Rumors regarding the potential closure of Strikeforce picked up steam last night, revolving around the potential cancellation of the November 3rd event with Luke Rockhold pulling out of his title defense due to a wrist injury. Rockhold being out of the event became even more damaging as the promotion seems completely unable to find a suitable opponent for Daniel Cormier.
This would be the second consecutive Strikeforce show to get cancelled and it's a major issue if the promotion can't put together shows when Showtime is blocking out programming, advertising the cards..etc.
On Inside MMA last night they said the following:
'Inside MMA' has heard from multiple sources that the relationship between Strikeforce and Showtime may be coming to an end. We are being told that the November 3rd event is in serious jeopardy, and there's a strong possibility that Showtime will no longer broadcast Strikeforce events. This could very possibly signify the end of the Strikeforce brand. Strikeforce was purchased by Zuffa in March of 2011. We have yet to receive any word from either Showtime or Strikeforce as this development continues.
I've been working on trying to confirm the story since yesterday but it's difficult to get people on the phone right now. I did have one source tell me "it would seem to make sense for Showtime to want Strikeforce off the air at this point, wouldn't it?"
Ariel Helwani did tweet the following last night:
Re: the Strikeforce rumors, according to a Showtime official in the know, as of tonight, 11/3 and beyond is a go for them. …
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 9, 2012
They said they would be "beyond shocked" if that show & the promotion were shut down. Zuffa had no comment. Business as usual, I guess.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 9, 2012
It's certainly still a rumor at this stage. But I will say that based on what little I'm hearing, it would seem far more likely that the promotion will be folding.
If I had to say what I expect, I'd say a conference call will be put together for tomorrow and the announcement that the promotion is closing at that point.
But again, we're still in the rumor stage.
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