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ALL BUSINESS: The Top Three Promotions March Through The Madness - UFC on Versus, White vs. Showtime, and Bellator Knocking On Strikeforce's Door
Mar 26, 2010 - 5:00:45 PM ALL BUSINESS: The Top Three Promotions March Through The Madness - UFC on Versus, White vs. Showtime, and Bellator Knocking On Strikeforce's Door

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By Alvin Benjamin Carter III, MMA Torch Specialist

March has been a great month for the business of mixed martial arts in general. The UFC had it's Versus television debut just as the channel made amends with Direct TV, and the card saw an average viewership of 1.24 million fans and a household rating of 1.1 which spiked to 1.8 during the Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones fight. Those numbers are generally higher than the majority of WEC events on the channel, but they are low compared to the WEC events that feature Urijah Faber. Nevertheless, UFC on Versus 1 is still a landmark event that sets the stage for more UFC events on a channel that is looking to challenge ESPN. (Versus is starting their own version of Sports Center to compete with ESPN.)

After the UFC on Versus 1 event, UFC President Dana White made it clear that the UFC will not be counter programming Strikeforce's April 17th event on CBS. This Strikeforce event is headlined by a Middleweight Championship match where Jake Shields will attempt to defend his title against former Pride and UFC Champion Dan Henderson. When Dana White removed the fear of counter programming the event, he also made it clear that he has nothing against Strikeforce President Scott Coker. His problem is with Showtime, and he want's Showtime out of the MMA business. While planning a strong counter programming card this close to the date of the event can be a logistical nightmare, if White really wanted to stick it to Strikeforce, he could. White's restraint might also make fans start to believe him when he says that he has no hard feelings towards Dan Henderson since he is not attempting to stifle his Strikeforce debut. The success of this event might oddly help the UFC a bit by giving Jake Shields more visibility which could make him even more of an asset if he jumps ship to the UFC.

Since Showtime is White's enemy at the moment (and we all know the cross-hairs could change aim at anytime), it might be fair to say that Strikeforce is in a sense being held hostage by Showtime. The majority of their cards are on the premium channel, and based on that alone each card is subject to counter programing if the UFC wants to setup a live event, or pull a classic card out of the vault. This situation might urge Scott Coker to utilize CBS more frequently for live and previously aired events (such as a one time CBS replay of the Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg card). Being the second largest MMA promotion in the United States is a difficult spot. The guy on top is going for the ground-and-pound, and then the promotion below you is trying to sweep. Strikeforce should take a look into there scheduling and matchmaking to firm up their place as number two. More fights with the top of their roster that make sense, and showcase champions, might help them shrimp out of their current situation.

MMA's third big promotion, Bellator Fighting Championships, might be looking to sweep Strikeforce with it's second and third seasons. Among the growing list of talent, one of the larger names added to the Bellator roster this month is UFC veteran Roger Heurta. The tournaments are filling in, and Bellator just announced a international television deal with Engine Entertainment. The official press release states, "Engine Entertainment is exclusively distributing the twenty-four 2010 season live events, plus all additional premium pay-per-view events that Bellator produces, worldwide (outside of the US and Canada) as well as the twelve previously aired 2009 Bellator Season 1 shows." This is a big move for the company to make in it's sophomore year. Couple this with Bellator being distributed on Fox Sport Network, NBC, and Telemundo; and you have a promotion ready to fight for the number two slot. While they do not have Fedor Emelianenko or Gegard Mousasi, they do have regularly scheduled programing with broadcasting outlets that Dana White has not yet declared war on. That definitely counts for something.

The goal of all three fight promotions is to be number one. The UFC is obviously achieving this goal, and continuing to expand upon their dominance. Their efforts are starting to make their brand synonymous with the sport around the world. Selling out 17,000 + seats at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ for this weekends UFC 111 pay-per-view is a good indicator of their stateside dominance, and possibly forecasts how the pay-per-view buyrate might look for this event. Also, for the first time in UFC history, this card is going to be aired in 323 theaters around the country. So as it stands, the real battle is between Strikeforce and Bellator for the number two position. Each promotion posses the opposite core competencies: Strikeforce has breadth of big names and the best heavyweight in the world. Bellator has consistent live broadcast programing based on a tournament system reminiscent of the early days of the UFC and the Pride Grand Prix events.

I am not saying Strikeforce should setup a tournament (though it might help), and I am not claiming that Bellator should try to acquire Anderson Silva. Both promotions have to simply play to their personal attributes in order move the other promotion out of the way. For instance, Gegard Mousasi is the real deal. Why doesn't Strikeforce have his face everywhere? Things like that make a difference, and the reason the UFC is number one is because they get that. UFC Primtime on Spike is great example of the utilization of one of their core competencies- hype. (And, of course they have the talent as well.)

There is a school of thought that MMA should like other major sports have just one league (or promotion), but the fact of the matter is that there are currently three large scale promotions with legitimate talent in the United States. So, until MMA reaches the multi-promotion breaking point, who in the long run do you think has more of a chance to challenge the UFC's rear naked choke on the industry? Stikeforce or Bellator?

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Follow Alvin on Twitter: @AwwwSnap

Alvin Benjamin Carter III is an MMATorch Specialist columnist focusing on the business and statistic side of the sport of MMA. He trains in SanDa / Shan Shou (Chinese Kickboxing) and MMA. He also has a business background in music production, management, and clothing. He has launched two companies which cater to niche markets, giving him experience in examining trends and attitudes that can affect a particular business model, which he applies in his weekly column for MMATorch to the sport of MMA.


[Dana White photo by Wade Keller (c) MMATorch.com]