Strikeforce officially announces last event

Strikeforce officially announced that its next event set for January 12th will be its last. The event will be held during Showtime’s “free preview” weekend.

Via Strikeforce Press Release:

STRIKEFORCE® welterweight champion and seasoned UFC® veteran Nate Marquardt will defend his title against current number one contender Tarec Saffiedine on Saturday, Jan. 12as STRIKEFORCE® visits Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla. In the night’s co-main event, Oklahoma State University All-American wrestler and STRIKEFORCE Grand Prix heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier takes on kickboxing veteran Dion Staring. The event will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) as part of the premium network’s Free Preview Weekend whereby more than 80 million households nationwide will have access to SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND and more.

 In addition to the main and co-main events, STRIKEFORCE® will also feature the following matchups that include several past champions and many of the sports top prospects:

·         Former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett meets Austrian powerhouse Nandor Guelmino

·         Former light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi takes on the heavy-handed Mike Kyle

·         Former middleweight champ “Jacare” Souza faces UFC star Ed Herman

·         Top lightweight contender Pat Healy will be in action against an opponent yet to be determined

·         Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Roger Gracie takes on talented striker Anthony Smith at middleweight

·         U.S. Army Ranger Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Smith in a fight involving top middleweights

·         Elite kickboxer KJ Noons meets second-generation star Ryan Couture in a lightweight matchup

·         Cincinnati’s Jorge Gurgel is set to battle Brazilian prospect Adriano Martins at lightweight

·         At lightweight, winner of four straight Estevan Payan vs. Team Alpha Male’s Michael Bravo

Payout Perspective:

We’ve known about this for some time but the press release confirms the end of the organization.  The good news is the announcements that Strikeforce fighters filling up UFC cards.  While the demise of the organization was rumored once it was purchased by Zuffa, key injuries causing the cancellation of a couple events this past year and the UFC signing of Ronda Rousey made it known that Strikeforce would inevitably cease operations.  The free preview on Showtime the weekend of the event should help with ratings in its final show.