Bosco Baracus
21-10-2008, 08:30
EliteXC has thrown its last punch.
Mounting financial losses and questions surrounding the handling of its latest event have led to the demise of ProElite, Inc., owner of EliteXC. MMAjunkie.com (http://mmajunkie.com/) has confirmed through a company source with knowledge of the situation that ProElite will cease operations this week.
EliteXC has made no official announcement, but news first broke late Monday with a bold post on the GracieFighter.com (http://graciefighter.com/?page=news) website, which stated: "We are confirming that EliteXC has folded."
Cesar Gracie-trained lightweight Nick Diaz and Eddie Alvarez were scheduled to fight for EliteXC's vacant 160-pound title on the promotion's Nov. 8 card at the Reno Events Center in Nevada.
It is a spectacular collapse for EliteXC, viewed by most that follow the sport as the No. 2 promotion in the country behind the UFC.
EliteXC brought mixed martial arts to network TV with a groundbreaking prime-time deal with CBS, and has been instrumental in raising the profile of MMA among mainstream sports fans.
However, the two-year-old promotion has been dogged by criticism almost from the day the company hung its shingle. MMA traditionalists took issue with everything from its leadership under boxing promoter Gary Shaw, to the pro-wrestling-influenced production of its shows, to how it promoted Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson into a star, despite his lack of MMA experience.
The most damning blow for the organization, though, has been the perception that it tried to influence the outcome of the fight between Ferguson and Seth Petruzelli at the "EliteXC: Heat" event on Oct. 4. During an interview with an Orlando radio station following the bout, Petruzelli insinuated that EliteXC officials encouraged him to strike with Ferguson, rather than take him to the ground, where Petruzelli would have a decided edge in the fight.
"The promoters kind of hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him," Petruzelli said on the "The Monsters in Orlando" show on 104.1 FM on Oct. 6. "They didn't want me to take him down; let's just put it that way. It was worth my while to try to stand up and punch with him."
Jeremy Lappen, EliteXC Head of Fight Operations, has been unwavering in his defense of what transpired in South Florida. He said there was no attempt to manipulate the fight, saying a knockout bonus was worked into Petruzelli's contract before the bout – a standard EliteXC practice with some of its fighters. In an interview (http://mmajunkie.com/news/12989/elitexc-executive-welcomes-florida-probe-insists-its-a-non-story.mma) with MMAjunkie.com, Lappen called the controversy a "non-story."
However, a second source contacted by MMAjunkie.com Monday night said he believed the questions raised by the incident and the pending investigation into the matter by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation derailed the one outcome that could have saved EliteXC from going under – a purchase of the promotion by Showtime.
EliteXC's premium cable broadcast partner disclosed in a Sept. 17 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission its intent to enter into negotiations to acquire the promotion.
Despite EliteXC's public declaration that everything with regard to the Ferguson-Petruzelli fight was handled above board, the source indicated that the incident, along with mounted financial losses, soured Showtime's interest in a deal. Showtime currently owns approximately 20 percent of EliteXC.
ProElite has lost more than $55 million since it was founded in 2006. EliteXC produced its first show in February of 2007.
The show that generated the most backlash against EliteXC – and will go down as the promotion's last – couldn't have even happened without intervention from CBS.
EliteXC didn't have the necessary funding to stage the Oct. 4 "Saturday Night Fights" show and was forced to enter into an agreement with CBS whereby the network assumed all expenses for the event and received all event revenue.
ProElite/EliteXC simply didn't have a compelling enough product to generate revenue to stay afloat
The end arrives for EliteXC | MMAjunkie.com
(http://mmajunkie.com/news/13057/the-end-arrives-for-elitexc.mma)
Mounting financial losses and questions surrounding the handling of its latest event have led to the demise of ProElite, Inc., owner of EliteXC. MMAjunkie.com (http://mmajunkie.com/) has confirmed through a company source with knowledge of the situation that ProElite will cease operations this week.
EliteXC has made no official announcement, but news first broke late Monday with a bold post on the GracieFighter.com (http://graciefighter.com/?page=news) website, which stated: "We are confirming that EliteXC has folded."
Cesar Gracie-trained lightweight Nick Diaz and Eddie Alvarez were scheduled to fight for EliteXC's vacant 160-pound title on the promotion's Nov. 8 card at the Reno Events Center in Nevada.
It is a spectacular collapse for EliteXC, viewed by most that follow the sport as the No. 2 promotion in the country behind the UFC.
EliteXC brought mixed martial arts to network TV with a groundbreaking prime-time deal with CBS, and has been instrumental in raising the profile of MMA among mainstream sports fans.
However, the two-year-old promotion has been dogged by criticism almost from the day the company hung its shingle. MMA traditionalists took issue with everything from its leadership under boxing promoter Gary Shaw, to the pro-wrestling-influenced production of its shows, to how it promoted Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson into a star, despite his lack of MMA experience.
The most damning blow for the organization, though, has been the perception that it tried to influence the outcome of the fight between Ferguson and Seth Petruzelli at the "EliteXC: Heat" event on Oct. 4. During an interview with an Orlando radio station following the bout, Petruzelli insinuated that EliteXC officials encouraged him to strike with Ferguson, rather than take him to the ground, where Petruzelli would have a decided edge in the fight.
"The promoters kind of hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him," Petruzelli said on the "The Monsters in Orlando" show on 104.1 FM on Oct. 6. "They didn't want me to take him down; let's just put it that way. It was worth my while to try to stand up and punch with him."
Jeremy Lappen, EliteXC Head of Fight Operations, has been unwavering in his defense of what transpired in South Florida. He said there was no attempt to manipulate the fight, saying a knockout bonus was worked into Petruzelli's contract before the bout – a standard EliteXC practice with some of its fighters. In an interview (http://mmajunkie.com/news/12989/elitexc-executive-welcomes-florida-probe-insists-its-a-non-story.mma) with MMAjunkie.com, Lappen called the controversy a "non-story."
However, a second source contacted by MMAjunkie.com Monday night said he believed the questions raised by the incident and the pending investigation into the matter by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation derailed the one outcome that could have saved EliteXC from going under – a purchase of the promotion by Showtime.
EliteXC's premium cable broadcast partner disclosed in a Sept. 17 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission its intent to enter into negotiations to acquire the promotion.
Despite EliteXC's public declaration that everything with regard to the Ferguson-Petruzelli fight was handled above board, the source indicated that the incident, along with mounted financial losses, soured Showtime's interest in a deal. Showtime currently owns approximately 20 percent of EliteXC.
ProElite has lost more than $55 million since it was founded in 2006. EliteXC produced its first show in February of 2007.
The show that generated the most backlash against EliteXC – and will go down as the promotion's last – couldn't have even happened without intervention from CBS.
EliteXC didn't have the necessary funding to stage the Oct. 4 "Saturday Night Fights" show and was forced to enter into an agreement with CBS whereby the network assumed all expenses for the event and received all event revenue.
ProElite/EliteXC simply didn't have a compelling enough product to generate revenue to stay afloat
The end arrives for EliteXC | MMAjunkie.com
(http://mmajunkie.com/news/13057/the-end-arrives-for-elitexc.mma)