Strikeforce Holds Firm, Eyes Potential Showdown With UFC On April 17th

Strikeforce's Scott Coker puts it out there they are going to hold their event on April 17th and speaks on the rumored UFC event that could counter-program them on the same day in the same city:

"We never really planned to move, but we wanted to keep our business options open," said Coker. "Everything is business as usual (for April 17) and full steam ahead."

"Was it done to create some confusion in the marketplace in Nashville? Maybe. I don’t know. I’m not sure," said Coker. "Is it good for mixed martial arts? I’m not sure. I don’t think so. I don’t think that when a company’s trying to counter-program you just to impact your ratings, it’s-- and this could go back and forth. One day, when CBS says, ‘Alright, we’re going to go head-to-head against your pay-per-view date and you can watch Fedor (Emelianenko) or Dan Henderson for free on TV or buy a pay-per-view,’ people are going to have choices at that point. But that’s something they’d never do. CBS went out of its way to make sure there was nothing else on April 17."

The UFC still hasn't confirmed the rumored event, and has until next Thursday to reserve the date in Tennessee but haven't done so as of yesterday.  Coker went on to communicate that CBS will probably use the NCAA March Madness tournament as an opportunity to promote the upcoming Strikeforce event.  Which is a MUST if they want this show to be even halfway successful on CBS as I've said in the past.  In other news, there's smoke everywhere for a potential UFC event on the same night.  The latest is that the event could be headlined by a Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell fight.

HT: Sherdog