The Strikeforce: "Nashville" CBS fight card will apparently be let off the hook for its debut in "Music City" next month.
Well, sort of.
MMA Fighting is reporting that Zuffa has bailed on a proposed April 17 event, also in Nashville, that would have aired on its cable television partner Spike TV in an effort to impact its rival's ticket sales and television ratings.
No more.
And one has to imagine that even the world's largest fight promotion had a hard time booking an event on six weeks notice -- considering they already have five events under the Zuffa umbrella planned through April 24.
Simply put, there may not have been enough talent to fill a card worth watching.
Instead, the UFC will likely air a recent pay-per-view offering for free on Spike, or a possible compilation of high-profile fights like it did with "Main Events" that ran opposite Strikeforce: "Fedor vs. Rogers" last November.
And it wouldn't be the first time.
Spike TV debuted UFC 94: "St. Pierre vs. Penn 2" to run head-to-head against "Shamrock vs. Diaz" back on April 11, 2009, and then put UFC 100 up against "Carano vs. Cyborg" later that summer.
Strikeforce can be now be considered a major player in mixed martial arts with its signing of free agents, Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson, as well as its recent cable and network television deals.
While UFC President Dana White has long supported the efforts of Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, he is now at war with "Strikefarce" since they entered the proverbial big stage.
With that in mind, stay tuned for future updates to the UFC's plans for April 17 television programming in the coming weeks.
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