Cagewriter - UFC

One of the lowpoints of Saturday's Strikeforce card was the cancellation of the undercard bout between Mark Miller and Deray Davis. The fight didn't happen because of a lack of time between their scheduled bout and the start of the CBS broadcast.

Cagewriter learned today that Miller and Davis were paid not only their purses, but also their win bonuses. Strikeforce communications director Mike Afromowitz explained the situation.

"Originally, we attempted to place this matchup on another fight card being promoted by a local promoter in Chicago in a couple of weeks.  If both fighters had accepted, we would have paid each his fight purse a second time.  Since neither was available due to different circumstances, however, we paid each his win bonus on top of the purse."

Fair enough. It's good to hear that Strikeforce did right by these guys, but nonetheless, the situation sucked. Miller hadn't fought since his stint on the ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter," and Davis' last fight was a loss at Bellator. A good win for either of them could have gotten their career back on track. 

Strikeforce noted that this is the first time this has happened in their history of promoting both MMA and kickboxing bouts. The undercard started ten minutes before six in Chicago, and the last fight ended at 7:25, a full 35 minutes before CBS was scheduled to go live. If they plan on doing another CBS event -- and judging by the ratings numbers, they will -- they will be able to schedule it so that this is the only time this happens in Strikeforce history.

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8 Comments

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  1. Robert C
    1. Posted by Robert C Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:51 pm EST

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    That will always be the risk they take when airing a live show. No way to predict how long or short fights will last. Paying these guys for not fighting was really just a small price to pay for ensuring the main event part started on time.
    Now I am not a mathematician, but isn't it three 5 min rounds with one minute break for a total of 17 minutes? If they had 35 minutes....why couldn't they get this fight in? Guess it wasn't worth risking.
  2. gohubb
    2. Posted by gohubb Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:03 pm EST

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    Pretty generous
  3. Instant Money
    3. Posted by Instant Money Wed Nov 11, 2009 8:45 am EST

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    Its awesome to click the UFC link on the Yahoo sports page and the first thing you see is 5 Fedor/Strike Force Blogs and Headlines.
    Am I the only one that thinks that's ironic?
  4. Rob R
    4. Posted by Rob R Wed Nov 11, 2009 9:35 am EST

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    Robert C...There's also time to compile judge's scores, walk to the ring and do inspections, announce the fighters, all kinds of commission stuff, potential that they would have to clean the mat or tend to an injured fighter.
    It's not just get in, fight, get out. It would have been tight...but I hear you.
    I feel bad for the fighters. Even though they got paid their win bonuses, they didn't get exposure, they didn't get a chance to actually improve their record and/or impress the matchmakers, and they might not have gotten paid by their sponsors.
    Does Strikeforce do fight night bonuses? I feel like I've never read a story about who got them...which makes me think they don't award them.
  5. ABabs
    5. Posted by ABabs Wed Nov 11, 2009 10:02 am EST

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    Coker and SF have a good opportunity to paint themselves as the "fighters'" promotion. Especially given all the complaints that have been levied against Dana over the years. As much as I don't like seeing the sport fractured by competing promotions, hopefully the new competition will continue to benefit the fighters and the fans.
    It's going to suck when mma turns into boxing (as far as promoting and match-making). I wouldn't be surprised if, several years from now, we look back on this time period as the Golden Age of mma.
  6. Instant Money
    6. Posted by Instant Money Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:47 am EST

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    The Golden Age of MMA would be an annual Strike Force/AFC and UFC/NFC champions match-up at the end of the year for bragging rights and rankings. Every year the UFC champs from all divisions would fight the champs from the Strike Force divisions at the end of the year. This would be great for both promotions and could be set up like the NFL. I know I'm just dreaming, but that's GOLD. Could you imagine the sponsors, match-ups, and money involved. Each year the belts would be united and we would finally have undisputed champs in both promotions. I know what you are thinking, "This man is a genius, he should be working for Yahoo!" The promotions could co-exist and work together, but still maintain their identities and integrity, instead of trying to bankrupt each other. With both promotions working together they could surely get a lucrative deal with CBS that could eventually compete with the NFL, since the NFL is on the verge of a strike or holdout in 2011.
  7. Robert C
    7. Posted by Robert C Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:45 pm EST

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    Instant Money - I have been preaching that same stuff for awhile. UFC v. Strikeforce...oh how it would be great. But like you, I know I am dreaming. I just don't see Dana willing to do it.
  8. Instant Money
    8. Posted by Instant Money Wed Nov 11, 2009 2:29 pm EST

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    If Dana really wants to truly promote MMA nationally and globally, a comprise must occur. It would help both promotions grow financially and go mainstream. Dana needs to go sell snake oil and oxy-clean on QVC.

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Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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