Strikeforce and UFC, once rival promotions, now under the same ownership cut three fighters with Holland's Golden Glory gym yesterday. This followed their termination of heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem's contract in the middle of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix last week.
CEO Scott Coker spoke about the cuts to Strikeforce commentator Mauro Ranallo on The Fight Show radio.
Ranallo: Why was Golden Glory cut?
Coker: Well, you know, Mauro, that whole thing about Alistair (Overeem), I think it's been documented. I think it's been regurgitated over and over so I don't know if we have to get into that. But with Valentijn (Overeem) and Marloes (Coenen), you know, right now, there's only so many TV spots, as you know, until the middle of next year. And, uh, they're, um, you know, in this business, you've gotta keep winning. So, to me, it was a situation where Valentijn had that loss, I believe in June, so that was already in the works anyway. It just seems sudden to everybody because it just all happened this week. But that was already on its way for Valentijn. The slots are going to be for the fighters that are victorious right now. We have a lot of athletes under contract and we have to get everybody fights and there's only so many slots. There's only so many TV dates, we only have two more TV dates on the big show before the end of the year. September is already full, December is getting full and then January is hopefully are finals and that's going to have a full card already. So in fairness to the athletes, why just let them hang around? It's a much fairer situation.
Keep checking back with MMA Nation for the latest updates on this developing story.
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