Why is Hendo on the Shelf?

In an interview with MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani last week, fighter/industry analyst Dan Henderson blamed his inactivity on Strikeforce partner CBS refusing to pull the trigger on another network event.

“I was wanting to get back in there pretty quickly, but I think part of the problem was CBS…faltering on their commitment to mixed martial arts,” he said. “Especially after the little escapade in the cage after my last fight on CBS… I don't quite understand that and they're definitely still wanting to be involved in mixed martial arts and with Strikeforce, but I think they're just gonna take their time on it a little bit more."

Henderson’s “escapade” refers to the in-cage bar brawl that broke out when Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Henderson’s opponent, Jake Shields, began bleating at one another. It was an embarrassment, obviously, and I don’t think either Miller or Shields’ teammate, Nick Diaz, deserve to be rewarded with a fight that capitalizes on it -- but it was also a newsworthy bit of footage that raised Strikeforce’s free-TV profile. The smart thing would’ve been to exploit whatever attention the show got by scheduling another as soon as possible.

That was last April.

CBS is in a confusing spot: as a mainstream entity with a mature demographic -- this is the same channel that gives Andy Rooney a few minutes every week to complain about not getting enough fiber -- they want to make some kind of headway into what is obviously becoming an increasingly large part of the U.S. sports industry. The problem is that the sport frequently contains elements that will cause a network to flinch. (Well, maybe not Fox.) There’s gore, attitude, and unpredictability. MMA is not programming for an executive faint of heart.

This fence-sitting does Strikeforce no favors: they’ve already got headaches relating primarily to their fighters having the contractual freedom to fight elsewhere, which frequently disrupts any rational matchmaking the company considers. Alistair Overeem is busy in Japan; Fedor Emelianenko is allegedly considering offers to fight there or in Russia at the end of the year. Can you imagine Brock Lesnar refusing to fight Cain Velasquez this month because he’s booked a match against Giant Baba in Tokyo? Good grief.

Said before, but worth repeating: in partnering with CBS, Strikeforce has a venue that could create a real and credible alternative to the UFC -- but only if CBS is motivated to do so.

How Herschel Walker is fighting on Showtime in December and not broadcast television is a mystery; how these companies can’t sit down and figure out a multi-tiered business plan that aims for success on basic, premium, and pay-per-view television is inexplicable.

I want Strikeforce to succeed. Having two high-profile MMA promotions keeps fighters’ values competitively high and creates alternatives. But when you take a six-month layoff from a key broadcast partner, you’re creating alternatives for fans. And none of them benefit you.