Following the release of the reigning Strikeforce Heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem from his contract with Zuffa, it was apparent that the company was at odds with the fighter's training camp and management. With mixed facts on why Overeem was really cut coming from both sides, an apparent grudge had developed with Zuffa looking to flex some muscle. Following the release of Overeem, Zuffa has decided to take action against three of the other four of those under among their roster fighting out of team Golden Glory by releasing Alistair's older brother Valentijn Overeem (31-29-0), now former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen (19-5-0), and Jon Olav Einemo (6-2-0) after his UFC debut that earned Fight of the Night honors. With these cuts including one of the elite fighters in WMMA and a recently signed Heavyweight that put on the most exciting fight on a main card, this does more to support critics who feel Zuffa has become a strong-arming boxing-like organization in how some fighters are treated. The release of Valentijn is less surprising with his record and most recent performance against Chad Griggs proving that he is not a fighter that Zuffa is really interested in keeping. Coenen is a surprising release in a way just coming off the loss of her title and being one of the elite female fighters in the sport, though it is less surprising seeing that Strikeforce looks to be on the decline potentially being absorbed sooner than many would think and looking at the common fact that UFC President Dana White has no interest or respect in promoting WMMA at all. The release of Einemo is some what surprising, though not completely a shock to those who follow the usual dealings of the UFC. Einemo came in highly touted with an elite grappling background as an ADCC champion and put on a great show earning Fight of the Night when he traded hard punches with fellow tough Heavyweight Dave Herman who was also making his promotional debut. With these recent cuts, it is clear that the chance of a fighter who chooses to remain with team Golden Glory will have a hard time signing with either Strikeforce or the UFC with Zuffa owning both.
[UPDATED]
While it was originally believed that Zuffa had taken action against Golden Glory entirely by cutting all fighting out of the European based camp, the only fighter still fighting out of that camp and still employed by Zuffa under Strikeforce is Sergei Kharitonov who is one of the four Heavyweights in the promotion's World Heavyweight Grand Prix. According to UFC President Dana White, the dispute between Zuffa and Golden Glory is how fighters are paid. White claims that the camp's policy is that the promotions pay the money for the athlete's participation in an event directly to the camp/managers and they take their cut before passing the rest on to the fighter. According to White Kharitonov's contract maintains the policy under American based athletic commissions where the promotion puts the pay a fighter is to receive for his participation in an event in an account that the commissions themselves then pass to the competitor. White also claims that Einemo's original contract when entering the UFC also followed this policy, but states that Golden Glory wanted to change that policy in his contract following his recent promotional debut. With Kharitonov's current contract and ongoing participation in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, White claims that the Russian competitor will remain under Strikeforce and his contract will be honored, though that could change if complications with Golden Glory occur involving his payment and contract.
No comments:
Post a Comment