How good (or bad) is the purchase of Strikeforce, and what the UFC monopoly means for the MMA world?On March 12, 2011, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White announced that the UFC's parent company Zuffa, LLC, has officially purchased its closest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) rival organization Strikeforce. While the UFC have remained the top MMA league for years, Strikeforce, owned by Scott Coker, has threatened to grab UFC's stranglehold as the best MMA promotion in the world. During that time, Strikeforce was home to stars such as Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem, and heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko, among others.Before the purchase of Strikeforce, the San Jose-based promotion was going through its peaks and valleys with a series of unforeseen events. After a decade of dominance, Fedor was submitted in the first minute of the fight by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Fabricio Werdum; the Strikeforce's deeper Heavyweight division began its Gran d Prix, and Jake Shields' upset over Dan Henderson instigated a post-fight melee between the Diaz brothers and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.This unexpected event raised a lot of eyebrows within the MMA community, and produced mixed reactions to fighters and fans alike. Four years ago, the UFC bought arguably its biggest threat, Japanese fighting promotion Pride Fighting Championship. From 2003 to 2006, Pride FC showcased the top fighters in the world, such as Mirko Cro Cop, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, as well as Strikeforce contenders Henderson, Emelianenko and Overeem. The acquisition of Pride was an exciting time for fight fans, as we get to see interesting match-ups. We finally get our answer as to who is the best dominant fighter in the world: Chuck Liddell or Wanderlei Silva. Unfortunately, Pride's operation as an independent organization ceased in October of 2007, and only a handful of Pride fighters were relegated to the UFC. In 2010, the World Extre me Cagefighting (WEC) merged with the UFC, featuring exciting stars at the smaller weight classes displaying their skills inside the Octagon. Champions Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz, and household name Urijah Faber, have made their mark with impressive wins in their UFC debuts.With the WEC, Pride and Strikeforce mergers getting mixed results, some Mixed Martial Artists are concerned about their job security. Dana White had previously feuded with top caliber fighters like Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, BJ Penn, and even Emelianenko. He went as far as calling Fedor "a can crusher". While some of them came back and settled their differences, others had their judgments think otherwise, and refused to go back to the organization where most of them started to grow their legacies. The same group of fighters were also critical of White's subjective approach on which people should keep their jobs. We had international stars Dan Hardy and Yoshihiro Akiyama on losing slumps, but get to stay in the UFC. And there are other fighters who lost two in a row, and were immediately given the pink slip. Just recently, fighters from Dutch stable Golden Glory were all released by Zuffa, due to business differences.There are pros and cons with the UFC's purchase of various promotions. Since Strikeforce is now a sister company of the UFC, the much-anticipated match between Strifeforce's welterweight champion Nick Diaz and its UFC counterpart Georges St-Pierre will now be official at UFC 137. There have been rumors that Overeem might sign a deal with the UFC. And Henderson could possibly return inside the Octagon to either unify the Light Heavyweight title, or a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. On the other hand, concerns about fighters who lay it all on the line might not be back after a string of losses. In return, a lot of these professional combatants fight conservatively and employ their game plan to a tee. The result is less exciting fights, sinc e they would rather not risked getting knocked out or unexpectedly submitted.The great thing about UFC's takeover of various MMA promotions is that the elite fighters get to be on the spotlight, and all of them have the chance to win the ultimate goal: to be an Ultimate Fighting Champion. A lot of people have stated that UFC dominates every division of Strikeforce, except the heavyweight division. Although Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos and Brock Lesnar have dominated the scene in the UFC heavyweight class, Strikeforce has a deeper pool of talent, with Josh Barnett, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, and Sergei Kharitonov leading the way. With the acquisition of Strikeforce, fans get to witness a higher standard of fighting, and getting their money's worth for every pay-per-view event. The best fighters get the spotlight and gain the recognition they deserve. And all fighters are regulated for their safety and long-term protection. But the Octagon eventually becomes a shark tank, w here you should always bring your A-game to belong in the UFC. The purchase is a strong message that there are no place for cans and posers, only true warriors and contenders.The downside of the having an MMA monopoly is a more conservative approach by fighters. With limited promotions to fall back on, professional Mixed Martial Artists tend to save their jobs by fighting not to lose. There is no doubt that the bright lights are in the UFC, and they pretty much pay the most among all organizations, with fighters gaining as much as tenfold due to fight bonuses and pay-per-view revenues. Others who fight in smaller organizations who pay their bills with their day jobs affect their performances due to lack of proper training for upcoming matches. Because they are more afraid to lose, we get to see more lay and pray and lesser action. As I mentioned earlier, they don't fight to win; they fight not to lose.There will always be two sides of every coin, and it would be up to each i ndividual on which side they would take. While I firmly believe that the monopoly may lead to less carnage that may result in dull exchanges, it can actually help build MMA as a mainstream sport and recognized as a serious professional sport in the long run. The UFC has come a long way, from being typecasted as human cockfighting using the old Vale Tudo approach, to an arena showcasing true professional superstars who are just naturally gifted as a fighter and as an athlete. Cynics have pointed out to more decisions and declining finishes in recent years, but boxing currently has the same problem as well; and MMA is considered more dynamic than the traditional combat sport. But there should be no cause for concern for MMA fans, as the UFC will only get better with an ever evolving style of fighting. MMA is a very young sport, and we already have a fair share of iconic moments already. Zuffa's efforts to keep the UFC, and MMA as a whole, will prevail, and fans will have the c hance to witness more legendary fighters, classic fights, and memorable MMA moments.
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