Say what you will about Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney and his goofy crusade to book a co-promotional supercard with Strikeforce but at least he’s out there banging the drum loudly for his team. For those of you who missed it this weekend saw Rebney and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker publicly squabble over a series of text messages that were allegedly sent by Rebney. Coker claimed he never got them, Rebney released photos of the texts, and then Coker politely informed him that he was using an out of date phone number. The messages themselves were too sanitized to be believed (“Can we talk Monday re: Eddie v. Gilbert super-fight? This could be great for Strikeforce and Bellator.”) and one can only assume that at the time Rebney sent them he already was planning his release of them to the media.
Old number or otherwise, why wouldn’t Coker dodge these desperate cries for attention? Strikeforce is sitting a lot prettier than Bellator these days. They are the established number two organization in North America with bigger name stars and a far more lucrative TV contract. And while Rebney sees them as his ticket to pay-per-view they are actually within sniffing distance all on their own (Granted their envisioned path to that promised land is the odious Dave Batista vs. Bobby Lashley tilt). Rebney knows that he can only win in this situation and has thus settled into the role of squeaky, annoying wheel. Whatever happens going forward his brand is already better off and more widely known because of his rooftop, and if Coker surprises everyone by being mad enough to indulge him then he’s really hit the jackpot.
The mythical card that is being tossed around would feature champion vs. champion showdowns in three of the divisions that they share. The honey pot that Rebney is borderline obsessed with is Eddie Alvarez vs. Gilbert Melendez, they’re both in the top 5 (maybe Top 3) as far as Lightweights go and unless something went terribly wrong they would bring the house down. There would also be Ben Askren vs. Nick Diaz; there Strikeforce might hold a slight advantage but nobody would fall over with shock if Askren out-grappled his fellow welterweight. Finally we would get to see Hector Lombard win a slaughter over Jacare Souza in what would surely be an embarrassing moment for Coker and company. Oddly enough there hasn’t been any mention of a Cole Konrad vs. Alistair Overeem match which surely suggests that Coker is totally absent from the matchmaker process since that is the one division that clearly favors Strikeforce. Personally I would love to see that card and would be happy to shell out good money to watch it, but I’m also something of a realist and this has the feel of something that is way too good to be true.
The bigger, more intriguing question to me is the one that revolves around the future of MMA in general. Obviously neither of these promotions are going to come close to putting a chink in the massive money-making machine that is the UFC. There have been rumors that Bellator is on the verge of going the way of Lehman Brothers even though they insist that season 4 is imminent. Maybe, just maybe, the smart move here would not be a one-time event but rather a permanent joining of forces. Of course there are all sorts of television and fighter contracts to work out so this is not something that would be easy to pull off. But it would allow Coker and Rebney to maximize the potential of their combined forces another and then watch the fights anxiety free. It may be a radical idea but it may also be the one thing these organizations can do to save themselves from the inevitable.
