UFC Buys Strikeforce: Pros and Cons to the Zuffa Purchase

It didn't take long for news outlets and fans to toss around the biggest news in MMA so far this year. Zuffa LLC, the company that owns the UFC, has acquired the biggest competitor to the UFC in MMA, Strikeforce.

In an interview with MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Strikeforce had been bought out for an undisclosed fee.

Now the waiting game starts as fans speculate more and more about a possible merger of the UFC and Strikeforce.

Here are some pros and cons to the biggest deal of 2011.

Pro: UFC Fighters Can Go to Strikeforce

Strikeforce can kind of become the minor league for the UFC now. Just like the WEC, the UFC can slowly weed out fighters they want and don't want for a possible merger a few years down the road.

The UFC lightweight division especially should hugely be relieved now with all the cuts that have befallen that division after the merger between the UFC and WEC.

It would be good to see the fighters that get cut take some time to rebuild their career in sort of a minor league for the UFC.

As far as I'm concerned, they're still fighting for the same company but just a different promotion. Just a longer way to get back to the big show.

Con: No Real Competitive Promotions

Strikeforce seems to have befallen the other promotions before them. Pride and the WEC have both merged with the UFC, and promotions like Affliction and Elite XC have collapsed. Now, it just seems like the next line is Strikeforce.

Ok, they are still operating like "business as usual" according to Dana White, but the fact is they're swallowed up, and there is no way out for Strikeforce now.

Do you think the UFC would let Strikeforce drive up the bidding price on an up-and-coming star in MMA? No. Clearly if the UFC wants a fighter, they will get that fighter now.

Overall now, what's left if Strikeforce were to disappear? There isn't anything really that big left, and even Bellator could collapse soon. You just don't know the future, and this deal proved it.

Pro: Possible Merger in Two Years

This isn't set in stone and purely speculation, but just like everyone else on the internet, this seems pretty inevitable.

The same thing was done for Pride and the WEC and in two years, four at the latest, Strikeforce will be swallowed up, guarantee it.

It's just a matter of time until the deal with Showtime ends, and the contracts and fighters the UFC doesn't want have their deals run up too.

The UFC will see which fighters they want and don't want, then wait for their contracts to run up. Then, when they have the fighters they want and Showtime isn't a problem anymore, the merger should start.

Con: No Dream Fights

If a merger does happen, the fighters we want to see in the UFC could either be gone from Strikeforce or gone from MMA in general.

It's tough to say how much longer fighters like Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar will fight. Everyone was speculating their perfect dream fight between the UFC and it's newly acquired asset—Strikeforce.

Fact is, some of those might not even see a paycheck from the UFC. Unification between Strikeforce and UFC belts won't happen. So as of right now, no one should have their hopes up.

Not to say it won't happen in the future, but the people clamoring for Fedor and Alistair Overeem in the UFC need to take a second to just breath. As of right now, they are still in Strikeforce and won't be fighting UFC fighters yet.

Pro: Fedor Is Now as Close as Ever To Being in the UFC

This has to be mentioned in this slideshow. A lot of people still want to see Fedor in the UFC, including me.

It doesn't matter that he is on a two-fight losing streak, or the possibility of him joining the UFC is still hampered by M-1 Global. It has been a couple of years since Fedor was this close to the UFC, and yet, he is still far away.

Fedor will be a hot commodity once he hits the open market, and the UFC might not want to buy him when the time comes; they probably won't want to deal with M-1. 

This is just for every Fedor lover out there; he is pretty close to the UFC now that he is under the Zuffa brand name. Just, he isn't there yet, and this only slightly helps the possibility of him joining the UFC.

Con: No Fedor Still

It is a huge contradiction to the last slide, but it hasn't happened yet, and this is to put a dagger in those thoughts of him joining the UFC soon.

Just to put this into everyone's mind who haven't seen the interview with Dana White, he isn't in the UFC, just under in the same company of it.

This also could hurt Fedor's chances of fighting in general. If the UFC and Strikeforce were to merge, the UFC could pass on Fedor, and that could be the end to his illustrious career. What other big promotions are left?

Unless one forms, say goodbye to one of the greatest fighters of all time. Possibly a huge con if you're Fedor or a Fedor fan.

Pro: Future Free Cards

The UFC is looking to add more talent to their roster so they can put on more cards during the year.

That's a great thing for the fans and could lead to more free cards. With the major competition out of the way, signing fighters could become much easier for the UFC now.

The more fighters they get, the more cards they can put on. More undercard fights on Facebook or Spike, more free cards on Versus or Spike; it could seriously happen.

Everyone hates paying for cards (I know I do) and having these free cards could help the UFC build up more followers now that it doesn't have competition.

Con: Women's MMA Suffers a Huge Setback

Dana has been on record as saying women will never fight in the UFC.

Well, Strikeforce has a division for women, so where does that leave them? A merger seriously could hurt the women who compete in MMA.

It really hasn't been the ideal start for women's MMA. It seems no one can hang with Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, and no one has fought for her title in a while, and by while, I mean almost a whole year.

The Gina Carano experiment, failed miserably when she was stopped dead in her tracks by Cyborg at the end of Round 1.

Dana could be seeing this as a test for the women, but it's a huge setback seeing how he said he wouldn't allow them.

Pro: Strikeforce Now Has Financial Stability

No matter what anyone says now, Strikeforce has significant financial backing now.

People have raised questions (fans especially) about the financial stability of Strikeforce. Well, under the big Zuffa umbrella, they now have a tremendous amount of money to pay their fighters.

There will be no more questions as to if Strikeforce will eventually fold because of going bankrupt or fighters being underpaid; they can afford to do a lot now.

Maybe they could hire some better announcers while they're at it too. If I have to hear Mauro Ranallo one more time calling a fight, I will lose it.

Con: Scott Coker Is Still in Charge

I could be the only one who thinks this, but Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker shouldn't be in charge anymore.

Strikeforce's failed foray into women's MMA and the Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament show the poor judgement. The UFC should send someone over from their promotion to run Strikeforce until the inevitable merger.

Coker has done enough and could be soon without a job anyway. He hasn't had the greatest success with Strikeforce.

A change in management to help the future transition from Strikeforce to the UFC is needed.