UFC and Strikeforce have opportunity to do what no other MMA organization has

Way back in the day, there were two major football leagues. The NFL and the AFL often battled for players and eventually, they decided to have their champions face each other each year to see which one was better. It may not have been great for business, but it was what the fans wanted, and they went with it and it became a staple of the game, even after the two leagues merged.

The UFC and Strikeforce should do a similar thing where they have their champions fight each other at the end of each calendar year, perhaps on a New Years card or late December. This could take away from one of the organizations, but there really is little to no downside to this now that they are both under the same parent organization and the money is going to the same people anyway.

This is my idea to how this would work.

UFC and Strikeforce fighters sign multi-year deals, not multi-fight deals. Every fighter fights three times a year (barring injury). This way, you are keeping fighters active and making sure that there isn't too much of a problem for ring rust. The champions defend their belt twice a year and at the end of the year, you have a huge card where you have the champion from each organization fight each other for the World Championship, the loser still holds their title as UFC or Strikeforce champion.

The money from advertising, ticket sales, PPV sales, etc. would be through the roof for an event like this, and the two organizations split the profit. I haven't exactly worked out how a yearly schedule would work yet, but there has to be a way where they can get this to work. Now obviously there are going to be injuries for champions, if this happens, the organization will pick a replacement fighter from their roster to represent the organization and if they win, they will be called the World Champion even though they aren't that organizations champion (much the way the Chicago Bears were NFC North champions but the Green Bay Packers, in the same division, are NFL Champions).

I think that they should also make the names cleaner. Possibly having the UFC being the main banner like the NFL, MLB, NBA, etc., and then having two leagues under that, somewhat like teams, that will be battling for fighters. The two names could be something like WFC (World Fighting Conference) and GFC (Global Fighting Conference)

There are already a number of non-champions who are still extremely profitable, and each organization would have to work to create more fighters like that much the way there are smaller teams that rarely win championships but still have fanbases and create revenue.

Overall, I think this would be great business, create the superfights that everybody wants to see, and would be a great event for everybody.

Here are what the champion vs. champion fights would be like this year, read them and find some way to argue that this wouldn't be both great business, and great for the fans.

HW: Cain Velasquez vs. Allistair Overeem

LHW: Shogun vs. Hendo

MW: Anderson Silva vs. Ronaldo Souza

WW: GSP vs. Nick Diaz

LW: Frankie Edgar vs. Gilbert Melendez

Discuss.

Cool ideas man, I just don't expect it to happen. My feeling is the UFC will be shutting down Strikeforce over the next couple years, and moving all the best fighters into the UFC, and then Strikeforce will be gone, or only operate in some far more limited way. 

I like the ideas as well, but I gotta say -- GSP would own Nick Diaz.  I'd love to see it happen, too.

I wish the UFC could maybe restrict Strikeforce and make it a feeder organization.  They undoubtedly wanna put all their big eggs in the UFC basket.  They could easily bring the Strikeforce elite like Overeem and Melendez up, but push some low level UFC fighters down.  Another interesting concept, although it won't happen, The Ultimate Fighter SF vs UFC!!!

The middleweight division in SF has some interesting cross-over potential as well.  I really hope that Dana White uses SF as his minor league like he did with WEC. 

sadly, all this does is whet my appetite for a meal that's never gonna be served.  but what a meal it would be.  great post and great vision, but i believe it's too much for us to expect.  i think the ufc will be running strikeforce as its key contracts naturally expire, and slowly bringing its top fighters into the fold.  when that process is effectively complete 2, perhaps 3 years from now, it'll be shut down.

Along with that, if they sign a champion from SF i would have to anticipate that they would unify titles as they did with pride. Dan Henderson get another UFC title shot! LOL - odd yet intriguing. As far as the MW division goes, the most intriguing fighters i see, or i would want to see are Jacare and Tim Kennedy, maybe Melvin Manhoef but only if he's fighting someone who is willing to trade with him. It definately would add to the LW division which is already stacked as well. Kawajiri, Melendez, JZ, Aoki, the potential match ups for the future are endless. Not to mention Overeem, an improved Werdum, and Bigfoot as HWs..... In a way i almost want to fast forward 12-18 months.....

Who wouldn't want this?  Dana.  So there's a good chance it won't happen.  I think the best we can hope for is that whenever the UFC does gobble up Strikeforce we'll see the title unification bouts.

Shogun vs Hendo would be an interesting fight...would have loved it in Pride though!

I really like the idea having the two promotions and doing superfights, but the reality of the situation is, this is not how UFC operates. Zuffa knows the ufc is the face of mma, why dilute and segregate the fan base. I still think it will push the sport forward, even if and when strikeforce is absorbed into the UFC. Dana clearly understands what is destroying boxing slowly, its the multi title, multi promotion system that is confusing the sport and causing fans to stray. The superfights will happen, just under the ufc banner, we just have to patient. 

I find myself agreeing with the majority of the people on this thread. Though an NFL-esquetwo organization sounds very compelling and offers the potential for superfights in every weight division and a grand yearly event, it seems to be entirely contradictory to how UFC has been handeling it's MMA promotion as a dominant titan of a busieness. UFC has made it painfully clear that they wish to be nothing other than the top dog of MMA promotions, they have been devouring all other promotions that make a name for themselves (bought Pride, WEC, Strikeforce - i know otherws ones that just aren't comming to mind right now) and counter marketed to death others (Elite FC and Affliction) thus I don't see this merge going down in a two brand co-promotion merger. What is most likely going to happen, as alluded to by many other posts, is that the UFC will eventually absord all the significant fighters that it is on good terms with, while some significant fighters who are at odds with the UFC (Hendo, Fedor, Daley ect.) will go elsewhere to another promotion wishing to make a name for itself, and will wait it out their until that promotion is inveitably crushed as well.