As 2009 headed into July, Zuffa appeared to reach the endgame in their quest to control the entirety of MMA’s elite talent. UFC 100 blew away all pay-per-view records. Josh Barnett pissed away an entire promotion. And with a deal secured with the remnants of Affliction Entertainment, Dana White looked to finally have a heat-seeking lock on his coveted Russian prize.
Just when it looked like fans would finally see Fedor Emelianenko in the UFC and get the biggest heavyweight fight in the sport’s history, negotiations between Zuffa and Fedor’s management team M-1 Global came to a screeching halt. While Zuffa reportedly made several concessions to acquire Emelianenko’s services, the organization took a hard stand against any sort of co-promotion with the Russian fight promotion and management company.
Enter Scott Coker and Strikeforce. Coker had just worked a deal to purchase the assets of the Kimbonered EliteXC, which included that company’s deal with the CBS network. Still viewed as a niche regional promotion lacking star power, Coker swept in during the negotiating standstill between Zuffa and M-1 Global and found himself an entity to build around.
Fedor made his Strikeforce (and cage) debut on November 7th, knocking out former tire mechanic Brett Rogers on prime time network TV. The fight drew nearly 5.5 million viewers.
Full results after the break.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total | |
| Fedor signs with SF | 26 | 8 | 10 | 164 |
| Affliction folds | 13 | 11 | 11 | 109 |
| Barnett fails test | 6 | 9 | 4 | 61 |
| Rampage quits | 3 | 10 | 6 | 51 |
| GreaseGate | 5 | 5 | 5 | 45 |
| Brock’s sickness | 2 | 1 | 13 | |
| A. Silva breaks record | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| UFC 100 PPV number | 1 | 3 | ||
| Henderson signs with SF | 1 | 3 | ||
| Bob Arum comments | 1 | 1 | ||
| Sherdog reinstated | 1 | 1 | ||
| Nelson wins TUF | 1 | 1 |