Strike Hard, Strikeforce, but Strike When?
For reasons examined by MMAPayout, the rumored October 10 date for Strikeforce in New Jersey appears not to be happening.
In its path, it’s worth analyzing which possible dates are left for Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers. For this purpose, I start with some assumptions:
- The show will take place in October or November, on a Saturday night, and will air live on Showtime; and
- The show will not go head-to-head with an already scheduled UFC event.
With these (I’d argue, safe) assumptions, it’s fairly easy to narrow the dates. Showtime Championship Boxing is scheduled to air on Showtime on October 17 and 31, and UFC has events scheduled on October 24, November 14, and November 21, leaving Strikeforce to choose either November 7 or November 28 for its event.
All things being equal, I believe November 7 is the better date. November 28 falls on Thanksgiving weekend, and although pro wrestling at one time had a Thanksgiving tradition, none exists in MMA, and scheduling a Strikeforce event that Saturday night could prove costly. November 7, however, presents its own logistical problems, since Strikeforce is holding a Challengers Series program live on Showtime the previous night.
If the logistical problems can be overcome, I believe November 7 is the better date not only because of the risky Thanksgiving alternative, but also because it’s the date that would cause Zuffa more of a headache.
If Dana chose to counter with a live UFC show, it would mean UFC on November 7, 14, and 21, and WEC on the 18th. Zuffa’s resources would be stretched as far as they’ve ever been in the weeks leading up to UFC 106 on November 21, which happens to be the final UFC ppv of 2009 that might do monster numbers.
It would be better for Strikeforce to schedule its event earlier in November (i.e., November 7), when Dana and Zuffa have three future events on their mind (UFC 105, WEC 44, and UFC 106), rather than at month’s end (i.e., November 28), when those events will be history and Dana will have the time and no doubt the inclination to turn his full attention to countering Fedor/Rogers.
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