The company has struck a deal with Japanese cable station SkyPerfect to broadcast events from the forthcoming heavyweight grand prix on a pay per view basis, starting with the February 12th show which kicks the tournament off.

How much of a moneymaker the PPV will be remains to be seen but the move is significant as it strengthens Strikeforce’s presence in and ties to the Japanese MMA market at a key juncture. Native promotions DREAM and Sengoku are in apparently terminal decline.

Strikeforce has already hosted fights by Japanese fighters such as Shinya Aoki in the past and we will probably see more of this if the initial pay per view proves to be a success. Josh Barnett is also a key figure of interest to Japanese fans.

Presently he is in limbo, as far as the US is concerned, because of the California State Athletic Commission refusing to license him until he attends a hearing to account for failing a drug test during a previous licensing application over a year ago.

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Strikeforce is supposedly “window shopping” for a US athletic commission that will license Barnett to fight in their jurisdiction but AC’s rarely counteract each other and this may prove difficult. Other recent rumours had Strikeforce looking at staging shows in Canada or Japan, where licensing is not an issue.

Round One of the heavyweight grand prix kicks off on February 12th with two matches: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio ’Bigfoot’ Silva and Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitinov. The remaining first-round matches (Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers) will take place at a later date.

January 29th - Strikeforce - Diaz vs. Cyborg