Dan himself said he was leaving the UFC because they didnt give him the fight he wanted. He wants Silva and Silva and the UFC want him to face Nate. He cant beat NAte and he knows it. HE cant beat Silva either but he might be able to use his takedowns to give him a chance. He wouldnt be able to take NAte down the same way he can Silva. So he in a way is running from that match. Although it hink money and easier fights to extend his career also play apart. Im not saying Dan is scared. Just it would be bad business if he fought Nate and lost.

Also i dont see where Lashley quit TNA. The UFC would never allow him to keep wrestling. Strikeforce is starting at the bottom and have to take what they cant get. They are not worried so much about protecting their investment. On top of injuries from wrestling it wouldnt be productive for the UFC to try and build someone like Lashley into a larger than like athlete who cant be stopped only to be followed up by LAshley in TNA getting smashed with a chair. Its hard to build his image. How could he be a well liked fan favorite fighter on one show and be the heel in wrestling that everyone hates? It creates many possible problems. On top of that you have a guy who dont seem to be committed to MMA. He went back to wrestling as a unbeaten prospect. He might want to fight now because the offer was right. But what if he loses? Everyone loves being a fighter when they win. Losing maybe something he isnt willing to deal with and may stay with wrestling. Do you really want to invest in someone so risky if you are the UFC?

Dan was asking to much and didnt really want to fight in the UFC anyway. He knows his career is about over and knows he cant hang with the top guys anymore. He is basically running from the UFC because he was going to have to face Nate Marquardt. His skills are going fast and he becomes more and more 1xD every fight. He ran through his last fight with his hand cocked back like Cupid firing an arrow. You dont always luck into landing a big shot on someone making a mistake like Bisping. He dont use his wrestling much at all and his striking consist of 1 sloppy right hand. He threw out a high figure that he knew they wouldnt accept. He has a chance to last much longer in SF because their shallow talent pool. Shields is a fight Dan can win. Mousassi is a very dangerous fight for Dan. HE is to fast and technical for the sloppy aging Dan.

I’m wondering where are they getting all the money for these signings? They are a successful company but these types of signings much be costing them more money than they have in reserve. I know their roster was pretty thin prior, and these additions are awesome ones to make on the free market level, but I just don’t get the business model here. UFC can afford their contracts as even a poor PPV still garners them 10 million after they split the PPV, plus you add in an average 2 million gate with as little as 1 million salary. Strikeforce appears to only rely on gate which might average them 1 million. I just don’t understand the math here.

P.S. What happened to that other MMAPayout writer, Wolff?