matt Hamill and Jon Jones and Frankie Edgar and Kurt Pelligrino.

The UFC 107 event features a main event of B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez for the UFC Lightweight Title, along with Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida and Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo.

Link to Meltzer report - Link to MMAJunkie.com report

Penick's Analysis: If they're going to run just one event, they'd be best served going up against the pay-per-view on the 12th as opposed to the Ultimate Fighter finale on the 5th. Going up against the pay-per-view makes them the free fight option on a night when fans will have to pay to see the UFC. If they try to go head to head with a live event on Spike it will take away a ton of viewers who will watch the free UFC fights over those on Showtime, especially given the record ratings this season of the show has brought. Now the next step of that is what fights Strikeforce puts up in that spot, so we'll all be looking out for that. Strikeforce has a lot on their plate for the rest of the year, and I hope they can put a good run of shows together with the roster that they have.

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Comments

John
05 Oct 2009, 16:11

Really? You can't believe that them going head to head with the UFC is a good thing, right? They can't win, and it can only hurt their cause.

UFC 107 and the TUF Finale will be full of name talent from the biggest MMA company in the world. Unless Fedor is on that card, which he's not because he's fighting in November, StrikeForce is screwed.

Dave
06 Oct 2009, 00:55

Even if Fedor was on the card, I don't know how well it will pan out. From Affliction 1, most people opted to watch the Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin fight anyways rather than ordering the pay per view. I don't know if this is really a smart move by Strikeforce. Or do they really want to be another one of those MMA companies planning to bankrupt in the near future.

Joe Rogaine
06 Oct 2009, 09:58

From a business perspective, Strikeforce needs to avoid going head-to-head with the UFC whenever possible. There's nothing wrong with being number two, as long as you're turning a profit and remaining viable.

That said, the UFC (from a business standpoint) would do well to put cards up against Strikeforce, as the UFC is the big dog, and needs to push their brand as the superior one and snuff out Strikeforce BEFORE they become a legitimate threat.