So far it’s been a widely assumed fact that Strikeforce is going to cease business after their January card in Oklahoma. The company and Showtime announced that the organization will no longer be broadcast on the pay television channel after the Oklahoma City show but no word on the company’s future has been made as of yet.
Per the Press Release:
Las Vegas, Nevada – STRIKEFORCE® welterweight champion and seasoned UFC® veteran Nate Marquardt will defend his title against current number one contender Tarec Saffiedine on Saturday, Jan. 12 as STRIKEFORCE® visits Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla. In the night’s co-main event, Oklahoma State University All-American wrestler and STRIKEFORCE Grand Prix heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier takes on kickboxing veteran Dion Staring. The event will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) as part of the premium network’s Free Preview Weekend whereby more than 80 million households nationwide will have access to SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND and more.
This will mark the final STRIKEFORCE event on SHOWTIME.
“Since 2009, SHOWTIME has been a great partner and we appreciate its support of STRIKEFORCE and our athletes,” Scott Coker, STRIKEFORCE CEO, said. “For our final event, we’ve loaded the card with some outstanding fights. This is going to be a memorable night for the sport of mixed martial arts.”
“We are proud of our association with Scott Coker and the entire STRIKEFORCE team,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “From Gina Carano to Ronda Rousey, Fedor Emelianenko to Daniel Cormier, Nick Diaz to Gilbert Melendez, SHOWTIME Sports and STRIKEFORCE have built some of the biggest stars in the sport and have produced many of the most watched and most intriguing fights in the history of MMA. We look forward to another night of competitive and explosive STRIKEFORCE fights on SHOWTIME on January 12 in OKC.”
