Dana White on Strikeforce: Believe me, I got this thing worked out
Posted on December 12, 2011, 10:40 PM by Trent Reinsmith
After a long negotiation, it appears that Strikeforce and its stable of fighters will not be going anywhere in the near future. UFC President Dana White revealed the news following Saturday’s UFC 140 press conference.
“Gilbert Melendez and all the guys that are in the Strikeforce show and with Showtime, I will make fights [for them.] They will be happy to be there. Believe me, I got this thing worked out. It’s going to be good for everybody. It’s going to be good for the fighters, it’s going to be good for Showtime, and it’s going to be good for Strikeforce.” – for more see MMAWeekly.com
Strikeforce will hold it’s final 2011 event this weekend, with a main event that will see Gilbert Melendez defend his lightweight title against Jorge Masvidal.
Further Reading: Jorge Masvidal: Right now, fighting Gilbert Melendez is the only thing in my sights (Exclusive Interview)
Comments
I sure hope so. The only reason I pay for Showtime every month is for Strikeforce and M-1. And boxing. I (like most others) still think they should make Strikeforce the triple A of MMA.
...So Melendez will not be fighting in the UFC? Didn't he get signed?
yea, but he had one fight left on his Strikeforce deal. He'll still face Jorge Masdival in Strikeforce first. He better win lol
Champion vs Champion?
UFC should make Strikeforce into "UFC Challengers". Send down fighters with 3 straight losses to Strikeforce to redeem themselves.
Those guys should fight newcomers. Now guys who are 6-0 debut in the ufc and aren't ready for the big show. So let them fight at Strikeforce and if they succeed. They can come over to the UFC.
its not as simple as u may think.
Doing that would most likely cause Strikeforce to drop in stakes when they are no longer comparable to ufc fighters therefore making the entire show harder to sell.
That's a good point, Vidaros.
2 interesting comparisons:
1) Generally speaking, nobody cares about minor league baseball. The only type of baseball people watch is Major League Baseball.
2) On the other hand, hundreds of thousands of people are NUTS about college football. I'm not a football fan, so I always question how minor league / juvenile football is so popular.
It'll be really interesting to see how they position the brand, because I agree - if it's purely a farm league, I don't think people will buy into it.
Wouldn't it be better for showtime to have shows with the UFC-brand. More people know the brand UFC than Strikeforce.
I think the UFC can't call shows on Showtime UFC, because of the FOX-deal.
They should send guys over like Brandon Vera, Yves Edwards, G-Sots, Beltran, Dan Hardy, K-Sos,
Guys who have a name and can fight, but will never be a contender.
Florian might get pissed hehe
Strikeforce could be made into some type of farming system.
Yes, just like baseball. MMA could have " Strikeforce A" if you're ready to break through to fight the top p4p guys, "Strikeforce AA" if your career is winding down from years of taking beatings, and of course, "Strikeforce AAA" where they need to call a tow truck to pull you out of the ring after more than three consecutive KO's. (First three miles free, $.29 a mile thereafter.)
Gilbert Melendez must hate dana right now, im sure he wanted to go to the UFC