Lost in the hubbub of Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn’s “Lubrigate” scandal last week was a major business deal that might finally put some real competition to the UFC back on network television.

It was a bit like hearing voices from beyond the grave when rumors surfaced that the venerable Strikeforce promotion was on the verge of purchasing the corpse of EliteXC. All the old questions about the failed company’s disputed fighter contracts, dashed TV deal and the fate of everybody’s favorite straw man, Kimbo Slice, reared their heads again.

Fortunately, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, long regarded as one of the most competent execs in MMA, proved smart enough to skirt most of those issues. As it stands now, his company has reportedly negotiated a “limited asset purchase” from the ProElite promotional group that – among other things – includes some fighter contracts, library footage of EliteXC events and use of the ShoXC brand name.

It’s a deal that immediately vaults Strikeforce to the forefront and is an exciting development for fans who have no choice but to view Coker’s San Jose-based promotion as a big improvement on the hapless stiffs who ran EliteXC into the ground the first time. But the limelight in MMA has been notoriously inhospitable to start-ups in recent years, and so this power move likely also means Strikeforce will be pushing all its chips in during 2009 in a high-strakes gamble to become a major player.

I, for one, hope like hell it works out.

Mixed martial arts needs competition in the worst way. With the UFC holding a near monopoly on the industry – half the country still thinks the sport is called “Ultimate Fighting” for chrissakes – somebody needs to come along to offer fans a serious alternative. All apologies to Affliction, but most insiders think Strikeforce might be the company to do it.

Up until late last week, Coker had managed to be one of the few industry success stories not named Fertitta since the kickboxing impresario jumped into MMA with both feet back in 2006. Somehow, Coker has managed to build Strikeforce into a significant success story while still remaining in the shaky good graces of firebrand UFC President Dana White.

I have to imagine that honeymoon is over. Now, with a three-year broadcast agreement with Showtime already inked and CBS lining up for an option to produce up to four events during 2009, Coker and Co. won’t have the luxury of playing the scrappy little underdog any longer.

Exactly which big name fighters Strikeforce will be able to salvage from the ProElite wreckage remains to be seen, though former EliteXC malcontent Nick Diaz is already booked in a bizarrely fascinating main event against Strikeforce malcontent Frank Shamrock. According to a recent media conference, the fight will be held at a 179-pound catch weight limit on April 11 and will air on Showtime. That card will also feature a bout between two other former EliteXC fighters in Benji Radach and Scott Smith, both of whom managed to extricate their contracts from the company’s rubbish pile.

Strikeforce likely also has high hopes of securing talents like Gina Carano and Jake Shields to long term deals. Carano is arguably the biggest start to emerge relatively unscathed from the EliteXC collapse and – despite rumblings that she could find a home in the WEC – still has no place to ply her skills. Shields, on the other hand, has said he’s interested in a jump to the UFC, so it remains to be seen if he is capable (or legally able) to move on to the top organization.

If nothing else, EliteXC provided a shining example of what not to do when trying to build a nationwide promotion. Don’t base your entire advertising thrust around an unproven street brawler with three pro MMA fights. Don’t put the boss’s kid – an alleged aspiring rapper – in charge of the company. Above all, don’t bribe fighters to fix fights.

It sounds easy, right? Sure, just ask Pride, EliteXC, WFA and IFL about that. Here’s hoping Strikeforce proves able to handle the rigors of the big time and doesn’t wind up another name on a headstone in Dana White’s office.

Chad Dundas writes a weekly MMA column for CraveOnline. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.