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UFC purchased Strikeforce and put them under the Zuffa umbrella in 2011, until they eventually closed down the MMA promotion and absorbed their key fighters in 2013.
According to Strikeforce founder Scott Coker, that sale involved some threats from Dana White.
A lot of interesting information has come out from the recently unsealed documents pertaining to the antitrust lawsuit against the UFC. Apart from being able to figure out several of the top UFC stars’ full payouts, Bloody Elbow has also obtained documents and depositions that detailed Strikeforce’s business model and negotiations with Dana White and the UFC.
It also showed the good cop, bad cop routine that Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White used to run for negotiations.
“In or around October 2010, Dana White called the Strikeforce owners to inform them that Lorenzo Fertitta wanted to acquire Strikeforce and, in November 2010, the Strikeforce owners met with representatives of the UFC concerning the potential acquisition of Strikeforce at the offices of WME,” lawsuit documents stated, as obtained by Bloody Elbow’s business expert John Nash.
“At that meeting, Lorenzo Fertitta reportedly stated that he thought ‘Strikeforce is building a great brand, but [Zuffa felt] there should only be one brand, so [Zuffa] would like to buy [Strikeforce].’
“For its part, Zuffa’s internal correspondence in 2012 indicates that the UFC sought, by its Strikeforce acquisition, to eliminate it as a competitor. In a conference call, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta stated that: ‘Lawrence and Pete Dropick, who run Strikeforce for us, went back to New York, had negotiated a separation agreement with Showtime to essentially shut Strikeforce down. We would then pull all of those Fighters into the UFC which is essentially what we want to do anyway.’ According to Zuffa, acquiring Strikeforce’s Fighter contracts was definitely the most important’ aspect of the deal.”
Scott Coker didn’t want to sell Strikeforce to “Darth Vader”
In Scott Coker’s deposition, he noted how he didn’t want to sell his company at the time, as it would be the end of “the MMA industry” and would lead to worse purses for fighters. He also compared the Dana White-led UFC to the evil empire in Star Wars.
“I believe that the phone started ringing from [Dana White] because we had signed [prominent heavyweight] Fedor (Emelianenko) and we announced the heavyweight tournament. It was clear that although we were a very small company, much smaller than the UFC, but we were in the same business, that we had a better heavyweight division than they did, and I think that was one of the considerations on their part.”
“Strikeforce got on [the UFC’s] radar and I think they [Zuffa] wanted to control the market share,” Coker’s deposition stated.
“Affliction took the easy way out. Now it’s UFC and Strikeforce. If you can’t battle these guys it’s over for the MMA industry. UFC will be the only one left. We’re the last chance. Otherwise, fighters’ purses will go down if UFC is the only one – is the only one period. We’re Luke Skywalker and UFC is Darth Vader and the Death Star.”
Dana White threatened to make life hard for Strikeforce
Lorenzo Fertitta complimented Strikeforce and had a polite and measured approach, but according to the lawsuit documents, when the carrot didn’t work, Dana White stepped in with the stick.
“According to Scott Coker, Strikeforce’s founder, Lorenzo Fertitta stated that his plan was to close [Strikeforce) down, and we would take all of the Fighters and bring them to the UFC.’
“Coker testified that, after negotiations stalled, Dana White threatened that he would “come after [Strikeforce’s] fighters, and he would make our life hard, and, you know, give us a bad time.”
Faced with Dana White’s threat and limited options, Coker eventually decided to sell Strikeforce, where many of their fighters went on to headline big PPVs and win titles in the UFC.
More: https://bloodyelbow.com/2023/11/06/uc-dana-white-strikeforce-sell-threat/
According to Strikeforce founder Scott Coker, that sale involved some threats from Dana White.
A lot of interesting information has come out from the recently unsealed documents pertaining to the antitrust lawsuit against the UFC. Apart from being able to figure out several of the top UFC stars’ full payouts, Bloody Elbow has also obtained documents and depositions that detailed Strikeforce’s business model and negotiations with Dana White and the UFC.
It also showed the good cop, bad cop routine that Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White used to run for negotiations.
“In or around October 2010, Dana White called the Strikeforce owners to inform them that Lorenzo Fertitta wanted to acquire Strikeforce and, in November 2010, the Strikeforce owners met with representatives of the UFC concerning the potential acquisition of Strikeforce at the offices of WME,” lawsuit documents stated, as obtained by Bloody Elbow’s business expert John Nash.
“At that meeting, Lorenzo Fertitta reportedly stated that he thought ‘Strikeforce is building a great brand, but [Zuffa felt] there should only be one brand, so [Zuffa] would like to buy [Strikeforce].’
“For its part, Zuffa’s internal correspondence in 2012 indicates that the UFC sought, by its Strikeforce acquisition, to eliminate it as a competitor. In a conference call, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta stated that: ‘Lawrence and Pete Dropick, who run Strikeforce for us, went back to New York, had negotiated a separation agreement with Showtime to essentially shut Strikeforce down. We would then pull all of those Fighters into the UFC which is essentially what we want to do anyway.’ According to Zuffa, acquiring Strikeforce’s Fighter contracts was definitely the most important’ aspect of the deal.”
Scott Coker didn’t want to sell Strikeforce to “Darth Vader”
In Scott Coker’s deposition, he noted how he didn’t want to sell his company at the time, as it would be the end of “the MMA industry” and would lead to worse purses for fighters. He also compared the Dana White-led UFC to the evil empire in Star Wars.
“I believe that the phone started ringing from [Dana White] because we had signed [prominent heavyweight] Fedor (Emelianenko) and we announced the heavyweight tournament. It was clear that although we were a very small company, much smaller than the UFC, but we were in the same business, that we had a better heavyweight division than they did, and I think that was one of the considerations on their part.”
“Strikeforce got on [the UFC’s] radar and I think they [Zuffa] wanted to control the market share,” Coker’s deposition stated.
“Affliction took the easy way out. Now it’s UFC and Strikeforce. If you can’t battle these guys it’s over for the MMA industry. UFC will be the only one left. We’re the last chance. Otherwise, fighters’ purses will go down if UFC is the only one – is the only one period. We’re Luke Skywalker and UFC is Darth Vader and the Death Star.”
Dana White threatened to make life hard for Strikeforce
Lorenzo Fertitta complimented Strikeforce and had a polite and measured approach, but according to the lawsuit documents, when the carrot didn’t work, Dana White stepped in with the stick.
“According to Scott Coker, Strikeforce’s founder, Lorenzo Fertitta stated that his plan was to close [Strikeforce) down, and we would take all of the Fighters and bring them to the UFC.’
“Coker testified that, after negotiations stalled, Dana White threatened that he would “come after [Strikeforce’s] fighters, and he would make our life hard, and, you know, give us a bad time.”
Faced with Dana White’s threat and limited options, Coker eventually decided to sell Strikeforce, where many of their fighters went on to headline big PPVs and win titles in the UFC.
More: https://bloodyelbow.com/2023/11/06/uc-dana-white-strikeforce-sell-threat/
