In speaking to a source tonight who was at the Strikeforce event, it seems Exec at CBS where furious with post fight brawl that took place and even the words “NEVER AGAIN” where mentioned. With the rating for this show being half of what they where since the last CBS show (with Fedor), in the 18-34 market place only 2 million views at best and a looming TAC investigation is this enough to say goodbye to MMA on CBS? The same source told me that Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields was furious at the pre-fight press and coverage he received for his title defense against Dan Henderson and he’s 99% sure Jake will go and test his metal in the UFC. With Dan Henderson getting dominated the way he was by Jake and the Strikeforce LHW title being passed around the way it is and a shaky HW division could this be the straw that broke CBS’s back?
When this happened in Boxing with the Mayweather Judah fight the corrective actions were taken swiftly and the message was sent. I feel there needs to be the same approach here or CBS could very well walk away from MMA on it’s network. More importantly, Strikeforce themselves have to react quickly to curb speculation and let fans, sponsors fighters and the network know they are a serious promotion and this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. But I guess the most curious thing of all is even though many professional MMA journalist choose not to publish or promote this post fight brawl oddly enough CBS choose to on their website.
I guess it’s all about the rating after all.
