Apparently, according to Coker, Fedor will not fight for the belt immediately (courtesy of
www.cagepotato.com):
Now that Strikeforce has landed the greatest heavyweight in the world, they have to make sure that casual American fans care. To that end, Fedor Emelianenko may spend the first two fights of his initial three-fight deal with Strikeforce building his name before fighting for the organization's heavyweight strap. According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker on yesterday's edition of TapouT Radio (via FiveOuncesofPain):
“[Fedor] and Alistair Overeem should be an amazing fight, and people that haven’t seen Alistair, you know, he’s an amazing fighter. I think we should do a couple of fights and build that one up, and then let their champion fight our champion, and let’s see what happens...We’re hoping that Alistair will be ready to fight in the Fall, and we can put him on one of the cards with Fedor, and not fight against each other but fight against someone else, and let’s build that fight up”
It's a wise strategy from a marketing perspective — especially if Strikeforce decides to try their hand at a pay-per-view show for Fedor's third fight — but it's not without its share of risks. One of Emelianenko's first two opponents could "shock the world," after all, and sink Fedor's marketability before he ever becomes champion. (Not a likely scenario, but still.) Or, Fedor and M-1 might feel they've accomplished all there is to accomplish in Strikeforce after their third fight, and leave the club right after they've taken its belt. (Assuming Strikeforce contracts don't have an airtight champion's clause, as in the UFC.)
Coker went on to say that Fedor's first fight this fall will definitely be on Showtime, then shared some insight on Strikeforce's co-promotion with M-1 Global:
“I think that was something that was really important to M-1. They were looking for a partner, just like they had with Affliction. I think branding is important to them, and I think we’ve provided a good platform for them to do some good branding in America. We’ve done co-promotions before so it wasn’t really an issue to us. I think it just worked out. When two companies have common goals in mind, good things can happen.”
Well isn't that sweet? Coker brings up a good point, in that Strikeforce has previously partnered up with EliteXC and Bodog; they've had experience with co-promotion and aren't as fiercely protective of their brand as the UFC. So maybe this thing could work out after all. Though Dana White and the UFC will surely do everything in their power to prevent that from happening...