Michael Rome over at Bloody Elbow throws out an interesting proposition: he says Strikeforce should counter-program UFC 106 with the Fedor Emelianenko/Brett Rogers fight.
What they should do is be proud of their product and put it up against UFC 106 in November. Showtime can easily advertise the fact that you have a simple choice that night: you can pay $50 to see a WWE superstar who doesn’t even know how to fight, or you can see the greatest fighter in MMA history on Showtime. Sure it’s manipulative, but it’s no worse than what Dana’s been doing to Fedor for years now.
If they do that, there will be a mountain of press covering the entire Fedor vs. Brock situation, and who is the more legitimate champion. And whose side do you think most reporters are going to come down on? When Dana couldn’t stop slamming Affliction, he ended up on the front page of the L.A. Times sports section next to Donald Trump in a big piece focusing on their upcoming battle. Dana can’t help himself, he’ll go berserk if they do this, and it will drive a ton of publicity for their event.
Michael makes a good point here. Strikeforce certainly does seem like they’re afraid of the UFC at this point, and I’m not sure it’s entirely warranted. Holding a show on October 10 doesn’t mean the UFC won’t be able to counter it; as Dave Meltzer pointed out yesterday, Zuffa already has a full card tentatively booked and ready to roll once the Fedor card is official. The mystery UFC show will almost certainly be a free Spike event, which would give Zuffa an even greater cut of potential Strikeforce viewers that night.
Strikeforce stands to lose fewer viewers by countering UFC 106 or any other pay per view event. And as Michael points out, you get the added benefit of instigating a direct war with Dana White, which would absolutely lead to more press coverage than you’d otherwise get.
Last 5 posts by Jeremy Botter
- Lashley Signs With Strikeforce - December 11th, 2009
- Site News: New Inside Fights Editor - November 6th, 2009
- Lesnar out of UFC 106 with severe flu - October 26th, 2009
- Machida steals one from Shogun - October 25th, 2009
- Henderson, UFC negotiations grind to a halt - October 16th, 2009
Loading ...
“you can pay $50 to see a WWE superstar who doesn’t even know how to fight”
Micheal Rome is a fckin retard who doesn’t know shit about mma. Brock has proved himself as a legit fighter and just because he worked with WWE does not mean he will always be a WWE superstar and nothing more. It is a dumb idea to even think about countering ufc106 and making it even easier for ufc to steal your viewers at your biggest event of the year.
Rome didn’t say Brock doesn’t know how to fight. Michael has gone on record many times saying that Brock not only has a bright future, but is pretty damn good right now.
He just said that’s how they (Strikeforce) should market it, since Dana talks about Fedor as if he isn’t a very good fighter. Neither statements are true.