San Jose-based StrikeForce today announced that a broadcasting deal has been agreed to with CBS, paving the way for them to become the only MMA promotion currently with a national broadcast deal. The first StrikeForce event to be shown on CBS will feature a main event of Fedor Emelianenko battling Brett “The Grim” Rogers in a heavyweight bout. Emelianenko, the consensus number one heavyweight in the world will make his cage debut, after spending his entire career in the confines of a roped ring.
Also confirmed today was Cung Le’s relinquishing of the StrikeForce Middleweight Championship. Le has held the belt since his spring 2008 victory over Frank Shamrock, but has not defended his title due to injuries and movie roles. Le has reportedly accepted a new movie role that will keep him out of MMA for another extended period of time. In his place Bay Area stalwart Jake Shields and MTV’s “Bully Beatdown” host Jason “Mayhem” Miller will battle for the belt at the November 7th event, most likely in the co-main event.
Analysis
Fedor’s track record as a main-eventer on big events in the United States is decidedly less than stellar. He has not demonstrated the ability to draw in major viewing audiences, but with the StrikeForce marketing machine behind him, it will be interesting to see how well the event does. Cung, on the other hand, has shown the ability to draw good audiences when paired with marketable opponents like Frank Shamrock. But will MMA fans remember him whenever he does fight again? In my exclusive interview with Cung last month, he informed me that he had spoken to StrikeForce promoter Scott Coker about dropping the belt in the past, but Coker had rebuffed his attempts. Le’s acceptance of his latest role apparently changed the promoter’s mind. First Rampage angers Dana White with his acceptance of the B.A. Baracus role in the “A-Team” movie remake, and now Cung gives up the belt because of a movie role.
Is there any doubt that MMA is now mainstream?
For more information on Cung Le’s dropping of the belt, head over to MMAWeekly: http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=9607&zoneid=2
For more information on the Fedor-Rogers bout, head over to MMAJunkie: http://mmajunkie.com/news/16221/strikeforce-announces-cbs-deal-emelianenko-vs-rogers-airs-nov-7-on-network-tv.mma
Thanks to MMAJunkie for the use of the Fedor Emelianenko photo: http://mmajunkie.com/
Comments
Fedor v. Rogers + Mayhem v. Shields would be an awesome couple of fights for their first CBS show. Thanks to Strikeforce, the non-fan will finally get a taste of what MMA is really all about, not the Elite XC circus.
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