Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has always beat the drum that the fighters in Strikeforce are world-class, on the same level as those in the UFC.
With three of his promotion's former champions - Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson and Nick Diaz - having quickly positioned themselves at the top of their respective divisions in the UFC, Coker feels as though his opinion has been validated.
"It just proves that these guys fighting in Strikeforce are world-class fighters," Coker recently told USA Today. That fact alone proves that we can hold our own in our own league."
Though Overeem, Henderson and Diaz were head and shoulders above the majority of their competition in Strikeforce and are now full-time residents of the UFC, Coker believes that their UFC success shows that Strikeforce fighters are right up there with their UFC counterparts and are consistently underrated as a result of the brand craze around the UFC.
"One thing about (the) MMA community is, they're stuck in the organization thing," he said. "Some people are slave to a brand because some brands are stronger than the others. I just think that it's about the fighter, not the organization. … There's some trash in UFC and in here in Strikeforce, they'd get exposed just as well."
With three of his promotion's former champions - Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson and Nick Diaz - having quickly positioned themselves at the top of their respective divisions in the UFC, Coker feels as though his opinion has been validated.
"It just proves that these guys fighting in Strikeforce are world-class fighters," Coker recently told USA Today. That fact alone proves that we can hold our own in our own league."
Though Overeem, Henderson and Diaz were head and shoulders above the majority of their competition in Strikeforce and are now full-time residents of the UFC, Coker believes that their UFC success shows that Strikeforce fighters are right up there with their UFC counterparts and are consistently underrated as a result of the brand craze around the UFC.
"One thing about (the) MMA community is, they're stuck in the organization thing," he said. "Some people are slave to a brand because some brands are stronger than the others. I just think that it's about the fighter, not the organization. … There's some trash in UFC and in here in Strikeforce, they'd get exposed just as well."
