Yesterday, both the WEC and Strikeforce made additions to their December 19th fight cards that will compete head-to-head on Saturday night television.
The WEC announced the addition of five preliminary bouts to the card, which effectively finalized the event set to air live at 10PM EST/PST. MMAJunkie provides an overview:
MAIN CARD
- Donald Cerrone vs. Ed Ratcliff
- Chris Horodecki vs. Anthony Njokuani
- Joseph Benavidez vs. Rani Yahya
- Scott Jorgensen vs. Takeya Mizugaki
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Bart Palaszewski vs. Anthony Pettis
- Muhsin Corbbrey vs. Zach Micklewright
- John Hosman vs. David Smith
- Tyler Toner vs. Brandon Visher
- Kyle Dietz vs. Brad Pickett
- Erik Koch vs. Jameel Massouh
Strikeforce also announced the addition of a lightweight title fight between Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez to its event entitled “Evolution,” which is also set to air live on Showtime at 10PM EST/PST.
Here’s a snippet of the release:
NEW YORK (Nov. 24, 2009)-After twice being forced out of the highly-anticipated rematch due to injuries, STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight (155 pound) Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson (16-2) is healthy and ready to defend his title against top-seeded mixed martial arts (MMA) rival and Interim Champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (16-2) on Saturday, Dec. 19 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
The live SHOWTIME® telecast will begin at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), and conclude with a sensational, strikers’ main event featuring undefeated superstar and former STRIKEFORCE World Middleweight (185 pounds) Champion Cung Le (6-0) against power punching Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (16-6).
Also in action will be 2000 Olympic wrestling silver medalist Matt “The Law” Lindland (21-6), who will take on fellow superstar Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (10-2) at middleweight. Light heavyweight (205 pounds) star Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (5-0) and middleweight knockout artist “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (16-5) will each face opponents to be announced.
Payout Perspective:
The head-to-head competition is interesting not only from a narrow, fight perspective, but also in the grand scheme of things, when looking at the overall MMA landscape. These two organizations are essentially competing to be the number two organization in the world right now, and December 19th will be another front for the war the two are waging.
Tale of the Tape:
The fact that Strikeforce will be holding its event at the much larger HP Pavillion in San Jose will likely give it the edge not only in attendance, but live gate revenue. Moreover, Cung Le in San Jose is a proven draw.
However, the WEC’s deal on the much larger Versus network should give it a greater overall viewership than the Strikeforce card on Showtime. The WEC will likely also draw better in the M18-34 and M18-49 demographics, but may cede older demos to Strikeforce – which is the typical skew in Showtime ratings (Strikeforce also fared well in older demos for its CBS card).
I can’t emphasize enough how important this type of competition is for MMA. In the mind of the consumer, choice is important. Choice allows the consumer to compare products and ultimately feel better about a purchase decision, which ultimately leads to an increase in overall demand for a category. In the case of entertainment, competition often generates additional PR, which only further increases the entire pie.
With both organization’s bringing their A games, expect a heavy bit of PR in the weeks leading up to December 19th. This one is for some bragging rights.
Nice writeup. It should definitely be interesting, though I can see the PR spinning already in the works.
Strikeforce will likely garner more press as the names on the card are considered more interesting Cung Le, Robbie, King Mo., Lidland, etc. I just don’t see the WEC as the #2 ORG, Strikeforce without a doubt is the #2 ORG at the moment and will likely strengthen that position over time. If you ask the casual fan if they know Strikeforce I’m sure you would get a better reaction verses if they know WEC.
This is not the first time that the two events landed on the same night. I actually think this is a very good strategy for Strikeforce to continue. Schedule the events the same night as WEC that way you don’t risk counter promotion from UFC. It would be a super idea for the next CBS card (if there is one).
Anthony Njokuani won KO of the night bonus at his last 2 bouts..if he gets another one, he might put his name on the map! Fans know Horodecki and this could be a great fight.
Ill take Thompson over Gil.
Looks like a sub par WEC card against a big name (at least for StrikeForce) loaded card.
A note should be made that Zuffa does (I assume by accident) counter program WEC events
See: Brown vs Aldo being booked on a Wednesday night running opposite not only a new episode of TUF but a replay of UFC 105 from the previous weekend.
I was surprised by that and I’m sure VS would not be happy about that