By Mike Chiappetta
- Senior Writer
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Strikeforce has the spotlight to itself.
The long-rumored UFC event expected to counter the promotion's April 17 CBS offering will not take place, MMA Fighting has confirmed.
Earlier this month, the UFC explored the option, going so far as to inform likely broadcast partner Spike TV
that the show was a go, but the company has apparently reversed course, and a Spike source said the network has been told by the UFC that the show is no longer happening.
At the time, rumors of potential matchups pitting
Mike Swick against
Matt Serra and
Wanderlei Silva vs.
Yoshihiro Akiyama were quickly extinguished for various reasons, making finding a headlining act a challenge.
Also complicating factors was the decision to put together a card on short notice; at the time, there was six weeks to assemble the event. The UFC had been able to do it once in the past, when it countered Affliction's first pay-per-view offering in July 2008 with a card headlined by
Anderson Silva. But in this case, logistics could have been a factor as Zuffa already had
UFC 112 scheduled for Abu Dhabi on April 10 and the pivotal
WEC 48 pay-per-view on April 24, so adding another card would have strained the company's resources.
Now, it appears Strikeforce will air its anticipated show pitting three title fights free of live competition, though the Spike source said it's likely the UFC will at least air a prior pay-per-view event on Spike. A decision on that programming has yet to be made.
The Strikeforce event, emanating from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, features title bouts between
Dan Henderson and
Jake Shields (middleweight),
Gegard Mousasi and "King Mo"
Muhammed Lawal (light-heavyweight) and
Shinya Aoki and
Gilbert Melendez (lightweight).
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Read More: ufc 112, wec 48, mma fighting exclusive, Anderson Silva (MMA), Dan Henderson (MMA), Gegard Mousasi (MMA), Gilbert Melendez (MMA), Jake Shields (MMA), Matt Serra (MMA), Mike Swick (MMA), Muhammed Lawal (MMA), Shinya Aoki (MMA), Wanderlei Silva (MMA), Yoshihiro Akiyama (MMA)
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