It appears as though Strikeforce will return to the Chicago area for the first time since the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers event. That event was fairly well received by the local crowd and there was an atmosphere that seemed to support the idea of Fedor as a superstar. This is valuable since the rumor is that Fedor’s next fight will be on the show. Via MMA Junkie:
Multiple sources close to negotiations today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Strikeforce has earmarked July 30 for a major Showtime-televised event, putting on hold plans for a pay-per-view event.
However, a heavyweight superfight between Fedor Emelianenko and current Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Dan Henderson, which has been rumored as the headliner to a potential pay-per-view card, is still in advanced negotiations and could headline the late summer event.
A location for the Showtime event has yet to be confirmed, though the Sears Centre in Chicago has surfaced as one possible locale.
The Sears Centre is actually not in Chicago, it’s in Hoffman Estates. The real value there is that there is not the 9% entertainment tax in the suburbs like there is in Chicago itself.
Going back to the same location as Fedor/Rogers requires less building up of Fedor to local media as they already have familiarity as well as a location that attracted a nice crowd on the last trip.
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