Strikeforce could soon be coming to Ohio

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By Dann Stupp, Contributing Writer 1:03 AM Monday, June 8, 2009

ST. LOUIS — Nearly 9,000 fans packed the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on Saturday, June 6, for Strikeforce’s first event in the Midwest.

And based on the success of the show, don’t be surprised to see the California-based mixed-martial-arts organization make the final push across the Mississippi River and into areas such as Ohio.

With a stacked SHOWTIME-televised main card and a preliminary card heavy on Missouri fighters, “Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields” proved that one of the sport’s fastest-rising promotions is no longer just a West Coast organization.

Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz, a New York resident who often crisscrosses the country for his job, cut his commute in half when the organization hosted its most recent event in St. Louis. And future trips could be even shorter now that Strikeforce has proven its formula works.

Fill the main card with notables, such as Jake Shields (who submitted Robbie Lawler), Brett Rogers (who needed just 22 seconds to knock out former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski) and Nick Diaz (who submitted Scott Smith).

And then bolster the card with local talent, such as former University of Missouri wrestlers Mike Whitehead and Tyron Woodley (who both won) and a proven local draw such as Jesse Finney, whose St. Louis gym single-handedly drew thousands of fans to the Scottrade Center to watch him move to 4-0 with a submission victory.

“I think you need that, especially when you’re a new brand and you’re trying to turn eyeballs onto your product,” Afromowitz said of the Missouri fighters on the card. “I think you need that type of leverage.”

Strikeforce used such a formula during its early days in 2006 and 2007 with San Shou kickboxer Cung Le, a popular fighter who drew large crowds to San Jose shows at the HP Pavilion.

“In a sense, Jesse Finney was the Cung Le of this market,” Afromowitz said. “He was vital, bringing in 2,000 local (fans and) fighters.”

Afromowitz isn’t discounting the possibility of a future Strikeforce event in Ohio. The organization recently signed former UFC fighter Jorge Gurgel, a popular Cincinnati-based fighter and former Wright State student who runs a successful MMA academy in West Chester Township.

Gurgel fights Conor Heun at a June 19 show in Washington, but he could fight closer to home in the future.

“It’s certainly a possibility,” Afromowitz said. “He’d be the local guy we’d want when entering a new market.”

Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com, a content partner site of Yahoo! Sports. For the latest mixed-martial-arts news, go to www.MMAjunkie.com.

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