Big (and surprising) news: Strikeforce has announced a deal with CBS, and the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers fight will take place on Nov. 7 on the network.
From the press release:
“It is an honor to have the opportunity to bring the STRIKEFORCE brand to CBS,” said Scott Coker, Founder and CEO of STRIKEFORCE. “We are looking forward to bringing MMA back to the network and to having the world’s No. 1 heavyweight-Fedor-compete for the first time on live network television against one of America’s most promising young, undefeated stars-Brett Rogers.”
This is huge news, obviously. I think we all expected the show to take place on Showtime, and it’s a major coup that Scott Coker was able to get Fedor on CBS, where he’ll almost assuredly be seen by millions of people. Sources tell us that this is currently a one-show contract and not a multiple show deal as has been reported elsewhere; the possibility of any future Strikeforce cards airing on CBS will depend on the ratings delivered by this first card.
No venue details have been released. I’m not sure that Zuffa will try to counter-program on this date, because they have a free Spike show the very next weekend. Coker may have picked the perfect date to sneak one past the UFC.
