What’s up guys?  It’s been a while, work’s been pretty hectic for me lately, but some serious shit’s gone down within the MMA community in the past week or so.  The biggest thing?  Zuffa, the parent company to the UFC, now owns Strikeforce.  What this means is Strikeforce just took the spot that the WEC had for so long.  What we know for a fact right now, is that Dana White’s has stated that for at least the time being, is that it will be business as usual.   Another things is there are several fighters on the roster (well, a couple fighters and a management company) who don’t have the best relationship with Mr. White.  For the time being, I see things operating business as usual.  That said, I also believe that some of the big names from Strikeforce will be brought over to the UFC right off the bat, either for some kind of superfight, or permanently.  Now, Strikeforce has a contract with Showtime to air all their fights that runs through, I believe, early 2012.  When that ends, it’s all up in the air.  It’s at that time, I believe, that Strikeforce will be absorbed, with everyone (including or excluding the fighters and management company) officially becoming UFC fighters (possibly again).

Now, there’s been a lot of negative reaction to this.  A lot of talk has come up that the UFC is now an MMA monopoly.  What people have failed to see is that this is just part of the circle of business.  You have to remember the other companies that there were other companies that were in Strikeforce’s position not so long ago.  When Pride died/got brought out, EliteXC came into prominence.  EliteXC folded, then Affliction was the big company.  They dropped out of the promotion business, and Strikeforce took over the number two spot.  Now that Strikeforce is gone, Bellator will undoubtedly move into that spot.

Bellator also has a few things that work in their favor, and could really make them stand out and be the solid number two org in this country.  Right now, they’re broadcast nationally on MTV2 in an excellent timeslot, and have something like a 3-year contract to be on that channel.  With this comes MTV money, so they can afford to bring in at least middle-of-the-road and higher level talent.  They have an established tournament format, which follows a league-like schedule.  They also have fighters they can market and help their brand become more popular, their main fixture being the top-5 ranked lightweight Eddie Alvarez.  Alvarez has appeared on Bully Beatdown a couple times, and is a talented fighter with a strong personality.  Ultimately, it’s a good time for Bellator to step their game up.

For the time being, we’ll be getting both great UFC and Strikeforce cards.  As for what’s going to happen in the future, only time will tell…and we’ll all be watching attentively, that’s for damn sure.