News came out Monday that Alistair Overeem was removed from Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix set to continue in September. Overeem, appearing on the MMA Hour this week, acknowledged that he was scheduled to fight Bigfoot Silva on September 10th, but thought that the date was too soon.
He tells MMA Fighting that he was promised a date in October or November and planned his training accordingly. Then, he was told September. He also stated that he was threatened with being cut from the tournament if he didn’t agree to the September fight date with Bigfoot Silva. Zuffa later announced Overeem’s removal from the card and announced Daniel Cormier as his replacement.
Payout Perspective:
The latest lineup change may be the final nail in the coffin for the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix. While the initial buzz for a HW Grand Prix was positive, the execution behind the tournament has been a disaster. Strikeforce intended this to begin and end in 2011 and include the top HW in its division. But, logistics with attempting to hold a show in Japan, the trouble in licensing Josh Barnett, the purchase of Strikeforce and the delay between cards have prevented any positive momentum for the tournament. Bigfoot Silva’s upset of Fedor and now Overeem’s removal makes the grand prix less appealing to fight fans. One might have speculated that the tourney was set so we would see a Fedor-Overeem final.
It appears that with the purchase of Zuffa, the tournament has less appeal. The only thing that would regain fan interest would be if the winner would receive a shot at the UFC champion. However, its unlikely that this would happen. Its too bad for Overeem. He could be a big star for Zuffa. However, his first fight with Fabricio Werdum was disappointing.
One might have speculated that the tourney was set so we would see a Fedor-Overeem final.
they were in the same bracket.
I think the tournament accomplished it’s goal — to generate some hype and build-up the Strikeforce brand so it could sell-out for a higher price. The tourney was just the owners putting a fresh coat of paint on the house before putting it on the market.
Now that they have sold to Zuffa … it doesn’t really matter. The Strikeforce brand won’t exist 24 months from now. UFC is just slowly winding down outstanding contracts with fighters and tv partners and the rest. And trying to spend as little money as possible while fulfilling contractual obligations.
24 months from now Strikeforce will be dead, the best Strikeforce fighters will have UFC contracts, and the 2nd tier will probably be signed with Bellator.