UFC Goes Shopping

The biggest event to hit MMA in quite some time came out of left field as news of UFC’s purchase of Strikeforce broke yesterday afternoon. Yes the UFC has gone out and bought its biggest competitor but don’t think that means the end of Strikeforce. In short, the UFC doesn’t plan to absorb Strikeforce and its fighters into its own promotion but rather it plans to allow both companies to run as they do today with the UFC likely overseeing operations of Strikeforce. The ramifications of this are endless so I have broken down this piece into two sections: what this means for the sport from a standpoint of its growth and the business ramifications and what we can potentially expect as far as events go as a result of the deal.

The Sport

This is an impressive show of force for the UFC. It appears that they decided Strikeforce has become successful enough that they would be worth owning and went out and bought them. It was like the second they decided that they wanted Strikeforce they took it, at least that is how it appears. The sport of MMA, at least in America, is quite simply the domain of the UFC, Zuffa, and Dana White. While everyone with half a brain understood that already, I am not sure anyone saw their nonchalant purchase of their top rival coming. Depending on how the UFC decides to operate the two companies in the long term, we are very likely to see MMA continue on the path of privatized monopolized professional sports. UFC is to MMA what NBA is to basketball, MLB is to baseball, and NFL is to football. Unless there is some sort of dramatic shift in the near future, there will likely be one promotion where the top fighters can be found and all other promotions will be glorified minor leagues. The pros and cons have been discussed plenty but I tend to favor the model. Not simply because it seems inevitable but because it allows for better fights for the fans. When everyone negotiates their fights through the same promoters huge obstacles are removed. The UFC doesn’t allow fighters to pick and choose fights. It promotes a culture of competitiveness that actively seeks out the best fights and the best fighters so as to prove supremacy beyond doubt. Between the culture that the UFC fosters and the ease at which they can negotiate fights with a one-promotion system, Zuffa can put together almost any fight it wants and more importantly any fight the fans wants.

What To Expect

I am going to approach this as a list because I think there is a lot to consider here. The UFC’s purchase of Strikeforce is a game changer, whether they will admit it right away or not.

- We will likely start seeing cross-promotional fights sooner rather than later. Perhaps they won’t be titled as such. Fighters may move from one promotion to the other under the guise of new contracts but whether it is through cross-promotion or roster adjustments I expect we are going to get some of those “dream” fights we have been waiting for. For example, I think there is a good chance the winner of the Strikeforce Heavyweight tournament could find himself facing the winner of Cain Velasquez vs JDS/Brock. It is tough to say how this will actually manifest itself but rest assured the UFC did not buy Strikeforce with no interest in crossing the talent pools.

- Expect this business as usual stuff to end. I suspect that the UFC is simply planning to ride out Strikeforce’s TV contracts and then will either turn the promotion to a minor league of sorts or dissolve it completely. In the mean time they may give this a fair trial run to see if it is financially viable to run two “equal” promotions the way they run now. The long and short of it is that if the desire is to put on the best fights possible, the current format will inevitably give way to a one promotion system.

- Strikeforce’s production value is going to go way up. One can presume that we are going to see better camera work, improved commentary, and greatly enhanced promotional work for each event, including countdown/preview shows. Strikeforce should see some immediate aesthetic changes for the better as a result of this deal.

- If you aren’t familiar with these names yet expect to be: Gilbert Melendez, Antonio Silva, King Mo (Lawler) Lawal, Nick Diaz, and Alstair Overeem. These are just a few of the fighters who should see their overall stock go up with this new deal.

- Expect to hear about Strikeforce a lot on UFC television. They will likely promote it to increase ratings and build their stars, whatever their plans might be for those stars. Mutual promotion between the two companies will be good for everyone, especially Strikeforce and its fighters.

- Non-UFC fighters will finally get more recognition in mainstream MMA media. I am not a conspiracy theorist that thinks the UFC blackballs all media outlets that don’t favor its fighters but I do think the UFC looks more favorably upon outlets that do in terms of event access, interviews, and such. I also think its natural that the biggest kid on the block gets talked about the most while everyone else has to do something a bit special to get noticed. Strikeforce fighters should receive an increase in attention, particularly regarding rankings and from mainstream sports outlets such as ESPN and Yahoo Sports.

Whether or not this is a good move depends largely on your perspective. If you are of the belief that the UFC’s domination of MMA is a good thing, you are probably pretty happy. If you find their monopoly to be counterproductive then you likely see this is as yet another sign of the MMA apocalypse. The one thing we know for sure is that this is going to change the sport in some really profound ways.