Strikeforce cancels Nov. 3 event in Oklahoma City, plans January return

Strikeforce has canceled its Nov. 3 event in Oklahoma City, the organization today announced.

Injuries to headliner Frank Mir, as well as co-headliner and middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, prompted the cancellation, officials stated in today's release.

While rumors of the organization's potential demise have swirled in recent weeks, Strikeforce and Showtime officials stated they plan to host the next Strikeforce event in January at a location to be announced.

However, officials said the card will be "stacked," and details will be announced in the coming days.

"We don't want to put on cards unless they're of the caliber that fans who pay for a subscription have come to expect," a Showtime rep today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

The Nov. 3 event was slated to take place at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The main card was slated to air on Showtime following prelims on Showtime Extreme.

"Due to a series of injuries, we were forced to cancel the upcoming card on Nov. 3, but are already working to put together a stacked card in January," Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated.

In his final Strikeforce fight, Daniel Cormier was expected to fight former UFC heavyweight champion Mir before his own move to the UFC. However, Mir was forced off the card with an injury. So, too, was Rockhold, who was slated to fight Lorenz Larkin in the night's co-headliner.

"While we're disappointed with the cancellation, we are looking forward to an even bigger Strikeforce event on Showtime early next year," stated Stephen Espinoza, Showtime Sports' executive vice president and general manager.

Affected by the cancellation are Tim Kennedy and Trevor Smith, who were booked to fight at the event, as were Bobby Green and Jorge Masvidal. Former title challenger Liz Carmouche also was expected to fight at the event.

The cancellation comes after Zuffa, the UFC and Strikeforce's parent company, canceled the Sept. 1 UFC 151 event, as well as a Sept. 29 "Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy" event.

Ticket refunds are available for the Nov. 3 card.

Well..the card should be stacked.

Wasnt really buying the merger news. Zuffa couldnt merge Strikeforce until Showtime agree to end their 2 year deal. Didnt see that happening yet.

So an August to January hiatus? That will officially be the longest hiatus in the brands history. 5 shows in 2012, feeling bad for dudes stuck in some of these contracts.

Zuffa just need to cancel the contract already, I am sure something can be worked out.

With Showtime adjusting their sports budget to allow them to go wild with boxing there really isn't any point in keeping this relationship going, all it's doing is wasting away talented fighters primes.

Ali wrote:

Zuffa just need to cancel the contract already, I am sure something can be worked out.

With Showtime adjusting their sports budget to allow them to go wild with boxing there really isn't any point in keeping this relationship going, all it's doing is wasting away talented fighters primes.

Well, not without showtime it cant. So it's not as simple as Zuffa canceling a contract they had no real choice in the first place. People thought Zuffa held the cards but it was really Showtime's option to extend for 2 more years. Dana just acted like they had control and it was their choice to keep SF running. I even believed that. However, No..we all know Zuffa would have shot SF in the head the first chance the got but it was showtimes option.

Maybe Showtime cancels, i've been wrong about more improbable things before. I personally think the relevant SF fighters dropping like flies to injury is no freak accident, i think they are trying to make Showtime ill of the product..fact is, the last SF card did well and overall they like the rating SF bring in. I doubt they will quit that especially now that they are led to believe they'll have stacked cards in 2013 as a result of all these canceled cards.

KingsOwn19 wrote:

Ali wrote:

Zuffa just need to cancel the contract already, I am sure something can be worked out.

With Showtime adjusting their sports budget to allow them to go wild with boxing there really isn't any point in keeping this relationship going, all it's doing is wasting away talented fighters primes.

Well, not without showtime it cant. So it's not as simple as Zuffa canceling a contract they had no real choice in the first place. People thought Zuffa held the cards but it was really Showtime's option to extend for 2 more years. Dana just acted like they had control and it was their choice to keep SF running. I even believed that. However, No..we all know Zuffa would have shot SF in the head the first chance the got but it was showtimes option.

Maybe Showtime cancels, i've been wrong about more improbable things before. I personally think the relevant SF fighters dropping like flies to injury is no freak accident, i think they are trying to make Showtime ill of the product..fact is, the last SF card did well and overall they like the rating SF bring in. I doubt they will quit that especially now that they are led to believe they'll have stacked cards in 2013 as a result of all these canceled cards.

Can't a settlement be reached ? If UFC can afford to cancel 151 can't they afford to buy this contract out ?

Ali wrote:

KingsOwn19 wrote:

Ali wrote:

Zuffa just need to cancel the contract already, I am sure something can be worked out.

With Showtime adjusting their sports budget to allow them to go wild with boxing there really isn't any point in keeping this relationship going, all it's doing is wasting away talented fighters primes.

Well, not without showtime it cant. So it's not as simple as Zuffa canceling a contract they had no real choice in the first place. People thought Zuffa held the cards but it was really Showtime's option to extend for 2 more years. Dana just acted like they had control and it was their choice to keep SF running. I even believed that. However, No..we all know Zuffa would have shot SF in the head the first chance the got but it was showtimes option.

Maybe Showtime cancels, i've been wrong about more improbable things before. I personally think the relevant SF fighters dropping like flies to injury is no freak accident, i think they are trying to make Showtime ill of the product..fact is, the last SF card did well and overall they like the rating SF bring in. I doubt they will quit that especially now that they are led to believe they'll have stacked cards in 2013 as a result of all these canceled cards.

Can't a settlement be reached ? If UFC can afford to cancel 151 can't they afford to buy this contract out ?

I don't know what Showtime would want. How much do they make off of Strikeforce cards and how much does UFC care about those 2 fighters they really want right now to pay Showtime off. They cared enough about Nick Diaz, Overeem, and stopping a legitimate competitor from rising to buy strikeforce. I don't think they are in a hurry to get Rockhold and any SF fighter outside of Cormier and Gil. Cormier is theirs after a fight anyway, they arent committed enough to bring Ronda and women over to the UFC yet they don't want to let them go free(she's draws wth strikeforce witch makes both Showtime and Zuffa hesitant) and then there is Gil who whether ranked 1, 2 or 3 isnt worth folding a whole league and buying out a contract with a major network for. UFC could afford to fold 151 but they hella didnt want to do it. They had no choice. It was not just "whatever, we'll cancel because we're zuffa and we have the money" it was "Fuck Jon Jones we have to fuckin cancel and blow all this money". They couldnt promote a Hieron-Ellenberger PPV. I'm just not seeing where UFC would pay a lot of money just to break a contract for 2 maybe 4 fighters thart would really shake things up..2 of which(Cormier, Barnett) are theirs for the taking soon anyway.

You're right Kings it's not really financially feasible to fold Strikeforce for a couple of top ten guys. It's just frustrating.

I wish Zuffa would at least try and supply Strikeforce with some of their UFC roster, instead of cutting fighters I don't see why they couldn't send a couple over.

Looks like they forgot to notify DC.

Quote :

"I wish somebody would have told me something," he told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani. "This is unbelievable. I'm very upset. I just want to be informed. That's all. I don't think that's asking for too much."

Ali wrote:

Looks like they forgot to notify DC.

Quote :

"I wish somebody would have told me something," he told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani. "This is unbelievable. I'm very upset. I just want to be informed. That's all. I don't think that's asking for too much."

Quote :

@TimKennedyMMA
Thank you @Strikeforce for letting me read about my flight being canceled on the Internet. I was 9 weeks into my fight camp. Awesome!

I'm glad I got my money back. I should know better then to buy tickets to a MMA event with all the injuries these days. I'm wondering if they will make the January show a farewell show and just stack the shit out of it. Showtime could get one more monster show out of SF and then be done with them. Would probably be best for everyone involved. Hopefully Mousasi is healthy and ready to go by December. Put all your Champions that are healthy and able to go on the main card and stack the undercard with fighters that are long overdue for paychecks.

OU wrote:

Ali wrote:

Looks like they forgot to notify DC.

Quote :

"I wish somebody would have told me something," he told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani. "This is unbelievable. I'm very upset. I just want to be informed. That's all. I don't think that's asking for too much."

Quote :

@TimKennedyMMA
Thank you @Strikeforce for letting me read about my flight being canceled on the Internet. I was 9 weeks into my fight camp. Awesome!

WTF that's just unprofessional from Zuffa or Coker.

Ali wrote:

OU wrote:

Ali wrote:

Looks like they forgot to notify DC.

Quote :

"I wish somebody would have told me something," he told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani. "This is unbelievable. I'm very upset. I just want to be informed. That's all. I don't think that's asking for too much."

Quote :

@TimKennedyMMA
Thank you @Strikeforce for letting me read about my flight being canceled on the Internet. I was 9 weeks into my fight camp. Awesome!

WTF that's just unprofessional from Zuffa or Coker.

Shit I'm sure Coker read about the cancellation on the internet too. He was probably trying to make some undercard match when he read it on junkie.

Strikeforce needs to make the January show it's farewell card and here is how it should look. Too bad Feijao is out till like May.

Gilbert Melendez vs Eddie Alvarez- both would be in UFC after so why not?
Cormier vs Mir- they already signed it once, sign it again.
Luke Rockhold vs Jacare- they are the 2 best MW on SF roster, so why not run it back?
Ronda vs Cyborg- Unless they want to hold out for a 1 and done UFC fight.
Mousasi vs Mike Kyle- they don't have any other options. I suggest AJ-Linderman winner.
Healy vs Thompson- winner gets a big fight in the UFC
Gracie vs Kennedy

you could have Marquardt vs Jason High I guess. Who else they got for Nate?

Nate vs Lawler in a catchweight fight maybe?

GDPofDRC wrote:

Nate vs Lawler in a catchweight fight maybe?

Maybe. I'd watch. Maybe if they do a farewell show they could send over another UFC guy, since it would be a clear cut 1 and done, everyone moving to the UFC when it's over. WW is kind of log jammed with the GSP injury, potential GSP-Anderson fight. Kos, Fitch and Sanchez are well known guys not getting a title shot anytime soon.

Quote :

The biggest letdown in the whole thing was being uninformed, but I've talked to the organization since, and they've told me why, and I understand. I have to. There's really no crying over spilled milk. I was made fully aware of the reasoning behind it. I guess that's what needed to happen.

-DC

Quote :

When asked what the reasoning was, Cormier stated that he was not at liberty to disclose the conversation he had, but did say that he got the impression that Strikeforce was not going out of business just yet. The only thing he would say was that it was something between Showtime and Strikeforce.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/10/16/3512140/daniel-cormier-interview-strikeforce-cancellation

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/10/17/3518612/strikeforce-frank-shamrock-end-ufc-mma-news
On Inside MMA this week, Shamrock spoke to Bas Rutten about the birth of Strikeforce, and what a letdown it was when the company was sold to Zuffa last year (transcribed by MMA Mania):

Quote :

"Strikeforce was my baby. Scott [Coker] and I were sitting, like this, at a coffee shop. He was like, 'Bro, I wanna do MMA.' It was literally like that. And I go, 'Wow, are you kidding me? Do you know hard it is? Do you know how much money it costs and the risk there is?' And he and I were like bros, and we shook hands and said, 'Let's do it!' I put everything into that company. I mean, literally every day of my life, I woke up, and I breathed Strikeforce. It was the first chance I saw, besides the monopoly of the UFC, to give MMA a shot -- to give martial artists, who don't know what MMA is about, a nice picture of it. Scott was a martial artist as a promoter, and he got it. He let me do my thing. I'm an entertainer. I'm a risk taker. When we sold, it was harder than you [Bas Rutten] breaking my face in our first fight. It was like everything ended that day. It was really tough."

Was the 151 cancellation a move that made it easier for these SF shows to be cancelled?

I don't remember any cancelled cards in the past(aside from affliction), now we have 3 in a couple months time.

After originally thinking SF was dead after the buyout, it looked as though maybe they did have life, thanks in large part to Ronda, but this is not the way an organization with long term plans does things. And especially on a pay channel, I just can't see this keeping up. Either UFC lends fighters or this is back to dead org walking.