Hot on the heals of his signing with the UFC, Mayhem Miller already has someone on his dance card, his next fight will be against Aaron "A Train" Simpson at UFC 132 on July 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mayhem hasn't fought since his win over living legend, The IQ Wrestler, Kazushi Sakuraba all the way back in September 2010. He hasn't fought in Strikeforce in over a year, since the post fight, in cage, brawl in Nashville."These things happen in MMA."
This is the first big signing of a former Strikeforce fighter since Zuffa bought out Strikeforce and since the Strikeforce deal, UFC president Dana White has repeated the mantra of "business as usual." Busness as usual, in that the UFC and Strikeforce would continue to compete for fighters. In Miller's case, his contract had expired, and he hadn't had any Strikeforce fights in more than a year making him eligible to negotiate. I think this is just a sign of things to come, So does the inimitable Luke Thomas. To wit:
This is the first big signing of a former Strikeforce fighter since Zuffa bought out Strikeforce and since the Strikeforce deal, UFC president Dana White has repeated the mantra of "business as usual." Busness as usual, in that the UFC and Strikeforce would continue to compete for fighters. In Miller's case, his contract had expired, and he hadn't had any Strikeforce fights in more than a year making him eligible to negotiate. I think this is just a sign of things to come, So does the inimitable Luke Thomas. To wit:
With pressure on the UFC to have Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez be tested against elite UFC lightweights or Nick Diaz to face Georges St. Pierre, the coherence of Strikeforce as an entity is under assault. Miller's signing only further underscores the dubious proposition Strikeforce, in its current form, offers fighters or the sport itself.Like Luke, I think it's probably just a matter of time and a few contractual formalities with showtime, then Strikeforce will be folded into the UFC.
As the integrity of the roster crumbles by having top talent slowly bleed into the UFC, the idea that fighters will want to sign with Strikeforve over the UFC or that it's even a brand to keep alive will slowly fade. If there are contracts in place that have to be maintained, then there's little the UFC can do but wait. Wait they will, though. The trajectory is clear: the future of Strikeforce is no future at all.
Vladimir Matyüshenko is here with his inaugural Tips from the Janitor.
Former middleweight champion, Rich "Ace" Franklin will return to action in the light heavyweight division against Little Nog at UFC 133 in Philadelphia August 6th. With both fighters coming off losses, Franklin to Forrest and "Lil Nog" to Mr. Wonderful Phil Davis I'd expect a real barn burner here.
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