ZUFFA does it again! 11/3 Strikeforce cancelled, no more SF shows for 2012

[Warner2BruceTD]

Third cancelled show in roughly two months. Zuffa says no more Strikeforce shows this year, and they will come back in January with a "big show". Let's not hold our breaths on that.

Zuffa has put a gag order on everybody so nobody is talking.

Daniel Cormier told Ariel Helwani that nobody told him the show was cancelled, and that Helwani's phone call actually broke the news to him. Classy. How long were they going to wait to inform the fighters? Were they going to let them train another three weeks? lol.

Strikeforce ran 16 shows in 2011. This year, they will have run FIVE.

Anybody who thinks Zuffa buying Strikeforce was not terrible for the sport at this point needs their head examined.

[Liquidrob]

LOL

[Warner2BruceTD]

MMA Supremacy @MMASupremacy
Zuffa has now canceled 3 out of it's last 6 events - Strikeforce (x2) and UFC 151 in the span of 2 months. #MMA #UFC #Strikeforce #Zuffa

[Warner2BruceTD]

Right after press credentials were sent out for the 11/3 show in Oklahoma City, Showtime announced today that the event has been canceled.

A release from Showtime was headlined "Next live Strikeforce event on Showtime planned for January 2013," as opposed to the real story.

The reason for the cancellation were injuries suffered by Frank Mir and Luke Rockhold, two of the four headliners in a double main event of Mir vs. Daniel Cormier and Rockhold vs. Lorenz Larkin.

Tickets can be refunded at the point of purchase. The next show is scheduled for January.

The fighters were apparently not told anything in advance of this release being sent out. As of yesterday, the fighters on the show were all in training but it was suspicious that it has been a few weeks since Mir was injured and no new opponent was found for Cormier. Matt Mitrione was offered the match but turned it down.

That last paragraph is a disgrace.

[Warner2BruceTD]

FrontRowBrian @FrontRowBrian
There isn't an injury problem in UFC and Strikeforce. There's a too many shows and not enough talent problem. #Greed

[Liquidrob]

Zuffa - Good for the sport

[EmpireWF]

Put SF out of its misery.

If they can't find a suitable heavyweight to replace Mir with a more than a month's notice, just fold it up. I assume they would but Showtime isn't pulling out.

Ah well...guess we'll have to wait some more before Rousey and company find their way into the UFC.

This must REALLY suck for Cormier who could've been in the UFC come January...now he'll have to wait to get his big payday.

Not to mention must really really suck for the fighters who arent getting a paycheck (past any show money they may receive) for months.

[Steel Mamba]

Third cancelled show in roughly two months. Zuffa says no more Strikeforce shows this year, and they will come back in January with a "big show". Let's not hold our breaths on that.

Zuffa has put a gag order on everybody so nobody is talking.

Daniel Cormier told Ariel Helwani that nobody told him the show was cancelled, and that Helwani's phone call actually broke the news to him. Classy. How long were they going to wait to inform the fighters? Were they going to let them train another three weeks? lol.

Strikeforce ran 16 shows in 2011. This year, they will have run FIVE.

Anybody who thinks Zuffa buying Strikeforce was not terrible for the sport at this point needs their head examined.

Well since this was a shot at me, I'll just say that not everyone is interested in quality fights I guess. For example, we can see Gilbert fight Thomas for the fourth time or we could see Gilbert vs Bendo. Wow that's a tough choice there. If you don't prefer the latter then there's some sort of bias coming into play or seeing exciting fights isn't your top priority as a fan. I've said it before though and say I'll it again, the next few months (or who knows exactly how long) is going to be rough, and it will be BAD for the sport. I agree with you that the cancelling of these events was a shady move on Zuffa's part and it wasn't a good move. But, once the dust has settled, we're going to get better fights.

Bottom line, we all know that the UFC is running a lot of events, maybe too many. Either way, they need a deeper roster to do so, absorbing SF adds more depth to their cards, more depth to their roster, and gets some of SF's best fighting against the best in the world. That's not bad.

Yes, we sacrifice some of the things a true competitor (although that became moot once SF sold to Zuffa) brings, but none of that matter when 99% of the fighters out there are chomping at the bit to fight in the UFC and could care less about other promotions.

[EmpireWF]

Showtime needs to get out the way so we can see Cormier/JDS, Rockhold/Silva and Gil/Bendo, plus Ronda/Cyborg.

This relationship was never going to do well with the personalities involved.

Too bad there isn't anyone out there for Showtime to get into bed with so they can cut and run....which is probably which is probably what Zuffa rather at this point. Sucks because SF was fun at its peak.

[Steel Mamba]

Cormier vs JDS is bad for MMA

[Liquidrob]

agreed, couldn't have the UFC getting blasted by a Strikeforce HW GP alternate

[EmpireWF]

agreed, couldn't have the UFC getting blasted by a Strikeforce HW GP alternate

Yeah, prefer he get blasted by Strikeforce quarterfinalist Andrei Arlovski.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Cormier vs JDS is bad for MMA

'Superfights' is an overrated concept. Most of them never happen.

The Strikeforce purchase has produced *ONE* such 'Superfight'...a washed up, mentally checked out, post illness Brock Lesnar collecting a paycheck against Overeem.

Diaz never fought GSP, Overeem hasn't fought anybody else, and honestly, there are no other "dream fights" that can be made (something I pointed out back when Zuffa first bought SF to begin with).

MMA fans were getting a wider variety of great fights before the purchase, because you had two major league companies producing shows. Strikeforce shows were almost always fun and full of action, until Zuffa raided the roster.

Spin all you want, but there is no way the current landscape is better for fans than things were before the purchase. And before we talk about fights like Cormier/JDS, lets see Zuffa get them in the cage first.

[Steel Mamba]

Zuffa put the fights the fans wanted to see together, what happens after that is out of their control. It's silly to knock them for the Diaz and GSP fight not happening and Reem is suspended. It's not even about superfights though, it's more about getting all of those guys the opponents they deserve, the higher competition and high paychecks they deserve also.

[Warner2BruceTD]

I'm not really knocking Zuffa for Diaz/GSP never happening, i'm just saying that fans got caught up in the idea of Dream Fights and "MMA Superbowl" when the sale originally went down, and the fact is, dream fights rarely happen for one reason or another. We're still waiting for Fedor/Brock, Fedor/Overeem, A.Silva/GSP, Diaz/GSP, etc.

It wasnt all that long ago that you could watch UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM, Bellator, even throw in M1, I know as a fan I prefered the landscape back then as opposed to now when it's basically all Zuffa, producing shitty shows, cancelling left & right, etc. UFC gives us more free MMA now, that's a plus, but it's also a double edged sword because the multitude of shows waters everything down and one key injury on a show is crippling.

I just don't like the current landscape, its a rough period for the sport right now, and I saw it coming a mile away. People don't realize it, but a big key moving forward is Bellator really taking off an succeeding on Spike. If Viacom gets behind Bellator strong, that type of competition is good for everybody, because they will push UFC, and in the end, the fans win, and the fighters win if they have viable options to make real money.