Sunday, April 18, 2010

Strikeforce Brawl Fallout

Here is video of the brawl which erupted at the conclusion of Strikeforce's second foray on CBS. The post-fight melee is not close to as bad as events that have happened in Brazian MMA in the past, most notably the riot during the Renzo Gracie fight against Eugenio Tadeu in September of 1997.


You could blame the melee on Mayhem Miller interrupting Jake Shields post fight speech, Melendez pushing Miller, or the Diaz brothers going crazy. Mayhem was the instigator however, and should have known the reaction that would follow. So far Scott Coker, president of Strikeforce, has stated he did not know Mayhem Miller was going into the cage.

The Strikeforce: Nashville ratings have been reported to be horrendous, losing to NBC, ABC and Fox. The brawl is being talked about much more than the three championship fights. While the three championship fights were technically sound, but they were not entertaining, highlight reel fights CBS was hoping for. The brawl is now the only thing that people are talking about.

When a brawl is the main source of publicity, that is a very bad sign. The CBS deal could be in severe jeopardy, which could impact one of the main revenue streams of the promotion. Strikeforce could get a boost in publicity, but this is the worst way to get it. The history of Strikeforce will be marred forever by this incident, we will wait to see where they go.

What are your thoughts on the brawl? Feel free to post your comments below.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mayhem is the dumbass who got on the mike. you gotta know that diaz brothers are going to go crazy in that situation.

Anonymous said...

The sad thing about this, is the comment above... "should have known the Diaz brother would go crazy" ... what are they? animals? Really, I didn't know that they allowed dogs to fight in MMA. I didn't know humans can't control their emotions. If the fact that the Diaz's are such loose cannons is such common knowledge, maybe shouldn't be allowed to corner fighters at all, because brawls will ensue.

Mayhem said "How about that rematch, bro." I can't believe that people are spinning it so negatively. He didn't say "you've got my belt." He didn't curse at anybody, or call them a bitch. He didn't shove anybody. He just got jumped on national TV.

I kind of think Mayhem is annoying, but people need to stop making excuses. The person who throws the first punch is the asshole.

I like how Coker and Mauro blamed Mayhem, especially. Hey, retard, I'll tell you what looks bad for the sport: not someone challenging someone for a rematch. It's a bunch of thugs jumping one guy on national tv. Especially considering the "sport" is hardly considered a "sport" by many.

Anonymous said...

I think Mayhem's timing was bad, and he apologized for what he did. Mayhem should have waited until Shields had concluded his interview.

Anonymous said...

i can't believe anyone is trying to blame Mayhem Miller for this. i don't buy the excuse that the Diaz brothers are crazy, we know they're thugs, so we should put up with them. hell no, they should act like the professionals they're supposed to be. wake up Diaz brothers, you're not in the streets anymore, you are on a professional sports event on a major network!

Mayhem Miller has already apologized for his role, and for the damage it may have done to the sport. meanwhile, the Diaz brothers are still bragging about tough they are for jumping a guy 5 to 1. disgraceful.

Anonymous said...

Reason people are blaming Mayhem Miller is because he interrupting the post fight interview after Shields had barely said anything.

That said, Miller shouldn't have even been allowed in the cage until after the interview was completed. You could also blame whoever was monitering the cage door.