Is the UFC's Monopoly in Jeopardy?

If you're a sportsbook sharp or fight fan, you're probably loving November. Saturday gives us the Manny Pacquiao fight and UFC 105; we get UFC 106 next weekend.

Last weekend, MMA followers were treated to a free TV event. It featured the top heavyweight in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, as well as Jake Shields, whom many consider the best welterweight not named Georges St-Pierre, not to mention Gegard Mousasi, a world-class light heavyweight.

The strange part about it all: it had nothing to do with the UFC.

The prestigious fight card was, of course, hosted by Strikeforce. It aired on CBS to the tune of 5.5 million viewers. Not too shabby.

Though Strikeforce is still a clear No. 2 behind UFC in terms of MMA promotions, it's firmly established in a class of its own right now. To put it in perspective, we can examine MMA Weekly's world rankings, which are largely considered the standard by which we judge fighters now. The breakdown of top 10 fighters and where they belong goes as follows:

Heavyweight: Seven UFC, three Strikeforce

Light heavyweight: Eight UFC, one Strikeforce, one independent

Middleweight: Seven UFC, three Strikeforce (though Dan Henderson may switch that ratio to 6:4 soon)

Welterweight: Nine UFC, one Strikeforce

Lightweight: Five UFC, zero Strikeforce, five independent

We can see that the UFC is still the dominant force in MMA but also that its grip is slipping. It's particularly interesting to see that a Dan Henderson move to Strikeforce, which has been rumored, would give the No. 2 promotion four of the top 10 middleweights in the world.

Dana White and the UFC certainly have to start looking over their shoulder. The Fedor debacle and the failure to sign Mousasi both came because those fighters are represented by M-1 Global, a company that seeks co-promotion for its fights and bigger paydays for its fighters. The UFC scoffs and says "What do we have to gain from that? Get lost! We hold all the cards. It's a privilege for you to join us."

But I wonder if the UFC is looking at the situation the wrong way. By refusing co-promotion, they left the door open for Strikeforce to swoop in. Financially, a co-pro motion deal with Fedor wouldn't benefit the UFC in the short-term. But they weren't thinking of the big picture.

Uh, hello? UFC? Ever heard of Pay-per-view buys? Having all the best fighters in your league and your league only? Does that not sound good to you?

You have to wonder if other fighters will start wanting bigger paydays and more control over their image and names. My thinking is that Strikeforce is here to stay as a legit thorn in the UFC's side. Get ready to wager on more fights every year, online betting fans.