Coker, Strikeforce ready for Melendez vs. Thomson
by Ariel Helwani
Updated: June 26, 2008, 3:09 PM EST
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker is one of the most respected men in mixed martial arts. In a short of amount time, Coker has developed Strikeforce into much more than just a local Bay Area promotion — he's turned it into one of the best run MMA organizations in the world. MMARated.com's Ariel Helwani spoke to Coker about this Friday's Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson lightweight title fight and what the future holds for his little promotion that could.
MMARated: This is the first time that Strikeforce will be running a show at the HP Pavilion without Cung Le on the card. As a result, have you noticed a lack of interest from the San Jose locals?
Scott Coker: Cung Le has his fan base and I think they are very loyal to Cung. Gilbert (Melendez) has his fan base and Josh (Thomson) has his fan base and then there is the MMA fan base that would like to come to probably every Strikeforce event, every UFC event, every WEC event. The difference I think is with Cung, he has developed a pretty strong fan base especially here in the Bay Area and he has gotten some good TV exposure. The last fight, you had Frank (Shamrock) and Cung together. You are talking about 25 years of martial arts fighting, if you add their current fighting records and how long they have been fighting. And so that fight was a big mega fight. So we are going to have mega fights and some quality fights that I believe is Gilbert Melendez, and Josh Thomson.
MMARated: As you mentioned, your last show in March headlined by Le vs. Shamrock was one of the best cards of the year. How can you possibly top that?
SC: Well, here is the thing, when you talk about Cung Le versus Frank Shamrock, that is like the Felix Trinidad or De La hoya versus Mayweather. Those were big, big mega fights and when I look at this fight (between) Gilbert and Josh, you look at that (Miguel) Cotto versus (Antonio) Margarita fight coming up, that might have an attraction to the hardcore audience, but that is a fight that no one would want to miss if you are a boxing fan and that's this fight.
Gilbert just in the last couple of years established his presence in the MMA world when he beat Clay Guida in '06, and then he went to Japan and beat (Tatsuya) Kawajiri and then he lost to (Mitsuhiro) Ishida and now he is on his way back after he beat Gabe Lemley. The same thing with Josh. Josh had his history with the UFC where he fought some great fights and he lost to Yves Edwards, then he had a lot of injury problems. But this fight if it was in Japan or anywhere in this country, it would be a very respectable match where their fighting styles are going to create a smashing event and smashing fight, in the sense that they know what to look for in the other guy.
MMARated: Kickboxing star Raymond Daniels is also making his debut Friday night and you have been billing him as "the next Cung Le." What should we expect from Daniels in MMA?
SC: Raymond Daniels is a very unique talent and I say that because I have been watching this guy since he was 15 years old fighting in Karate championship fights. He went on to become a semi-contact fighter. He did very well at that and then he went on to Chuck Norris's World Combat League and did very well at that. He kickboxed for me a couple of times, but I tell you the things that this guy can do in the ring are unbelievable.
And I think the difference between Cung and Raymond is that Raymond is going to go from having no fights in MMA to fighting Jeremiah Metcalf who's got twelve fights in MMA. I think he is going to be tested right away. This guy is dangerous, he could knock you out with either leg or either hand. How do you put him in there with a guy that has one fight or two fights? You just can't do it because someone is going to get hurt.
MMARated: Will he be competing in MMA full-time or still do both?
SC: That is really up to him. We did have an exclusive agreement (in MMA) but if Raymond came to me and said "I really want to do this thing for Mr. Norris," I would say "That's great, do it as well," because he had such a history over there with them and he is like the star of their league and I have a good relationship with the WCL.
MMARated: This has been a huge year from Strikeforce in terms of making your mark in the world in mixed martial arts on a mainstream level. Just recently, you landed a deal with NBC and the show has done amazing in what was consider a pretty poor time slot. Are you surprised with the kind of ratings the show is generating?
SC: I am surprised. I think the open of the show is probably the best of any MMA show I have ever seen. I think what happened, what we were betting on, and this was my gut feeling, is that my kid...he goes out on the weekend. He goes out with his friends, they go get something to eat, they come home and turn on the TV and that is what we are catching. We are catching that 18-to-34 guy that is going out, partying on the weekends. Coming home, turn the TV...It is unbelievable the 18-to-34 males we're delivering. We beat what is his name?
MMARated: Jimmy Kimmel?
SC: Yeah. We beat Jay Leno three days out of the week. We beat Carson Daly every day of the week. The 18-to-34 males that MMA as a whole, as an industry, are delivering (are) blowing away these TV executives.
MMARated: What are the current terms of the agreement between Strikeforce and NBC?
SC: It is a mixture of a lot different elements that we bring to the table, that they bring to the table. I can't really talk about what the contract says but it is a mixture of lot different elements that make up how we got to that place.
MMARated: Okay, but needless to say, it is a positive deal for you guys?
SC: Yes, absolutely.
MMARated: On the heels of EliteXC's debut on CBS, have there been any discussions about airing a live primetime event on NBC?
SC: Yes, there is an ongoing dialogue but I really cannot comment on it other than as far as there is dialogue. I really cannot get into the details of the deal, I am sure you understand.
MMARated: Understood. But are you confident a deal will be reached?
SC: I can tell you this, we have a powerful relationship with NBC. I think that they are very happy with what we are doing as far as the numbers we are delivering and I think that they are very happy with the deal and I think that this is going to be a matter of time before everybody, all the networks, will carry it. Believe me, we understand that there is window of opportunity here for us having the relationship with NBC and we are trying to take full advantage for that.
MMARated: Will Cung and Frank be once again facing each other next?
SC: No, I don't know. Frank and I will probably sit down after this event and then talk about timeframe, things like that. Cung, he is going to go do a movie pretty soon I think with Dennis Quaid. So, I don't think Frank is even going to be healthy enough to fight till next year.
MMARated: What has your experience been like working with Gary Shaw and EliteXC? I've heard that it wasn't all that rosy.
SC: You have to remember at the very beginning of that relationship — it started from a litigation so of course, everybody had their guard up. At the end of the day, it was a situation where I think both companies had their guards up going into the first fight and Gary has his way of doing things and we have our way of doing things and sometimes there was a difference of opinions but, believe me, I have a lot of respect for Gary. He has done some amazing things in the boxing world if you look at the boxing history. He did some good things for Showtime and I think he has done some good things for (EliteXC) too and so I have a lot of respect for the guy, but it is just a difference of opinion, different style of doing business and it is not to say whether he is right or I am right or he is wrong or I am wrong. It is just we had differences in opinion.
MMARated: Every male MMA fan wants to know: Will you be running another Strikeforce at the Playboy mansion show?
SC: Oh yes, we are going in September.
MMARated: Any dates set?
SC: Yes, it is going to be the weekend of the 19th and 20th.
MMARated: Do you know who will be on the card?
SC: No, but we are putting that together actually this week but I could tell you this: (Kazuo) Misaki will be fighting on that fight card. So that will be our coming out party with him and hopefully we will have the (visa) issues with Cyborg (Santos) put to rest and we will have him come out. We will (also) probably invite the winner of the Gilbert Melendez fight against Josh (Thomson) come to fight.
MMARated: At the last Playboy show, you announced the Babalu signing. When will he be making his debut for Strikeforce?
SC: He will be fighting on (the Playboy card) as well. That will be a great fight card and we are still working out the deal on what television distribution we are going to air it on. We will have some answers probably in the next two weeks.
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). I think Cung's smart enough to move into films while this opportunity is open to him. It pays better and has much more longevity. 