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Friday, Dec 28, 2012

Quote of the Day: Dana White Says “What’s Happened to the Fighters in Strikeforce is Horrible”

UFC President Dana White

By FCF Staff

Recently it’s become clear that Strikeforce’s operating days are coming to an end, confirming what many MMA observers believed was inevitable for some time now. With the recent announcement that Strikeforce and Showtime will be ending their relationship after the promotion’s January 12th card, UFC President Dana White has begun fielding questions about the organization’s demise.

While speaking at a pre-fight, UFC 155 event this week, White relayed that he was “glad” the Strikeforce situation is finally over, and further (comment via MMA Weekly):

“What has happened to the fighters in Strikeforce is horrible. The way that this thing went down and what’s happened to these guys, and these guys have been very patient, and I feel sorry for them and I’m just happy they’re coming into the UFC now.”

Last week, the UFC announced that Strikeforce vets like Bobby Voelker, Bobby Green, Caros Fodor and Robbie Lawler are all scheduled to compete in the Octagon this spring.

Of course, since ZUFFA acquired Strikeforce last year–at a time when it was making significant gains in the MMA world–many of the promotion’s top fighters began making their way to the UFC. Some of the more notable Strikeforce vets who moved to the UFC include Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem, Cung Le and more recently, Ronda Rousey.

White reportedly went on to dismiss critics who have argued that ZUFFA intended to sink Strikeforce all along, and reiterated that initially he was excited to work on behalf of the promotion.

Although Showtime renewed its broadcast agreement with Strikeforce for 2012, the promotion’s schedule was drastically reduced, and many of the organization’s fighters went months at a time this year without competing.

Strikeforce’s last event is scheduled for January 12th in Oklahoma City, and will feature welterweight champion Nate Marquardt taking on Tarec Saffiedine.

posted by FCF Staff @ 12:49 pm
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