Scott Coker is a busy man. Of course, the founder and CEO of Strikeforce wouldn’t have it any other way. Busy, in Coker’s world, means successful.
“We have a ton of fights to do,” Coker said. “We have probably quadrupled our workload, getting the TV contracts.”
In February, Strikeforce completed a deal to buy Pro Elite (Elite XC) and a TV deal with Showtime – which will air the company’s upcoming April 11 card featuring Frank Shamrock versus Nick Diaz in the main event. The company also has a TV deal with NBC. That, combined with the influx of fighters from Pro Elite, has left Coker scrambling to make everything come together.
“I think it’s an exciting time for our company,” he said. “We were able to pick up 40 of the top athletes (from Elite XC) … Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, Gina Carano and some guys that you likely haven’t heard about but that are up and coming guys. Mix that with our roster, the Frank Shamrocks and (Renato Sobral) Babalus of the world … we are going to be very busy.”
There are more fighters to come. Strikeforce has been rumored to be in the Tito Ortiz sweepstakes and Coker confirmed talks with Kimbo Slice. In a world in which the UFC is established as the top dog, Coker’s Strikeforce has made a name for itself. In fact, it’s one of the few promotions that UFC President Dana White has praised.
“It only took 20 years to become an overnight success,” Coker joked. “About three years ago, there were so many leagues in the space – Bodog, IFL, Pro Elite, UFC, Pride – the landscape has really changed. Now, there’s UFC, our company, DREAM in Japan, those are the three major leagues that are doing the big fights throughout the world. I think the landscape has changed so that the top fighters are going to fight for these leagues.”
Strikeforce initially entered into the martial arts world when ESPN2 launched. They put on breaking contests, weapons contest and kickboxing for the network then. Now, in the mixed martial arts world, Strikeforce has respect but is still faced with the uphill battle of competing for consumer dollars with the UFC – essentially the NFL of the mixed martial arts worlds. That being said, Coker’s company has managed to assemble a stable that includes several of the world’s top fighters and the business plan for keeping the company relevant in the minds of MMA fans is simple.
“It comes down to putting on great fights, great television fights and great live events,” Coker said. “We have been successful at doing that. In the three years we have been in this business, we have put on some high profile fights. We had the fight of the year in Cung Le and Frank Shamrock last year. So, we have been able to put on fights that are relevant, keep putting on big shows, big live events that people want to see.”
He points to the April 11 Showtime card as evidence of the fights the company is able to put on. Shamrock (23-9-2) will main event against Diaz (18-7); Josh Thompson (16-2) will take on Gilbert Melendez (14-2) in a lightweight championship rematch, Scott Smith (14-5) will take on Benji Radach (19-4) and Chris “Cyborg” Santos (6-1), one of the top female fighters in the world, will take on Hitomi Akano (14-5).
“I think we are going to do the best card we have ever done in the history of Strikeforce,” Coker said. “Frank versus Nick Diaz and the rest of these guys you normally wouldn’t see on an undercard. We have three fights that could probably main event in another show.”
Coker’s determination to put on a good show for the fans has his biggest name, Shamrock, fully convinced Strikeforce will be a player in the MMA game for years to come.
“Scott’s the real deal when it comes to martial artists and a promoter,” Shamrock said. “That’s what the sport has been missing for a long time. We’ve kind of lost the martial arts in mixed martial arts, and I have 100 percent confidence that Strikeforce, Scott Coker and Silicon Valley Sports Entertainment can bring that all back. They are all successful business people that know about martial arts. We have had business people. We have had money people. We have had martial arts people, but we have never had those people in one company, on one team, until now.”
