So, the UFC has acquired Strikeforce. Pretty wild news. I was trying to comprehend all the ramifications but each one multiplies into many more. For the time being, the two organizations will remain separate entities. I can only imagine that would be for the existing contracts of the Strikeforce fighters to expire. Then you have to consider the roster of fighters involved. My mind went to the marquee names: Overeem, Barnett, Diaz, Kawajiri, Melendez, Aoki, Jacare, Mousasi, Carano, Santos, etc. Some are former disgruntled UFC employees: Barnett, Daley, Hendo to name a few. Strikeforce also has several women's weight classes to consider. Dana White has claimed no interest in women in MMA.
As of now, there are more questions than answers. But one thing is for sure, the MMA world is getting monopolized. Hendo left the UFC after contract talks broke down. In hindsight, he lost a championship fight to Shields, but recently regained his luster in the light heavy championship against Feijao. Hendo took home $250K for his trouble. I would say that he got paid. Now, there is no rival promotion to go to if things breakdown with the UFC. Paul Daley was effectively banned from the UFC by Dana White. Daley recently doubted his appearance against Diaz, which would make Zuffa money. Where's he gonna go? BAMMA? Good luck with that. Recent promotions in Australia and Japan have not paid the fighters that appeared for them. I would like to say that Bellator is in the mix, but aside from Eddie Alvarez, there's not much more to that organization. And if you take M-1 global out of the picture, with Fedor's recent two losses and retirement talk; Strikeforce was the only other legitimate competition to the UFC.
I see this as make or break time for MMA. You have one dominant promotion. How Zuffa/UFC handles this situation will determine the fate of the sport. To me it's more scary than exciting.
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