LA - what do you think of Strikeforce now?

Curious.

Well I've been posting a lot about it, but this was exactly what needed to happen, and what I actually predicted would happen. Great thing for MMA. If you mean SF itself, no reason why my feelings would change.

You called them busch league in the past. Still busch league? Are they a major league now?

Of course things change when you're Zuffa run. SF was a poorly run Org with 25-30 talented fighters, this needed to happen.

LA wrote:

Of course things change when you're Zuffa run. SF was a poorly run Org with 25-30 talented fighters, this needed to happen.

How were they poorly run?

Poorly run? They turned a few million dollars in initial capital to between 40-60 million dollars for SVSE. Shit I wish I could poorly run money like that. Truly poorly ran organizations choke to death(IFL, Affliction, EliteXC) and are not bought out like the WEC, Pride(collapse of Japanese MMA not withstanding) and Strikeforce. Occasionally the UFC buys the remains of collapsed promotions like the IFL, Affliction and the WFA after they were in the thoes of death but this is not the same.

If they are poorly run why would the UFC keep the same people in charge? It's not like they don't have someone like Reed Harris who could immediately jump in and run a fight promotion. Before SF became a UFC competitor, White praised them and their business, and I believe Lorenzo when he says Zuffa has always admired Strikeforce and Coker. If they were poorly run why would the UFC let them continue to be poorly run? That makes no sense logically at all LA. None. Were they perfect? No. Is the UFC? No.

Strikeforce was finding success in the MMA game and making money and growing where all other fail. Under no reasonable measure could a company operating in the black in MMA be considered poorly ran outside of Zuffa. Impossible given the industry and how harsh it is to promotions.

Scott Coker and Strikeforce have more in common with Reed Harris and the WEC than Gary Shaw and EliteXC or Tom Atencio and Affliction or any number of clowns and defunct set of initials.

Geez all ripped and drunk and have to reply to this, here we go weeee...

Did we ever think they were really run well? Did we not complain about matchmaking, Undefended Titles, late fights finalizations ect? I mean you can be somewhat well run, but in the context of big Organizations still poorly run. Was Afflction run well? They put on the highest grossing Non-UFC PPV event ever. But ultimately were losing money putting on shows over their heads. On Coker, he was kept on for various reasons, one of which is for his weaknesses, he also does have favorable traits which make him a useful #3 guy. He can keep existing relationship strong and has connections in areas the UFC does not. But also, if you think about it, what were they going to do, clean out the house? That would cause far too much panic throughout the MMA Universe, this was the smart play. In the end, SF was bought out for making noise on the MMA scene, and right next door to the UFC you could say. Dana wanted the fighters of worth in SF and the buying price really wasn't high at all for them. If you ask me, looking back at everything now, it is possible the Prix was planned to bump them up before impending sale. SF was looking for investors, they could have tried to make a big wave in MMA to get people looking to invest, but without any real idea if the Prix was to be finished or not.

We all see things differently, and I applauded keeping Coker on, smart play, the right play here.

Oh, and you assume operating in the black when we don't really know either way, but I could see it another color too, Red.

SVSE wanted to create SF to put people in seats at HP Pavillion, enter Scott Coker with the industry know how to implement that plan and much much more. They went from a scope that wasn't beyond San Jose to one that would grow to encompass California to the West Coast to the Mid West and eventually the entire US. They drew good fighters from Japan and the self destructive American promotions and from inception to toady have been putting on very entertaining MMA cards at a rate greater than any existing promotion. All of this in spite of the sports most recognizable figurehead consistently ridiculing them, consistently counter programing them, holding tight and resigning any high value name fighters they could while poaching what good SF fighters they could. SF is four years old and has been the opposite of what Zuffa ran UFC was in it's first four years; Zuffa UFC was sinking on the years after they purchased the organization, the Ferttitas tried to sell UFC in 2004 to escape, a desperation gamble in the Ultimate Fighter reality show is the only reason Zuffa runs the UFC today.

Thanks for the refresher

Dana wanted out more then the Ferttitas in 04 I believe.

Yea Dana was ready to cash out. Strikeforce had issues, but so does the UFC. A lot of those complaints ended up playing out better for Strikeforce in the long run. Like the situation with their HW championship title.

Strikeforce is late on fight finalizations for a number of reasons, but the primary one is the UFC's current 3 month standard is much larger than it ever used to be and is the norm for most of the rest of the sport through it's history. Only the UFC has the size and stability to plan that far ahead. That, and preventing major fights from being counter programmed.

As for this "did WE ever think" stuff, yes, if "we" means most of the consensus here. You on the other hand never have. You=we.

Don't pin that just to me, other people complained baout issues like that.

By the way my stance has stayed as always in the overall scheme of things. That is, had it been SF as the best suitor instead on the UFC for MMA supremacy, so be it. Who ever was the best Org to take MMA into the future, maybe it can be in a way both, but doubt it really seems like that in the end.

Yea you've said that. I disagree with that though. I'd turn against SF if they actually ever knocked off the UFC and all it's history somehow. UFC >>> SF. That said, I liked Strikeforce and never felt the brand loyalty to the point I am personally invested in seeing competitors fail like others are.

If Strikeforce had seeded the HW tourney different and actually ran it properly then I think it could've given them a big boost and brought it closer to the UFC in the long run. They needed to try to make it a Fedor vs Overeem final. That way they could've claimed that they had the best heavyweight in the world and not a lot of people would've argued.

Overeem vs Werdum
Silva vs Rogers

Fedor vs Kharitonov
Barnett vs Arlovski

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Yea you've said that. I disagree with that though. I'd turn against SF if they actually ever knocked off the UFC and all it's history somehow. UFC >>> SF. That said, I liked Strikeforce and never felt the brand loyalty to the point I am personally invested in seeing competitors fail like others are.

You know, I only wish for failure IMO to see MMA grow, best fighters fighting best fighters on the biggest stage. I understand others see it differently.

Wait till "UFC" fans who aren't as aware of Reem get a look at him. Reem will be making appearances on ESPN with people gauking (spelled right?) over him.

freakzilla316ftw wrote:

If Strikeforce had seeded the HW tourney different and actually ran it properly then I think it could've given them a big boost and brought it closer to the UFC in the long run. They needed to try to make it a Fedor vs Overeem final. That way they could've claimed that they had the best heavyweight in the world and not a lot of people would've argued.

Overeem vs Werdum
Silva vs Rogers

Fedor vs Kharitonov
Barnett vs Arlovski

The HW tournament seeding was fine. It created the big fights we wanted to see sooner rather than later between their biggest names while the other side of the bracket creates a legitimate contender for the finals vs who ever emerged from Werdum/Overeem/Silva/Fedor.

Fans hate rigged tournaments seeded to unfold a specific way and tournament planning is a fools endeavor and almost never ever works. Nothing in your post makes sense freakmal.

LA wrote:

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Yea you've said that. I disagree with that though. I'd turn against SF if they actually ever knocked off the UFC and all it's history somehow. UFC >>> SF. That said, I liked Strikeforce and never felt the brand loyalty to the point I am personally invested in seeing competitors fail like others are.

You know, I only wish for failure IMO to see MMA grow, best fighters fighting best fighters on the biggest stage. I understand others see it differently.

Wait till "UFC" fans who aren't as aware of Reem get a look at him. Reem will be making appearances on ESPN with people gauking (spelled right?) over him.

Unless Sergei punches him in the jaw.

Possible, and they train together, but Reem is different then what 07?

You watch, the Reem? it's pretty cool. Wish more fighters did stuff like this.

LA wrote:

Possible, and they train together, but Reem is different then what 07?

You watch, the Reem? it's pretty cool. Wish more fighters did stuff like this.

Golden Glory guys don't give a fuck. Everyone trains there.

I'm saying he knows Reem well cause of that.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

freakzilla316ftw wrote:

If Strikeforce had seeded the HW tourney different and actually ran it properly then I think it could've given them a big boost and brought it closer to the UFC in the long run. They needed to try to make it a Fedor vs Overeem final. That way they could've claimed that they had the best heavyweight in the world and not a lot of people would've argued.

Overeem vs Werdum
Silva vs Rogers

Fedor vs Kharitonov
Barnett vs Arlovski

The HW tournament seeding was fine. It created the big fights we wanted to see sooner rather than later between their biggest names while the other side of the bracket creates a legitimate contender for the finals vs who ever emerged from Werdum/Overeem/Silva/Fedor.

Fans hate rigged tournaments seeded to unfold a specific way and tournament planning is a fools endeavor and almost never ever works. Nothing in your post makes sense freakmal.

Many others and myself would disagree. A lot of people hated the seedings when they came out.

freakzilla316ftw wrote:

Wolfgangsta wrote:

freakzilla316ftw wrote:

If Strikeforce had seeded the HW tourney different and actually ran it properly then I think it could've given them a big boost and brought it closer to the UFC in the long run. They needed to try to make it a Fedor vs Overeem final. That way they could've claimed that they had the best heavyweight in the world and not a lot of people would've argued.

Overeem vs Werdum
Silva vs Rogers

Fedor vs Kharitonov
Barnett vs Arlovski

The HW tournament seeding was fine. It created the big fights we wanted to see sooner rather than later between their biggest names while the other side of the bracket creates a legitimate contender for the finals vs who ever emerged from Werdum/Overeem/Silva/Fedor.

Fans hate rigged tournaments seeded to unfold a specific way and tournament planning is a fools endeavor and almost never ever works. Nothing in your post makes sense freakmal.

Many others and myself would disagree. A lot of people hated the seedings when they came out.

Thats assuming Fedor could win out of his bracket at this point. Also, fans would have hated it a whole lot more if it looked like he was given a cakewalk to the finals.

Kharitinov and Barnett is no cakewalk.

Compared to Werdum/Overeem and Silva it is.

All I know is that MMA is in an Awesome position to supplant some sports from their perches. Football is having labor issues, the NBS may have labor issues shortly, baseball blows chunks. With the UFC branding and Bellator being a weekly show, MMA is in a great position to get some honest to goodness face time on the major sports networks.

True that. If the NFL thing doesn't fix... that's something.