There is more great news for MMA fans coming out with Strikeforce’s purchase of Pro Elite assets. PRO MMA (http://promma.info) has learned that live Strikeforce mixed martial arts action will air on SHOWTIME beginning April 11, 2009.

The multi-year agreement calls for SHOWTIME to produce and televise up to 16 live events per year including the high-level Strikeforce shows fans have come to expect as well as a series dedicated to showcasing up-and-coming fighters in the sport. The Strikeforce debut event will broadcast live on SHOWTIME on Saturday, April 11, 2009 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The fight card will be announced at a later date.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to deliver live Strikeforce events on the SHOWTIME premium television platform. SHOWTIME is a forward-thinking innovator with a reputation for producing outstanding original programming in sports and entertainment. They have been a phenomenal partner in the past and we are looking forward to growing our relationship with them and bringing the Strikeforce brand of MMA to millions of SHOWTIME subscribers,” said Strikeforce Founder and CEO Scott Coker.

Ken Hershman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Sports and Event Programming, Showtime Networks had this to say about the partnership, “Strikeforce has a history of presenting high-quality, compelling mixed martial arts events and we are thrilled to be able to bring their world-class events to our subscribers. This relationship with Strikeforce will allow SHOWTIME to continue to deliver some of the best MMA match-ups in the rapidly growing sport as well as to expose the future champions of MMA to our audience.”

Hershman was instrumental for pioneering the network’s entry into MMA in 2007, when SHOWTIME became the first premium network to televise mixed martial arts.

Although Elite XC aired events on SHOWTIME, the majority of their popularity came when they begin to broadcast on SHOWTIME’S parent company, CBS. There is no word yet whether or not MMA fans can expect to see a Strikeforce event on CBS, but with the way things are going it is highly possible. Strikeforce already airs previously recorded fights on NBC late Saturday nights/early Sunday mornings, but clearly a CBS live primetime event would be much more advantageous.

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