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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
It's commonplace for multiple fighters to find themselves out of their UFC contracts following losses at UFC events, but with UFC 113 putting two higher profile fighters on their way out speculation immediately began that both fighters are likely to end up in Strikeforce.
Both Paul Daley and Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson are out of the organization for different reasons coming out of the Montreal event, but Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker isn't chomping at the bit to sign either of them.
Talking to Sherdog.com, Coker commented on the UFC's release of Daley, a fighter whose contract they did not acquire when they purchased ProElite's assets last year, due to his cheap shot on Josh Koscheck after their fight on Saturday night.
"“I’m not the UFC and they run their business the way they run it and I have no idea what thought process went into it,” Coker said. “But I’m sure it was influenced by what happened [at Strikeforce “Nashville”] a couple of weeks before."
One of Coker's reasons for not being too eager to go after Daley is the very likely possibility of a suspension coming from the Montreal commission and the fact that Daley won't even be available to fight for some time.
"I’m sure we’ll get a call, but let’s what happens,” said Coker. “Who knows? He could be on suspension for four to six months. He’s not going to be able to fight. I don’t think that type of reaction or behavior from a fighter will be accepted. It’s just unacceptable."
Along with Daley, Kimbo is another former ProElite fighter that Strikeforce did not acquire, and Coker said that he's already been contacted multiple times about whether or not he'd be putting together a Herschel Walker vs. Kimbo Slice bout, but it's another he's not looking at immediately.
"The thing is with Kimbo is he was successful with the ratings, but when we purchased [the contracts] from Pro Elite, the deal at that time [for Kimbo], we felt was too rich for long-term viability…We haven’t revisited it internally yet, so as of right now I think we’re going to stick with our course, which is putting on the best fighters in the world in the best matchups.”
Penick's Analysis: With the exposure both fighters got in the UFC I'd be very surprised if their next fights aren't in Strikeforce, but I'd have to say I would commend Scott Coker if he didn't bring them in for their name value alone. Daley is probably the only welterweight that could provide any sort of challenge for Nick Diaz in the welterweight division in Strikeforce, but they don't need to be in a rush to pick him up. I think a fight between Kimbo and Walker would be a gigantic draw and would be much better than Walker vs. Nagy, but that may be all they can use Kimbo for as any semblance of the Slice facade has faded. We'll see how the Strikeforce roster looks in eight months, however, and if these two are not actually brought in to the organization.
RELATED STORY: UFC 113 RESULTS: Kimbo Slice cut from UFC after TKO loss to Matt Mitrione at UFC 113: [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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