Zuffa And Strikeforce Brass Comment On Purchase

Added on Mar 14, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

As the days go by, we are hearing more and more from the top brass at Zuffa, and from Strikeforce. The UFC released an official statement regarding the purchase. The official announcement looks like this: Forza, LLC, a subsidiary of Zuffa, LLC, which owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand, announced today that it has purchased the assets of Explosion Entertainment, LLC dba Strikeforce. The statement also lays out many of the details we have heard already. Mainly, “Under the terms of the deal, all Strikeforce fighter contracts will be honored, as will its broadcast agreement with Showtime Networks, Inc. Strikeforce will continue to operate as a separate business and current Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has signed a long-term employment agreement with the company.”

UFC President Dana White said in the statement that this is just a part of the bigger plan the UFC has to keep growing. He said “We have worked hard to make mixed martial arts the fastest growing sport in the world. We’ve spent countless hours getting this sport regulated and taking the Octagon® all over the world. Acquiring the Strikeforce assets allows us to continue to develop this sport into a global force.”

Chairman and CEO of Zuffa Lorenzo Fertitta spoke more of the specifics of the deal, and how everything will play out in the future. He said “We intend to operate Strikeforce as a separate business much like we did with the WEC for many years. We look forward to working with Scott Coker, and the entire Strikeforce and Showtime teams to continue to provide quality content for mixed martial arts fans We’ve long admired Scott Coker and the Strikeforce business he launched and developed. We feel that together with Scott, we can continue to build both Strikeforce and the UFC.”

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker seems upbeat, and seems to be on board with the Zuffa plans for Strikeforce. He said “This is an important day for the sport of mixed martial arts. We are excited to work with Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta, Dana White and everyone at the UFC on the quest to make MMA the biggest sport in the world. Fans can continue to expect quality Strikeforce shows and we look forward to giving our athletes an even broader platform on which to perform.”

Strikeforce holds around 16 events a year, and all plans for future shows will stay the way they are. The organization will continue to do so under new ownership and fans can look forward to exciting fights featuring their favorite Strikeforce athletes. While there are currently no plans to bring Strikeforce fighters to the UFC, a new strategy to strengthen Strikeforce’s talented roster is being developed.