Maximo Blanco signs with StrikeForce ...

Nemesis21 · Post #1 » by **Nemesis21** » Tue May 17, 2011 9:41 pm

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=m ... imo_Blanco

Post #2 » by **CPT** » Tue May 17, 2011 11:22 pm

I wonder if this is a depth signing, or them bringing in a potential challenger for Melendez.

I also wonder if these recent signings are Zuffa moves, or if it is "business as usual" at Strikeforce.

Post #3 » by **singh_shady** » Tue May 17, 2011 11:32 pm

CPT wrote:
I also wonder if these recent signings are Zuffa moves, or if it is "business as usual" at Strikeforce.

I'm not sure what this particular signing means but it's hardly 'business as usual' now. Just in this past week Scott Coker was quietly demoted to Executive VP/GM and Rich Chou (SF Matchmaker and de-facto #2 guy behind Coker) was suddenly fired all together.

I can't say I'm surprised with either of those moves (they were bound to happen eventually) but after all the 'business as usual talk' after this deal initially went down, Zuffa has been swift in shaking up SF's upper management.

Post #4 » by **CPT** » Wed May 18, 2011 12:06 am

Hmmm, interesting. I hadn't heard about those moves.

It does seem like they are moving along faster than the original timeline they gave. They are already talking about Diaz fighting GSP when we were originally told it would be a year or two before those kinds of things would be possible. I guess the Showtime contracts might not be as tight as originally thought?

REDDzone · Post #5 » by **REDDzone** » Wed May 18, 2011 12:16 am

I heard the Coker thing was just a title change due to SF now being a branch of Zuffa, and Coker now being the executive behind said branch.

The number 2 guy being let go, plus the Diaz rumors, are showing that business as usual was BS though.

Then again it was Dana saying it, so claims being BS kind of is "business as usual," I guess.

Post #6 » by **singh_shady** » Wed May 18, 2011 12:19 am

CPT wrote:Hmmm, interesting. I hadn't heard about those moves.

It does seem like they are moving along faster than the original timeline they gave. They are already talking about Diaz fighting GSP when we were originally told it would be a year or two before those kinds of things would be possible. I guess the Showtime contracts might not be as tight as originally thought?

Yea that's what I'm thinking. Zuffa has tried to be quiet in making these changes but if anything I think they're indicative of how close we really are to seeing some of the UFC/SF matchups. There's no way Chou is fired out right if the plan was to run SF as a separate venture for another few years.

I do think that GSP's next fight will be against Diaz but I'm wondering about the logistics. Would Diaz actually join the UFC or would the fight be a 'cross-promotion' of sorts? (in the sense that he Nick would still be a SF fighter) If it's the latter and Diaz beats GSP, does he take the belt back with him to SF? If it's the former, it goes back to your point, just how tight is the Showtime contract if Zuffa is able to poach one of their biggest MMA draws just like that?

dean12 · Post #7 » by **dean12** » Sat May 28, 2011 7:13 am

this guys is killer machine and he will crush this this necks.

Nemesis21 · Post #8 » by **Nemesis21** » Wed Jun 1, 2011 5:57 pm

And his first opponent in SF is ........... Josh Thomson

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=A ... a9a21fc9db

skflives · Post #9 » by **skflives** » Thu Jun 2, 2011 3:00 am

singh_shady wrote:
CPT wrote:Hmmm, interesting. I hadn't heard about those moves.

It does seem like they are moving along faster than the original timeline they gave. They are already talking about Diaz fighting GSP when we were originally told it would be a year or two before those kinds of things would be possible. I guess the Showtime contracts might not be as tight as originally thought?

Yea that's what I'm thinking. Zuffa has tried to be quiet in making these changes but if anything I think they're indicative of how close we really are to seeing some of the UFC/SF matchups. There's no way Chou is fired out right if the plan was to run SF as a separate venture for another few years.

I do think that GSP's next fight will be against Diaz but I'm wondering about the logistics. Would Diaz actually join the UFC or would the fight be a 'cross-promotion' of sorts? (in the sense that he Nick would still be a SF fighter) If it's the latter and Diaz beats GSP, does he take the belt back with him to SF? If it's the former, it goes back to your point, just how tight is the Showtime contract if Zuffa is able to poach one of their biggest MMA draws just like that?

According to Cesar Gracie they renegotiated Diaz's contract so that he can fight on both Strikeforce and UFC shows but my guess is that he only goes back to Strikeforce if he loses. Personally I am glad this is happening. Both Strikeforce and UFC are owned by Zuffa. The barriers to these fights are artificial and easily broken if people want the fights badly enough.