Josh Gross' latest tweet mentions the possibility of Strikeforce moving their tentatively scheduled CBS card from April 17th to April 24th--the same date as WEC 48.

This rumor opens up a new level of intrigue regarding the WEC's debut on pay-per view. Strikeforce and the WEC have gone head-to-head before, with Strikeforce narrowly winning the ratings  battle despite being available to a smaller audience (WEC 45 ratings vs. Strikeforcce: Evolution ratings).

If this rumor comes to fruition some may describe it as an open declaration of war between Strikeforce and Zuffa, but in reality, once Zuffa began counter programming every major Strikeforce event the race was on. The move to counter program WEC 48 would have to be an explicit choice on the parts of Strikeforce and CBS, thus one could read it as a full on antagonistic posture from the San Jose based promotion. However, such a move could be seen as defensive rather than offensive as the April 17th date would surely receive an UFC counter show similar to what happened in November.

Obviously, the media will be attracted to this story, as any time their is direct competition on a single night it is easy to make comparisons and draw broad, even if incorrect, conclusions. We here at WKR are certainly jumping the gun with this rumor but such a move by Strikeforce has the potential to be a game changer for the WEC if it significantly hurts the promotion's pay-per view debut. 

Around the MMA blogosphere, spirits are down as to how well the inaugural WEC pay-per view will draw. Zach Arnold believes it will be around 25,000 buys where as others believe the promotion's ceiling will be below the UFC's floor. In other words a little less than 200,000 pay-per view buys. WKR is inclined to think it will be somewhere close to 100,000 (probably below) as the WEC stars and event will most likely get a serious push at the UFC events in March and April. Of course this prediction is dependent on Zuffa pulling out the big marketing guns --well, big for the WEC-- and Strikeforce on CBS being on a different night.

WKR's question to you is in the event of a dual broadcast, which card will you watch live? Rumored fight cards below

WEC 48                                                           Strikeforce on CBS
- Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber                           - Fedor vs. Fabricio Werdum
- Ben Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone            - Dan Henderson vs. Jake Shields
- Mike Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan             - Gegard Mousasi vs. "King Mo" Lawal