Competition is back in the MMA world

Meaningful competition returned to the mixed martial arts world last week when
Strikeforce promotions of San Jose, CA. agreed to pick up some of fighter contracts from the now-defunct EliteXC promotion, and in turn, negotiated new television deals with both CBS and Showtime.

Scott Coker, the Strikeforce founder and CEO, has been a major player in the industry since a locally promoted March 2006 event drew a MMA record crowd of 18,265 at San Jose’s HP Pavilion.

"We had the opportunity to work with SHOWTIME on the Shamrock vs. (Phil) Baroni fight in June of 2007 and it was a great success," Coker said during a conference call. "It was a great matchup. We went on to promote another event, which was the he Shamrock vs. Cung Le fight. It was very well attended, attendance was over 15,000. It was an amazing battle. At that point we said MMA is here to stay."

"We've had MMA on the network since 2007," SHOWTIME's Ken Hershman added. "That (EliteXC) programming was actually very successful despite ProElite’s financial struggles. One thing that we're very proud of is that we always put on compelling contests that are very well received by our subscribers.

"We're thrilled to be getting back into this space and equally excited to get back into it with Strikeforce and Scott Coker. There’s no one better and classier in this business. We're really looking forward to launching this platform together. We now have a great compliment on the network again to our NFL programming and our boxing programming."

The first show of the new deal, which will be on April 11 from the HP Pavilion, will air live on SHOWTIME and be headlined by MMA legend Frank Shamrock taking on Nick Diaz at the catchweight of 179 pounds. Scott Smith is also expected to face Benji Radach on the show.

"This fight works because Nick Diaz fights traditionally between as low as 150 and up to 180," Coker said. "He goes back and forth depending on the matchup.
He was fighting at a lower rate and I talked to Cesar Gracie (Nick’s trainer) and he said ‘we can't make that weight anymore so we want to fight at 170.’ That’s were he would like to go back and fight and make his match. As you know, Frank is in the 185-pound weight class.

"Putting those two fights together, it just made a lot of sense to me because of the history behind Cesar, the Gracie’s and the Shamrocks. I thought it was a compelling story. And it would be a fantastic matchup because of the styles. That’s why we put that fight together."

"Nick Diaz is very similar to me," Shamrock added. "He grew up in a broken home and had abusive parents and really had a tough childhood. He and I have that in common and we've spoken about it a few times. He’s also gone on his MMA quest and traveled around to all the gyms.

"He ended up with my father for a minute training with him. So we have common ties that tie us together. I know for a fact hat he wasn't too happy when I knocked out his coach Cesar and he said some words afterward that got him into this fight. But we're going to fight and I don't care about Nick. He’s a nice guy and I'm going to knock him out. Then I'll move onto the next one."

The contracts of all the prominent EliteXC fighters, including Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, Gina Carano, Robbie Lawler, Jake Shields and Diaz, have reportedly transferred with the deal, although there are legal questions regarding the transfer of existing contracts that could be raised by talent.

"We have been in touch with I think half of the fighter roster," Coker said. "Yesterday, I did talk to Kimbo Slice's lawyer, just to say hello and let him know we will be in touch shortly and that we are very excited to have Kimbo fighting with Strikeforce and getting him back into the cage as soon as possible. My goal is to get these guys back working and back fighting as soon as possible."

The television contract calls for 12 events per year on SHOWTIME. The CBS part of the deal is still undisclosed but industry sources have pegged it as four quarterly shows.