The UFC's quest to secure the rights to Fedor Emelianenko was a failed one, as indicated just days ago by UFC president Dana White. Strikeforce saw an opportunity to take advantage of such a situation, and succeeded in doing so.
Strikeforce made the announcement on Monday, letting the public know that top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko would be fighting under the Strikeforce umbrella going forward, with the expectation that his first fight will take place within the next 90 days. Both Fedor and Strikeforce stand to benefit from this arrangement.
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.
And that's not all. White will most definitely have some words for Strikeforce. While the relationship has been friendly on the surface in the past, things are about to get ugly from here.
Strikeforce made the announcement on Monday, letting the public know that top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko would be fighting under the Strikeforce umbrella going forward, with the expectation that his first fight will take place within the next 90 days. Both Fedor and Strikeforce stand to benefit from this arrangement.
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.
And that's not all. White will most definitely have some words for Strikeforce. While the relationship has been friendly on the surface in the past, things are about to get ugly from here.
About the Author:
Artie Sullenberger is a mixed martial arts addict. He immerses himself in both UFC and Strikeforce, and is thrilled to see both organizations making moves. He consistently contributes to his favorite sports forum at RootZoo, a top sports community.
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