UFC Will Not Provide Live Counter Against April Strikeforce Event
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 18, 2010 1:19 PM EDT
in MMA News
Email
Print
MMA Fighting is reporting that there will be no UFC counter to the April Strikeforce event:
Strikeforce has the spotlight to itself.
The long-rumored UFC event expected to counter the promotion's April 17 CBS offering will not take place, MMA Fighting has confirmed.
Earlier this month, the UFC explored the option, going so far as to inform likely broadcast partner Spike TV that the show was a go, but the company has apparently reversed course, and a Spike source said the network has been told by the UFC that the show is no longer happening.
The lack of a solid headlining fight was really an issue in putting this show together, but I also question just how much of this was a bluff by the UFC. The fact that it did seem to make Strikeforce and CBS hesitate to get moving on booking and promoting their event made the talk of a counter effective. I'm sure we will still see some form of counter by the UFC in a PPV replay.
Now we will get to see the first Strikeforce effort on TV without a major star to headline the show (although Fedor's starpower is debatable). Casual audiences are typically drawn to title fights, and while the hardcore base will insist that these titles mean nothing there is an allure to the casual audience of a three title event. Mid-range boxing shows do tend to do better with a title fight included even if everyone knows that "alphabet belts" are largely meaningless.
Without a live UFC counter Strikeforce loses the built in excuse for a sub-par number and more rides on the ability of this card to do at least passable ratings.
-- photo via strikeforce.comStrikeforce: Nashville on CBS coverage
82 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I am very skeptical that this event will get good ratings
I will definitely check this card out with some friends, but it really comes down to advertising in my opinion if they want to get casual viewers. If no one except for MMA fans who go on MMA websites knows that the card exists, besides Saturday Night channel surfers, it will be difficult to get people to watch their show despite being free.
the one plus side for this is that they have the NCAA tournament leading up to this. I personally think to use that as a jumping off point it would be better to do this on the 10th (when there is already an international UFC, so they will at least know where they stand about counter programming). But it’s halftime of the first game and I’ve already seen 1 (albeit less than 30 second) commercial.
They aren’t going to give up too much of their ad inventory from the tournament, but they gave kimbo and elite a decent push last year, so it’s likely that this will get more of a push on cbs than the last fight did, so we’ll see what hapens.
Ariel Helwani tweeted
First Strikeforce on CBS commercial sighting during NCAA tourney. Quick mention of Hendo vs. Shields. Pretty cool.
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 18, 2010 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah...
I saw that too.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 18, 2010 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions
I saw the commercial too. Hopefully they will run longer ones as it gets closer to fight night. That one was maybe 5 seconds with no pictures or video. Sucks for them that they don’t have any footage on Hendo. The Bisping KO would be nice to see a few times a day on CBS :-)
Be a man, not a child-Phil Anselmo
by ANance on Mar 18, 2010 1:38 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
They could show it liek teh way they did with Fedor KOing AA and murdering Timmeh
Can be seen HERE to jog your memory. =)
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 18, 2010 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions
I dunno if you are trying to take a shot at me somehow but, the link isn’t playing on my iPhone for some reason. I don’t recall how they hyped Fedor the can crusher.
Be a man, not a child-Phil Anselmo
by ANance on Mar 18, 2010 2:32 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I understand you taking up for your boy Tim
and I really think the widespread hate for him is unwarranted. But it seems like you just called him a can, just sayin…
I'm the best ever. You're the most average in a minute.
And NEW UFC Welterweight Champion of the World.....Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy!
by slapjaw ackrite on Mar 18, 2010 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t know if FCC regs would allow them to show that before the end of prime time on network TV. Every one kicks CBS and Strike Force around for what they do and some of it they deserve. But doing MMA on network telly is a lot harder than doing the same thing on a cable channel.
Good point....
Although I just saw an airline commercial playing during the game where 15 men paint their chests and show off their man boobs. You would think if that would fly then so would a few punches.
Be a man, not a child-Phil Anselmo
by ANance on Mar 18, 2010 2:30 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I think this was a strategic move by the UFC. A little chess match with the winning move to bluff Strikeforce into thinking they would counter program them. Now the pressure is on Strikeforce to perform strong numbers on their own with a pretty mediocre card. I don’t think they will succeed.
Mediocre?
I dont think it is fair to say its a half ass card. I think its pretty stacked with the 3 title fights, and all 3 could go either way. Aoki, King Mo, Mousasi, Hendo, how can you not like the card? Mousasi and Aoki are probably the 2 best fighters out there not in the ufc, besides the ovious.
HI YAH!
by Thats It For you! on Mar 18, 2010 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah it’s got star power spread across 3 main events but those fights that don’t really make sense to me. Title fights with no build up whatsoever. Hendo’s 1st fight is a title shot…yeah ok. King Mo gets a title shot at LHW when he’s only fought 2x at that weight and his last 2 fights were at HW. So he’s moving down to LHW and gets a title shot for whatever reason…yeah ok. Aoki comes in and gets an immediate title shot when he’s never fought in Strikeforce before….ok.
I like all these fighters and I will definitely watch the show but it just seems like Strikeforce is putting fighters together for random title fights that really don’t make sense to me. I may be totally off base here but that’s just how I see it.
i see your point but they are the best contenders that they can put against the champions, so really they made the best fight the could, and did a good job about it. Anderson Silva got a title shot in his 2nd fight in the UFC. And dont forget Vitor getting a MW title shot and not fighting at 185.
HI YAH!
by Thats It For you! on Mar 18, 2010 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions
No one should complain about Hendo getting an immediate title shot, he was the #1 contender in the UFC for Pete’s sake.
THIS
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 18, 2010 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Fenix Knight are you Supremacy’s 2nd account or something? You love anything SF and have the little =) going on aswell.
Sups 2nd account? lol Nope. I barely have enough time to deal with my own, dude.
Especially since 99% of my posting is done on my Droid. I have no interwebs at work =(. Oh, and I love anything MMA, not just SF. I dont do the smiley thing everytime. Just look through these posts and you can see that. Good day sir.
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 18, 2010 6:45 PM EDT up reply actions
What CBS really needs to do is
Educate the casuals and do a 1hour Countdown type show. We all know these are 3 good fights. Hell, just that 40sec clip of King Mo and Mousasi jawing at each others got me pumped. C’mon CBS, spend the money!
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 18, 2010 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions
That is a great idea, but I don’t think they would sacrifice a time slot to promote it, where they are already giving up a very important time slot for the show its self already.
HI YAH!
by Thats It For you! on Mar 18, 2010 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions
a pretty mediocre card.
Como what??? O_o
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 18, 2010 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions
The ironic thing is that if these fights were in the UFC instead of Strikeforce, no one would even think this is mediocre and would probably think it would be very good. I really do think some MMA fans look at the organization and not the fighters to discern whether a card is good or not. However, most MMA fans know that this is a very good card, but there will have some that can’t look past the fact that this is on Strikeforce, and therefore find it inferior.
I’d say it’s a great Strikeforce card, and I’m excited for it, but if this was a UFC PPV card, people would be complaining about it not having a title fight, or that King Mo is in no way ready for Mousasi, that Hendo/Shields is a dull meaningless matchup in the division, and what have you. The standards are just different.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Mar 18, 2010 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions
I think the main event is very mediocre. I am excited about the rest of the card tho. They shoulda fed Gina a can as the
main event.
Be a man, not a child-Phil Anselmo
by ANance on Mar 18, 2010 1:41 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Hmm
So should I just not order it and wait for the counter to watch it? lol
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 18, 2010 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions
No chance lol!
I’m watching it the theater with mah buddies FTW! Just wanna check it out.
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 18, 2010 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m sure we will still see some form of counter by the UFC in a PPV replay.
yeah…I pointed that out
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 18, 2010 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Did anyone else notice how during the promos they mention Strikeforce by name? Not just CBS’s Saturday Night Fights. Curious how Strikeforce get’s a shout out when m-1 is not attached. I wonder if part of m-1’s complaint was that this was the type of brand identification they expected.
Fedor isn't on this card.
M-1 does not co-promote all Strikeforce fights.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
I know.
Curious how Strikeforce get’s a shout out when m-1 is not attached
I find it interesting that CBS is happy to boldy include the promotion’s name now but not in November when m-1 was co-promoting.
maybe they realized they need to start building SF’s brand better.
They could also have started doing it to show M1 that things will be different next time.
Maybe
but the paranoid in me says they intentionally neglected the promoters last time so as not to promote the m1 brand.
really
no one is excited about this card? i understand “strikefarce” is a joke because of name, lack of roster depth, coker looks like a leprechaun, even being associated with M-1, herschel walker… many other reasons. but any card where i can see Mousasi, Hendo, and Aoki all fighting the same night, im down. I love mma, all *mma.
*(jose canseco beatings don’t count as mma)
Very excited. According the BE consensus rankings we have:
#2 MW vs #7 MW
#6 LHW vs #21 LHW
#2 LW vs #8 LW
If this was the UFC it would be like Vitor Belfort vs Nate Marguardt, Forrest Griffin vs Jon Jones and kenny Florian vs Frankie Edgar on free TV. The bloggersphere would explode.
by John Nash on Mar 18, 2010 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Nicely put
poor Forrest would get smashed again…
I'm the best ever. You're the most average in a minute.
And NEW UFC Welterweight Champion of the World.....Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy!
by slapjaw ackrite on Mar 18, 2010 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions
I like the recent big Strikeforce events more than anything UFC has put on in that same time frame. This looks to be another great show for Strikfeorce, though I doubt its drawing power.
well yeah.
first of all strikeforce couldn’t promote girl scout cookies and those bitches sell themselves.
second i wouldn’t even want to go to that event just cause i know before the fight even starts Mo is gonna spray energy drink everywhere.
Retweeted by Supremacy
@robnashville: Strikeforce promo during NCAA just now…. with Strikeforce getting mentioned by name.. not just the Sat nite fights concept.
Nice.
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
wow. did they focus on anything specific (hendo v shields?) or did they just mention there would be a strikeforce event?
Judging from this tweet and Ariels, both.
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 18, 2010 3:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Since you asked nicely...
STRIKEFORCE: APRIL 17, 2010 ON CBS
Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee
CBS Main Card:
Jake Shields (24-4-1) [SF MW Champ] vs. Dan Henderson (25-7)
Gegard Mousasi (28-2-1) [SF LHW Champ] vs. “King Mo” Lawal (6-0)
Shinya Aoki (23-4) [DREAM LW Champ] vs. Gilbert Melendez (17-2) [SF LW Champ]
Prelims:
Bobby Lashley (5-0) vs TBA (SWING BOUT: CBS Bout)
Cody Floyd (5-0 am, 0-0 pro) vs. Thomas Campbell (17-2-1 am, 0-0 pro)
Andy Uhrich (5-1) vs. Dustin West (2-2)
Ovince St. Preux (4-4) vs. Chris Hawk (3-4)
Hunter Worsham (5-1) vs. Zach Underwood (4-0)
Dustin Ortiz (1-0) vs. Justin Pennington (0-0)
FYI: also heard that Showtime/CBS and Strikeforce are now discussing taping prelims and airing the best fights of the non-televised portion… Looking to try it out in upcoming events =)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Mar 18, 2010 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions
They have to try it out. The fact that they haven't is an embarrassment.
"BANG!" - Jim Lampley's first word as a child
Also added:
Cale Yarbrough (6-1) vs. Josh Schockman (3-2)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Mar 18, 2010 8:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Re-tweeting second hand tweets?
I am not impress with your performance.
Keep firing Assholes!
Blackout is always right
by Ubernoober on Mar 18, 2010 7:13 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
UFC is going to counter the crap out of the May card.
I think that’s likely the reason why they didn’t bother with the April show.
"BANG!" - Jim Lampley's first word as a child
The only card the UFC has ever countered with a live show was a ppv event. If the May card is on Showtime it isn’t worth countering, If it’s on CBS I bet they still don’t counter it. They haven’t countered a CBS show yet with a live card.
Fedor alone is justification for a counter.
And I never said it would be a live counter, although I can understand the potential subtle implications seeing as the post is about live countering.
"BANG!" - Jim Lampley's first word as a child
Except Fedor is probably fighting in June or July not may
so they wouldn’t be countering him anyways.
UFC has been countering Strikeforce since they signed their TV deal. Countered Fedor vs Rogers, Gina vs Cyborg, Evolution, and Miami, all those times SF came out with good ratings. They countered Gina vs Cyborg with all main events from their 3 previous PPV’s and Gina vs Cyborg still managed to post the highest ratings for MMA on Showtime, beating out Kimbo’s old record.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Mar 18, 2010 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions
I think people read too much into the fact that the UFC is countering a Strikeforce card. Unless it is a live event or a ppv from 3 weeks before they are not really going to cut into Strikeforce’s audience. What the UFC is doing when they’re putting on an old card is they’re piggy backing on the work Strikeforce has done hyping their card and hoping fans without Showtime will suddenly get a mma fix or switch over from a boring CBS fight. It’s really a cheap way to promote programming on Spike.
People get too bent out of shape about counter-programming.
SpikeTV has also counter-programmed WEC events with UFC programming. 90% of their programming is UFC related. Of course it is going to overlap with stuff happening on other networks.
SpikeTV Counter programmed WEC 47 with UFC 108…LOL. The question is will SpikeTV counter-program UFC on Versus with UFC? =)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Mar 18, 2010 8:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Casual audiences are typically drawn to title fights, and while the hardcore base will insist that these titles mean nothing there is an allure to the casual audience of a three title event.
What?
By now, hopefully everyone has reconciled themselves to the fact that winning a belt in MMA means you are the best fighter in that promotion. With that in mind, all three of these title fights are extremely meaningful. Each bout is between the two best in the SF division, with the Melendez vs. Aoki fight being the first time two reigning, active champions from major promotions have been in a title bout. You’d have to be pretty daft to think that fight means nothing just because B.J. Penn isn’t involved.
i should have explained. I, personally, see the value. But every time Strikeforce titles are discussed a bunch of people freak out about how the titles don’t matter.
That’s my bad on not explaining that well enough in the rush to post this as the news came out.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 18, 2010 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Ok, fair enough. There are plenty of commenters who perpetually see the glass as half-empty for Strikeforce, and apparently part of the requirements for being a militant fanboy are to only recognize one set of titles. But I think these championship fights are a big step forward for SF. Each winner will be in a position where they can claim to be at least the #2 overall fighter in their weightclass.
by smoogy2 on Mar 18, 2010 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bloody Elbow
Related FanShots on Bloody Elbow
![Scott Coker tells MMAJunkie he will not get into a bidding war for Jake Shields:
"To me, there's going to be a value that we feel is fair, and that's going to be it," Coker said. "I don't think it's good business to go into [the bidding] business."
"If it works out (with Shields), great," Coker said. "If not, Strikeforce has a bunch of great middleweights, and we'll go into the tournament business. We're still fleshing out the details, but we're leaning toward that."
Strikeforce: Nashville on CBS coverage](http://cdn2.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/123487/shields-white_medium_medium_small.jpg)
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
