MMAWeekly has published an informative piece that focuses upon the developing relationship between Strikeforce and Dream; it also features an interview with Strikeforce President, Scott Coker. While the entire article can be found here, a summary of some of the more interesting points lies below:
- Scott Coker has a history with Dream promoter Kazuyoshi Ishii that dates back to his K-1 US kickboxing days 8 years ago.
- The deal has been in the works for some time now, but Strikeforce was expanding right at the time that Dream was looking to establish itself in Japan – neither promotion could afford to trade fighters.
- Any potential partnership will be an exclusive one; meaning Strikeforce, Dream, and M-1 fighters will be shared amongst the three organizations.
- The Fedor agreement was totally independent of the Strikeforce-Dream partnership; rumours intimating that Dream helped foster the agreement from a financial angle are false.
Payout Perspective:
The intricate details of the agreement may have yet to be announced, but it’s pretty clear already that Scott Coker is not Tom Atencio, nor is he Gary Shaw, and that Strikeforce is not looking to follow in the footsteps of Affliction or EliteXC.
If Strikeforce is able to secure a working arrangement with Dream, Strikeforce will have instantly upgraded and expanded its roster capabilities significantly. An expanded, more talented roster will increase the number of quality bouts the organization is able to promote, which means it will have to rely less on its big horses: Gina Carano and Fedor Emelianenko (someone they’re banking on becoming a star on equal measure with his talent).
You can add Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to the list of new Strikeforce signees and that’s another interesting match-up for Lawler.
I do wonder, however, how this whole exclusivity thing is going to play out in regards to someone like Eddie Alvarez who is signed to non-exclusive agreements with Bellator, Dream, and Adrenaline. Bellator’s Bjorn Rebney has been cautious about the idea of Alvarez competing on another show, so we’ll see.
At any rate this agreement should be seen as quite encouraging by MMA fans. The best of the best that are outside of the UFC will likely soon be competing against one another; and under the Strikeforce banner, with Scott Coker at the helm, you can seemingly be assured that an actual plan is in place to grow this organization safely and profitably.
Leave a Reply