Ever since the mixed martial arts owning corporation known as Zuffa purchased Strikeforce, many different opinions have formed about what move is next. Strikeforce, who is a competitor to the mothership UFC, have been competing for years, and contrary to previous buyouts, Strikeforce is yet to merge with the UFC. It is a confusing situation because the strikeforce fighters dont necessarily qualify to fight the UFC fighters, and vice versa, but the two share the same owner: Zuffa. Instead of simply merging the two fight leagues, there is another way that i will explain and is highly more profitable and has the most potential in my opinion.
First of all i think that it is important to have "super-fights" or fights between top ranked fighters of each corporation. For example, there is now much talk now about a possible Nick Diaz vs. Georges St. Pierre because at this point there seems to be no matchup for St. Pierre within 170 pounds in the UFC that is as exciting as a Diaz GSP super-fight. The fights that can be made between fighters of these different associations has close to endless possibilities as there continue to be young prospects in both the UFC and Strikeforce. This is part of the plan that will allow both leagues stay in tact, as well as boost revenue and promotion for big interleague matchups. The difficulty here is deciding who gets what title. If Diaz were to defeat GSP, who would retain the UFC welterweight title? Also should Diaz go back to Strikeforce, who is next for him? These logistics would need to be resolved, but it has great potential.
In addition to having interleague fights, i have created a system that is similar to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. It would be called the Zuffa Grand Prix, and would be in all weight classes, bantamweight through heavyweight. Essentially it would be a tournament that is Strikeforce vs. UFC. Four fighters from each corporation would fill up each side of the bracket making a total of eight participants. No current champion would be allowed to participate, as the winner of the tournament would be next in line for the Title shot in their respective organization. It would be a way for fighters who are contending at a certain weight class, and even with two victories and losing in the championship, they would be catapulted into the "mix". IF it turns out that UFC or Strikeforce fighters are dominantly winning tournament after tournament, there would be a break in tournament action, and further tournaments would be created when higher level of competition presents itself.
Because Strikeforce is fought in a hexagon, and UFC is fought in a larger Octagon, the fighters would vote and upon a tie in voting, it would rotate every tournament, from Hexagon to Octagon. The winner of this Zuffa Tournament would be crowned Zuffa Grand Prix ____weight champion. This title would include a bonus and title shot, and also great exposure to the world of both Strikeforce and UFC.
Here are a few reasons on why this is better than a merger or no joining at all. First, when two large organizations merge, many fighters would simply not fit on the roster and would be cut (like in the WEC merger), and nobody wants that. Also when merging, everything would become the "new" UFC, and many "Strikeforce-only" fans would lose interest. This would keep Strikeforce there for former UFC fighters who were let go (such as Keith Jardine), who still have a large professional stage to fight on. Lastly, none of this would effect the scheduled fights that both the UFC and Strikeforce have planned, but rather it would add to the amazing schedule of intriguing fights compliments of Matchmaker extrordinairre, Joe Silva. I hope this proposition for Zuffa can be understood to be a great route for Zuffa to go at this point.
Here i have attached my prototype for a Lightweight Zuffa Grand Prix. I created it through a photo editing program.
chip in yall!
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