For the last month or so, Strikeforce has worked an extensive game of hide the ball. Or maybe it's more right to say Showtime is working that game. They keep teasing Fedor's next engagement without declaring the appointment, and they're even starting as far as leaking various various dates to throw the UFC off. I can't help but think this is tremendously counter productive.
If they're in truth doing a show October 10 with Fedor, that means they're going to give the scrap 1 calendar month of publicity. They'd be marketing a huge event of theirs short just to deflect the dreaded UFC monster.
They're making all this drive, and there's no grounds that counter programming even in truth hurts UFC competitors. When they did a live event against the first Affliction, Affliction got far more press than it ever would have on its own, and the show blew away industry prospects on PPV by nearly 80%.
Even worse, they're coming off as poor and weak. One side has declared warfare, the other side is trying to veil under shelters while the bombs fall. News flash: the UFC is not going to run out of bombards. What they should do is be impressive of their product and put it up against UFC 106 in November.
Showtime can easily advertise the fact that you have a easy choice that night: you can pay $50 to see a WWE superstar who doesn't even know how to engagement, or you can see the greatest paladin in MMA history on Showtime. Sure it's manipulative, but it's no worse than what Dana's been doing to Fedor for years now.
If they do that, there will be a mountain of press covering the entire Fedor vs. Brock situation, and who is the more legitimate champion. And whose side do you think most reporters are starting to come down on? When Dana couldn't stop banging Affliction, he ended up on the front page of the L.A. Times sports segment next to Donald Trump in a big piece focusing on their coming battle. Dana can't help himself, he'll go crazy if they do this, and it will drive a ton of promotion for their event.
Further, even though UFC 106 has the possible to do over a million buys, that's still just a million households. That's far less than would watch some big Spike TV show, and you're offering a cheap alternative to their expensive production. The success barometer for Fedor's first engagement is probably the 400,000 viewer mark, a level that a press roll down could push them across.
The other day, someone told me that the war between UFC and Strikeforce felt like a battle between Coca Cola and the lemonade stand your neighbor's daughter runs on Sundays. And thus far I think it's a perfect doctrine of analogy. Strikeforce's main response has been to cringe and hope for mercy, but this is Dana White, there is no mercy until he destructs his competitor.
It's about time the masses at Strikeforce and Showtime wake up and scrap. If they don't, they'll find themselves in a deal room with the UFC in about 2 years ratifying papers and telling the press they're happy to be running with the UFC.
If they're in truth doing a show October 10 with Fedor, that means they're going to give the scrap 1 calendar month of publicity. They'd be marketing a huge event of theirs short just to deflect the dreaded UFC monster.
They're making all this drive, and there's no grounds that counter programming even in truth hurts UFC competitors. When they did a live event against the first Affliction, Affliction got far more press than it ever would have on its own, and the show blew away industry prospects on PPV by nearly 80%.
Even worse, they're coming off as poor and weak. One side has declared warfare, the other side is trying to veil under shelters while the bombs fall. News flash: the UFC is not going to run out of bombards. What they should do is be impressive of their product and put it up against UFC 106 in November.
Showtime can easily advertise the fact that you have a easy choice that night: you can pay $50 to see a WWE superstar who doesn't even know how to engagement, or you can see the greatest paladin in MMA history on Showtime. Sure it's manipulative, but it's no worse than what Dana's been doing to Fedor for years now.
If they do that, there will be a mountain of press covering the entire Fedor vs. Brock situation, and who is the more legitimate champion. And whose side do you think most reporters are starting to come down on? When Dana couldn't stop banging Affliction, he ended up on the front page of the L.A. Times sports segment next to Donald Trump in a big piece focusing on their coming battle. Dana can't help himself, he'll go crazy if they do this, and it will drive a ton of promotion for their event.
Further, even though UFC 106 has the possible to do over a million buys, that's still just a million households. That's far less than would watch some big Spike TV show, and you're offering a cheap alternative to their expensive production. The success barometer for Fedor's first engagement is probably the 400,000 viewer mark, a level that a press roll down could push them across.
The other day, someone told me that the war between UFC and Strikeforce felt like a battle between Coca Cola and the lemonade stand your neighbor's daughter runs on Sundays. And thus far I think it's a perfect doctrine of analogy. Strikeforce's main response has been to cringe and hope for mercy, but this is Dana White, there is no mercy until he destructs his competitor.
It's about time the masses at Strikeforce and Showtime wake up and scrap. If they don't, they'll find themselves in a deal room with the UFC in about 2 years ratifying papers and telling the press they're happy to be running with the UFC.
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