Solid ratings on network television were not enough to overcome an almost $60 million deficit for Pro Elite, the parent company of Elite XC and several other promotions.
MMAmania.com has been able to confirm an SI.com report that the relatively young mixed martial arts promotion is no more.
Little more than two weeks after its biggest star, Kimbo Slice, lost in just 14 seconds to replacement journeyman Seth Petruzelli in front of 4.5 million people on CBS, Elite XC has apparently been hit with a knockout blow of its own.
That’s not to say the two had anything to do with one another. It’s perhaps just an unfortunate coincidence. Regardless, there is no more Elite XC, including the November 8 “A Night of Champions” event that was looking like a great card.
One year, 10 months and six days … Elite XC was established on December 14, 2006, and pronounced dead on October 20, 2008.
The company dug a deep $60 million hole of which it was never able to climb out. Obviously, no money — investors who were supposed to keep the company alive at least until the end of the year never materialized — equals no events, especially when there’s not even a pay-per-view (PPV) deal to fall back on.
If nothing else, Elite XC can hang its hat on staging the first-ever live mixed martial arts event on network television … and the second, and the third. Not to mention the first female fight on network television … and the second, and the third.
Elite XC is also responsible for some of the best fights of the past year or so. Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith I and Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le are just two examples of those. Not to mention quality performances from Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Antonio Silva, Rafael Feijao, and plenty of other world class caliber fighters.
They gave it a good shot.
In the end, it’s just tough for a new promotion to come in and be successful in mixed martial arts. Even the UFC, which is now very profitable, lost tons of money when the Fertittas first bought it — company president Dana White often remarks that he and his high school buddies make it look easy.
It seems he’s right once again; however, that’s obviously a different story, and outcome, but you get the point.
The plan was probably more or less to gain popularity with the CBS deal and grow into a PPV juggernaut like the UFC. But that was obviously a little overzealous. The truth is that the UFC has a stranglehold on all the PPV buyers, and it’s not going to be easy for any other company to be successful.
Just ask Affliction.
The upside to this for the fans is that there’s going to be a bunch of great fighters now without a place to work. It’s going to be interesting to see how many of these guys (and gals) end up in the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, Affliction, or any of the other organizations out there.
Expect to see these guys beefing up their rosters with names like Jake Shields, Eddie Alvarez, Nick Diaz, Antonio Silva, Rafael Feijao, Paul Daley, KJ Noons, Wilson Reis, Cyrille Diabate, and countless others.
Who knows … maybe even Kimbo Slice.
In the end, the talent was there near the top … it just wasn’t enough to compensate for all the other shortcomings and struggles that upstart mixed martial arts promotions face attempting to get off the ground.
Elite XC joins Pride FC, International Fight League (IFL) and World Fighting Alliance (WFA) as recent MMA organizations that were forced to fold. Hopefully, the list ends there.
302 Comments »
Mexicutioner will be so happy lol.
I’m happy too… Elite XC sucks, let the good fighters go to the UFC like Big Foot, Nick Diaz, Shields
shields, daley to the the ufc, good times. plus one can make an honest bet on mma again!
Man, this sucks!! Why couldn’t they just “pack up” after the Diaz/Alverez fight??I knew they would be shutting down, on account of the “fixing” exposure, but damn, I was really looking forward to that fight!!
Well at least some of the great or even just good fighters they had, can finally sign elsewhere.
This is how I see it playing out…
UFC gets..Shields, Diaz, Bigfoot, Alverez, Feijao, Cung, El Nino, Rogers(maybe?)..
Affliction gets..Lawler, Noons, Kimbo, Smith, The Punk, Gina, Both Shamrock’s, petruzelli,..
I am probably missing some fighters, but that is how I see it..Or at least what I hope for considering the UFC..I hope they sign Shields,Alvarez,Gilbert and bring back Diaz..
Stager, I am with you as usual buddy! As diehard mma fans, we sat through tons of BS eliteXC cards, now that the cards are starting to be decent and filled with true mma fights, they are shutting down! This sucks!
stager Lee: I am not sure that Alvarez will sign with the UFC. Being from Philly, I dream of Eddie joining the UFC, but fact of the matter is that he is already promised a title shot in DREAM, signing in the UFC would mean giving up his new found fame in Japan along with his title shot!
I really wanted to see Diaz vs. Alvarez. If DREAM was smart, they would just add the Diaz vs. Alvarez fight on its next dREAM card. Diaz wont be signing with the UFC either.
This is how I see it:
UFC: Sheilds, Melendez, Fejao, Rogers, Bigfoot, Kimbo
Affliction: Lawler, Smith, Ninja, Gina, the punk, noons, petruzelli
Question: Does this mean that Frank Shammy and cung are free agents as well? Dana White is Dying to set up a Cung Le vs. Anderson Silva match up. WE all know Shammy is a pussy who hand picks his opponents, he will never join the UFC.
HAHAHAHAHAHAH whats Big Head Tito going to do now? LMAO, his ground breaking deal is NO MORE!!!!!
john,I was just informed by mania that StrikeForce is not owned by Pro-Elite..I always thought they were??I guess not.
Knowing that now I would think that most of the fighters will just go to StrikeForce, because I think they have some tie with Pro-Elite??, just not owned..
I dont think Diaz and Alvarez will end up in the UFC either..But there is a posiblity with Nick..I can just hope for now..
You really think the UFC will pick up Kimbo??I know there is always a possibility, but I think the chance’s got to be slim to none..I think we will see Kimbo on Afflictions next card..whenever the hell that is??
THIS F’ING SUCKS!!!!!!!!! I am PISSED!!!!!!!!
Why the F couldn’t they wait 3 more weeks. Diaz/Alvarez was going to be the best fight that EliteXC ever put on. And now its not happening. WTF!!!!!!!!!!!???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No way can I read through all these comments, but I read the ones above mine.
Diaz / Alvarez to take place in DREAM would be fantastic!!!! However, Joachim wants to have Eddie be his first title defense.
John had recommended that the UFC pick up “Sheilds, Melendez, Fejao, Rogers, Bigfoot, Kimbo”
But had Thomson going to Affliction. Josh Thomson is WAAAAAY more UFC ready than Brett Rogers and Kimbo and Big Foot.
BUT, The Punk and Gilbert Melendez are both Strikeforce fighters, not ProElite.
I remember seeing a quote that Feijao will be UFC ready in about a year. Looks to me like he is UFC ready right now.
In the end, I think that Jake Shields is one of the happier fighters because now he finally gets to test himself against the upper echelon of the WW division. GREAT!!!! Because I have been looking forward to some of those fight for a long time now.
And Dana is going to put any past beefs to the side and get the talent. There is ZERO reason that Nick shouldn’t be fighting for the UFC other than the fact that Nick prefers to fight in Japan. But if the UFC gave him a good enough offer, I think he’d take it. BUT, he does make like 100k a fight in Japan to fight scrubs…
Watching all of this play out and see where some of these fighters go will be very entertaining and intersting….
Mania, are the ProElite fighters free agents immediatly, like, as of today????
I guess this means the Reno show is cancelled. Too bad, I had 12 tickets.
Jake Sheilds vs. Jon fitch should be booked asap!
Jake Shields is dead then…Fitch would murder him!
Hey guys…for those of you who have facebook. drop jared shaw a line. look him up via search “jared skala shaw” and send him a message..here’s mine:
“Good luck with your rap career you piece of shit. Hopefully you won’t run up a $60 million debt in that. I hope you are successful so you can buy your dad some sweet new jumpsuits. Oh, and who do you like in the UFC 90 title fight this weekend? I got Anderson Silva, but I think Cote will keep it close. Let me know what you think you scumbag.”
You, my friend…..need a life.
why u hating? what did he ever do to you?
sorry brendan, i agree with introvert on this one!
introvert…ha ha~!
wow..grow up
what’s wrong with you kid?
Bloggers flaming Dayvet for blogging and having an opinion.
The proverbial pot calling the kettle black.
It’s sad.
This poor kid obviously thought he scripted something brilliant and comedic. He probably even thought that one or two part-time posters on here would find it hilarious and applaud his witty post with an ‘LOL’ or ‘…that was f’in hilarious, bro’.
Not here, Dayvet. We don’t dole out approval for attempts at being funny or clever to simply anyone. I’m sure you knock ‘em dead at Christmas parties, and your friends most likely think your sharp wit and scathing observations are what you a big winner.
Most of us, especially myself, are full-time blog predators who simply scour our cherished forums in search of morons who know close to nothing of the sport, proceed to coldly (and with calculated bitterness) shit directly on them and their crap opinion, and vanish back into the anonymity of cyberspace. But we also moonlight as MMA curmudgeons, singling out those few scattered bloggers who clearly thought they would validate their poor self-esteem by penning some letter to some douche who’ll never read it, the found it so incredibly humorous that they RE-TYPED it at MMA Mania before they sacked out for the night, barely catching a wink of sleep in anticipation of the mountain of accolades and compliments that would be waiting for them to read before catching the schoolbus the following morning, their face beaming with pride.
But they got this instead. Damn.
Kidding, Dayvet, only kidding. It wasn’t bad, liked the shit about the jumpsuits…
well skeleton key, I’m glad I came back to this thread. this has to be the single funniest comment I’ve read in a long time. I know for a fact I’m funny, but do agree with this. I didn’t even comment to this guy simply because he’s so obviously a kid, and was seeking accolades as you said. great post man!!!
So, how much a of a loser d-bag do you have to be to take a kid to task with a long-winded blog?
What about Tito’s new gig, seem to burn his bridges with UFC, and Affliction, no more EliteXC. Wasn’t he suppost to have signed a great deal with Elite. WOW would like to see if he swallows his pride and take a smaller pay check or retire.
Yeah, I was wonderin’ how that deal will push thru if they’re closing doors?
I wonder how Kimbo will like fighting for 10 grand instead of 500 grand.
How gullible does CBS look in all of this? It’s good that this mockery is history, but I wonder what it does to the prospects of another major network inking a deal to televise and promote MMA? As a sport, we continue to suffer from the utter ignorance by the mainstream media with very few exceptions.
I was right behind Mexicutioner in regards to his sentiment about the shittiness of Elite. Too bad Cyborg Carano can’t happen but small sacrifice for the greater good.
Someone will make that fight happen. Both are too popular not to bring them in and let them fight.
UFC, Women’s Division!
Dana said it will never happen, so I am kinda wondering what will happen to women’s MMA?
I think the women’s fights were the only good thing abuot EliteXC. Who’s gunna take them on?
Cyborg and Gina were going to fight in nOvember…this is perfect for Affliction, because that fight was going to be very popular amongst the fans, now that Fight will probably be added to Afflictions January show.
I garentee that its a fight we will still get to see
Correction, they were fighting in Febuary, right around the time of Afflictions next card!
THe UFC needs to be really aggressive and sign most of these fighters, because if Affliction gets a hold of these fighters, it will bolster their product Exponentially!
It will be a crying shame if we never get to watch Gina fight again. I don’t understand why Dana White is so opposed to female mma. Most of those female fights are much better than the men.
Maybe if Dana doesn’t want them in the UFC then they can add them to WEC instead. If not then, BoDog and KOTC have women’s fights.
I think Dana should re-examine his stance on women’s MMA though, they really do make for some solid and exciting fights.
I was thinking the same thing as JRK about women fighting in WEC or something similar. Although I never have liked watching them; but I don’t get VS. channel anyway.
I hope the UFC nabs Joey Villasenor, also! No one has mentioned him, yet.
I was thinking the same thing as JRK about women fighting in WEC or something similar. Although I never have liked watching them; but I don’t get VS. channel anyway.
I hope the UFC nabs Joey Villasenor, also! No one has mentioned him, yet.
He doesn’t hate women mma. He said there wasn’t enough talent in it right now to make a division or he would.
Im going to go on the record saying ( HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAH) and (F U SHAWS)
Maybe Gina will be forced to do playboy now for a paycheck Kimbo back to the street for u buddy
hahahahahahahahaha UFC baby
I see you laughing, so obviously you don’t realize that less competition for the UFC is a bad thing for fans. I see fewer free UFC cards in the future because of Elite’s failure.
And obviously you dont realize elite wasvery bad for the sport with rumors of thrown fights and promoting a no body throwing people washed up OLD cans and making people that have never watched the sport before that,that is what mma was all about
Where can Kimbo go? EliteXC always handpicked his opponents to give him an edge, and in both UFC and Affliction, there are heavyweights that will tear Kimbo a new one!
Couture, Minotauro, Kongo & Fedor, Arlovski, Barnett just to name a few off the top of my head.
Kimbo can now go on the Ultimate Fighter and get worked by NOBODYS!!!
I wonder if Kimbo actually collected on his $500K payday?
probably not…
i bet the only fighters on that card that got paid were Arlovski and Nelson
Dana and the Ufc should sign Kimbo for 1 fight and 1 fight only; A three ound Mauling agianst Brock Lesnar. The hen can be let go to do whatever he wants. I am so excited to know that UFC has th opp. to pick up guys like Shields and Alvarez…xx ”
It wouldn’t be a 3 round mauling, it’d be more like a 30 second slaughter.
I am happier than a pig in shit!!!!!
Great news!!! I wonder if all those checks are gonna bounce?? Like Kimbo’s $500,000….etc, etc
The checks wont bounce. CBS paid for the Oct. 4th show, and the deal was they keep all the revenue.
JV. good point. no matter how much i dislike elite and the shaws, im glad all the fighters will get paid for their work.
lol, ok guys lets just say this hahahahaha
ok now who is going to UFC? there’s the obvious diaz and shields, but is shields happy? his stand up looked weak at best, yet he’s calling out GSP. He signed a long term deal with elite and knew he couldn’t fight GSP, I bet now he wishes he hadn’t said anything. This is coming from a jake shields fan and a gsp hater!
Well Im glad your being realistic Kevin! Shields should start with Karo just to see where hes at?
I like that, JV. Now that’s a fight I think even Karo could win. I want to see Carlos Condit v Shields so bad!
You know Condit and Shields already fought right or did u mean want to see tha rematch?
Rematch, duh! That is not the same Condit
thank you. i can’t believe that anyone said shields looked good. he looks mediocre against other mediocre fighters. at least now we can see if he’ll step up against stronger competition (my bet is he’ll fall like a rock). as far as him calling out GSP, i don’t think he can make it that far up the ladder to even get a shot at GSP
Shields should replace Josh Kos. on the December Fight for Troops fight.
can’t say im suprized~ but very unfortunate.. nobody on this website can say that they DIDN’T watch elite ex.. no matter how it didn’t live up to his hype… still never the less you all watched!!… its a shame before we got to see the gina vs cyborg fight… i hope gina comes to toronto then i’ll snatch her !!!
Yeah Yeah we watched, so what?
Get Shields in the ufc now!
Me too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
************Tuesday Morning Conversation*************
It’s been a while maniacs, but with the closing of elite, I couldn’t
resist. I’m reading through the comments and see quite a few guys
actually saying that this closure is a bad thing. Can one of you guys
explain to me why? We’ve gone over this time and again, but one main
organization (doesn’t have to be UFC, just happens that it is) is
great for the sport. We can get all the best fighters under one
banner, and see all the best fights, using WEC as the minor leagues.
Were you guys upset that the mcmahons shut down the XFL too?
.
Realistically, there are a handful of fighters from elite that will
transition over to UFC
Shields, Diaz, Alvarez, Lawler (after Hughes makes a phone call), Big
foot (after suspension),possibly Grim and Kimbo. Yes guys, I said
Kimbo. Dana, after all the shit talk will sign Kimbo for a few
reasons. He sells tickets, will sell a few PPV and he as well as the
hardcore fans will love watching him get his ass kicked for 10k/10k
(win/show) or go home and beat up nobodies in his pimps back yard.
.
Is Shields regretting calling out GSP? He’s on an impressive win
streak…against nobodies and looking like crap on his feet. It’s really
easy to call out a fighter after signing a long term deal with another
organization! Two final thoughts, you guys that weren’t aware, cung le
is with strikeforce, so it has no affect on him, but as I’ve
exclusively reported before, Dana is willing to take him on loan for
one night to fight silva, negotiations are ongoing. And finally Tito,
the smartest business man in all of the world. I’m so surprised that
none of you maniacs jumped on this one. He’s going to sign a “ground
breaking contract.” He’s going to impact elite so much…guess not
douche bag. Have fun getting your ass kicked in affliction (with no
one watching), or becoming the new Fedor in Japan, crushing can after
can…or swallow the pride, realize your a douch and come back to where
the big boys are at!
I think that they should have a heavyweight ultimate fighter and have Kimbo be one of the cast members. Give him a shot at getting into the UFC but that’s all. That would be the perfect learning experience for Kimbo.
Ifv Diaz signs with UFC, what weight class? Can he make 155 cause I don’t think he will be a force at welter weight.
UFC Kimbo?
Hopefully not, but I’m all for Alvarez, Diaz, Shields and the rest of the fighters with talent coming to UFC.
Alvarez, shields, Feijao, Big Foot and Pee-Wee to UFC, Everyone one else doesn’t matter. Maybe the AFL might pick up the women but doubtful.
bigfoot needs to settle the steroids thing first.
Kimbo would be lucky to get tickets to a UFC fight, let alone a chance to fight for them.
I don’t know how Lawler stands these days with UFC but it could be a good tool to get casual fans who might recognize him from CBS to gain some PPV buys.
Lawler vs Bisping could be an intresting fight.
I agree.
Kimbo vs Kongo just for kicks
diaz probably will never be back in the UFC he likes the fight wherever whenever capapbilities, shields might too..
affliction will prob pick up carano and cyborg for there next ppv
are kidding me? Seth Petruzelli beat him. Danny abadi can beat him too. Back to the backyard kimbo.
Kimbo dont need to fight in the backyard anymore. He`s got large bank account.¸
I hope Bas is gonna take Kimbo to Japan and make him a star. they would love him. dream or k-1 mabye
He’ll be broke within two years. I may be stereotyping here, but I didn’t see anyone in his posse who looked like either a CPA or a financial planner.
2 years??? with a posse like that, the 500k is already spent!
Yeah, most guys have their accountant cornering them for fights. Stupid.
lol ben, good call
500k can buy a lotta crack. Kimbo’s posse looks like they smoke a lotta crack. He’ll be broke within a few months if he isnt already.
HAHAHAHA. I don’t know; maybe the guy with the dreads, gold grill and gold chain has his certification.
well chuck has his what cpa? so who knows what bad mofo with a grill can give sound investment advice? (right now it’s stick it under your mattress and load your gun)
UFC KIMBO?… man how much do u think Dana White will offer him?… $5000.00 plus comp his hotel n’ meals? lol.
I hope Affliction steps in and scoops up Carano VS Cyborg and keep Women’s MMA going. Bring LaRosa in the mix as well.
i bet affliction signs kimbo in a desperate attempt to stay afloat. Although it could be okay since he surely wont be the main event.
to stay afloat? are you serious? it certainly didn’t work for elite…
they’d still sell more. cause if they sign him, they wont be relying too much on him unlike elite who had the whole promotion on kimbos shoulders.. Affliction is fedor’s boat. and Like kimbo or not (i hate him), but he would help affliction sell tickets. Just please dont put him in the main event. maybe the first televised fight. haha.
Who do they have in the HW division that is shitty enough to lose to Kimbo? I can’t think of a soul.
they could always sign petruzelli for a rematch. haha. Add a fedor fight as a main event and it would probably sell.
He’ll offer Kimbo a laptop, a digital video camera and some free internet acesss. Everything he needs to beat up losers off the street and put it on you tube so he can get his career back on track after he’s destroyed in the UFC.
HAHAHAHA
why?? who could kimbo beat?
dana isn’t going to pay him.
back to slangin drugs and beating up dock foreman in your pimps back yard.
Dana could be creative and pay Kimbo only bonus money based on his performance. But, he’d have to come up with some bonus criteria, like the following:
> “Victim of the Night”
> “Fastest Fighter to Unconsciousness”
That would work.
good no more elite xc. the good fighters should go to ufc.. hmmm. i wonder where the ladies showdown will take place now… in a way this isnt good to see..
ladies showdown, in my bed!
LMAO!
I wouldn’t let Cyborg anywhere near my bed. I have a one penis rule in my bed, and that penis is mine. I would definately take Gina for a while. When I am done with her she will never have trouble making weight again. haha
UFC better pick up the women.
UFC won’t, and that’s the worst part about all of this. Gina was really underpaid by EXC, and now it’s not looking like she’ll have a chance to make the money she deserved to make over the past year and a half.
deserved to make? don’t you get it? these hacks are out of business BECAUSE they paid fighters too much. time to start digging Affliction’s grave beside EXC’s…
The UFC is sexist…
They didn’t go out of business for paying fighters too much- 60 million is way too much! They went out of business cos they tried to take on the UFC.
Dana said you will NOT see women fight in UFC, BUT he never said anything about WEC. Now that they are skimming the weight classes I wonder if he will bring in the Ladies.
and I gave them til April 2009 til I thought they’d fail to address their financial issues.
Hopefully this is the end of Kimbo Slice once and for all, no more bread for you.
Thank you Seth for ruining this organization that tried to make a mockery out of MMA with their “bonuses” and terrible promotion of terrible fighters.
Dana should give him a lifetime contract for this.
Dang. This really sucks. The thing is, all can be savored from this in taht all most of these guys will probably do is go to UFC or some other ORG. What about Gina Carano? What about Cyborg? UFC doesnt do that, who is gonna take them? And then they are probably gonna have to reset the hype. So much for the female megafight in jan or feb.
There’s always Playboy. Of course, that doesn’t help Cyborg much, but Carano still has that door open for her.
Hahaha word. It just seemed like this first female megafight could have really been the begining of female MMA taking off.
i bet affliction takes carano.
This may be the last time I get to type “BOOBIES”
man, yeah i wanted to see Gina and cyborg.
too bad elite didnt have them fighting each other a few weeks back instead of no-names. everyone wanted to see them fight after seeing cyborg fight in july and elite, once again,dropped the ball. this is a perfect example as to why elite failed.
BTW Dave Meltser (sp?) announced this on Wrestling Observer as well in members only section, so that is two good sources.
Although I do love this in that Frank Shamrock’s ship is going down. He is gonna have to suck up some of his ridiculous pride and go somewhere and work his way back up, or never compete again. Either one is good.
hahahah the Shamrocks can suck it
I thought Shamrock was with Strikeforce?
Strikeforce isn’t under. They only co-promoted with XC.
So I guess that means no more free Strikeforce? They will likely get time on Affliction Shows.
WEC should just form a women’s division to go along with the smaller fighters. I don’t think it would hurt anything.
word. agree completely.
I was just thinking the same exact thing.
Thats what i was thinking to enniskillen its a good idea cause in a interview with dana he was asked will there ever be womans fights in ufc and he said stright up no but he likes gina and thinks shes a good fighter
he has to like gina she fights out of a camp his company helped build and is a good friend of his
Don’t cry for them. They took on too much in salary contract dollars, spent too much on ads, and didn’t turn out a product that was more than OK.
Another promotion will come up and do it better. As much growth as there is in MMA, someone will jump in with better ideas and a better business model.
Oh, and under the terms of their loans, Showtime now owns all the assets so they may just take it over and run it.
The UFC will only use this opportunity to get a few more good fighters at discount prices. If Affliction falls, too, the near UFC monopoly will only hurt the salaries of MMA fighters. Pay-per-view prices will only continue to rise, as well. The fall of Elite XC and eventually of Affliction is good for the UFC, but bad for the fighters and fans. And what about female MMA?
Exactly!!! The future of female MMA is the biggest concern here, and is in the most jeopordy.
You know who I really want to see fight again? Michelle Waterson that Karate Hottie.
Yeah i love female mma. Dana has to step it up. ufc female divison needed ASAP. IT`D BE HUGE.
no worries we’ll probably see Cyborg on Ultimate Surrender
Forget a UFC female division. I think they should put the female division in the WEC. With the folding of their upper weight classes, they need something big to happen.
I don’t understand why people like female MMA? What’s intriquing about watching two girls beat on each other? Aside from Gina Carano and her hotness there’s nothing cool about female MMA and there’s far too few female fighters out there for it to work.
I like the idea of it being in WEC.
@Anthony — you’re stupid. I was going to elaborate further, but I really don’t feel the need.
Completely agree with Anthony, though I did find the fights to be quality, there just aren’t enough women fighters for there to be an entire division. You’d have to have enough fighters in each weight class and aside from a few quality female fighters out there, there aren’t enough to populate a division.
@Ben - You are correct. I was going to elaborate further, but I really don’t feel the need.
Its great for the fans!!!!! If all the best fighhters are in the UFC, or any one organization, then they can all fight each other, no more what ifs! I love it! The fighter I want in the UFC from Elite XC are: Big Foot, Sheilds, Diaz, maybe Kimbo just to se him get slaughtered by a real fighter, Lawler, Le, Frank Shamrock just to see him get killed too. Thats about it!
you realize le fights with strikeforce right?
Oh yeah my bad… the clock is about to midnight on them too I’d say
Strikeforce has been consistantly making money. They should be fine.
it is a matter of time before more start to follow.I must
say that competion is good for the powerful ufc,but when
you have to throw in scrubs to get high ratings it is all
about timing when they will fold.Please to the UFC pay the
fighters enough so they can train full time and invest
some for the future.
wow. this gives me mixed feelings.. one, we get rid of freakshows and the subpar production and favorable match-making. but two, we lose free fights, and the possible alvarez/diaz matchup. I dont get showtime, so i cant see those.
The question is, where will Elite’s fighters go? I can see a few going to DREAM, and maybe some to the UFC. I think a vast majority will go to Affliction, since they are probably now the best option, and the 4th best promotion to sign with (behind UFC, WEC, and DREAM, but DREAM is financially going down, and has issues with paying their fighters before.
I’d like all of them to the UFC, most likely Jake Shields and Eddie Alvarez, Calvacante, Big Foot, and Kimbo, just to see him get is ass kicked. Dana would have a facking FIELD DAY with giving him shitty match ups. I think Dana wouldn’t even hesitate with putting him up against Shane Carwin or Brock Lesnar or even Heath FACKING Herring.
If the debacle known as Elite doesn’t scare off other networks, this should really open some doors there for the UFC. They have enough fighters to put on solid cards with legitimate fighters every month, then save the blockbuster match-ups for PPV. We get more events for less money, and UFC gets more money from mainstream advertising and big ratings. Dana, make it happen!
All fighters please make your way to the UFC. Somewhere right at this moment dana whites opening a beer and laughing his ass off, how can we ever doubt that man. He said pro elite would be done before Jan. 09 and by golly was he right.
Actually he was talking about Affliction. I don’t think he ever wasted his breath on ProElite… Could be wrong tho
I really hope they(Showtime) keep ShoXC going, I always thought that was better anyways.
ShoXC is apart of ProElite, it’s like WEC to the UFC and actually I don’t even think that’s accurate. I think it’s really just a fun name they gave EliteXC for its Showtime events, hence ShoXC.
hahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good for them fucking cheating prickssssss they get what they deserve I was at Heat and after kimbo lost i said they would fold asap hahahahahahahahaha this is a great day in mma except for the cyborg vs carano fight that we all have been waiting to see. And hopefully dana doesnt sign nick diaz hes a prick ufc doesnt need that asshole they got one diaz prick.
I would LOVE to have the UFC sign nick daiz. I’ve been waiting for his return for years. Kid can bring it.
me too, plus you gotta love his personality.
What weight would he fight at? The 160 pound div. was created for him. His last few performances don’t show he could hang in the ufc welterweight division. Could he drop the additional 5 pounds and fight in the ufc lightweight division?
of course he can, it’s 5 fucking pounds
Nope, he’d fight at 170 like he did before.
No more Mauro Ranallo! Thank god that guy is corney!!! I’d rather watch the fight with the volume turned off than listen to him…
If all the mma companies go out of business then I think the mma choochoo train is going to sputter. In other word the UFC and mma has jumped the shark, the causal fan will go away, hard core fans will still watch but the bug ppv’s will be over. My prediction, and if you think I am stoopid, so be it.
***big***
why is it no one thinks the casual fan will go to the UFC as well?
It was the casual fan watching the UFC that ALLOWED other companies to form! It was Elite putting out an overall mediocre product that led to its collapse.
dont you think ufc is getting a big ego they let all their good fighters go like tito ortiz,andre arlovski,tim sylvia,matt hughes,and all the other fighters that had “controversy” according to dana white.
When did they let Matt Hughes go? News to me. Especially since they are doing a q&a with him at this Friday’s weigh ins. Arlovski is the only one they should have kept out of that group IMO.
mine too
matt hughes? when? haha. I know he’s washed up and all, but i still think he has a date with serra before he retires or before the ufc lets him go.
and ya. they shouldve kept arlovski.
You want to see Tim Sylvia fight more yooper?
Yo Yooper, Timmy left cuz he wanted too, Jesus Matt Hughes is still there, Tito wants UBER Money and could not get along with Dana and the only one with controvery was Andre thats it.
hey Yooper, where’d you get your name from? you from michigan by chance?
Dana is genius. Besides Arlovski, everyone else in that group is over the hill. Tito and Tim want way too much money. Tito has a fan following, but its getting smaller. People will pay NOT to watch Tim fight. Matt Hughes never left. TITO might get the money from Affliction, but I think they’ll go bankrupt soon.
we can all agree that this is for the better, i mean common kimbo? seriously. Anyway Dana white is da man and thats a i gotta say
its a shame i didnt use its exposure to make mma explode but i have a felling the ufc might step up soon and 6 million viewers is good much better then the wwes saturday night main event
SOOOOOOOOOOO… what about Eddie Alvres vs Nick Diaz and carino vs cybrog ???? I REALLY WANTED TO SEE THOSE FIGHTS.
This really sucks…..if it’s true.
Sherdog, after all.
I wonder if Dana is considering changing his position on Women in the UFC, more importantly, what does Lorenzo Fertitta think. Personally I would love to see them add women to the WEC. Kimbo and Tito will go to Affliction along with alot of people because they will toss the money at them, and then go broke in time too. Say what you will about the UFC and fighter salaries, then think about why everyone else but the UFC is closing shop.
People are looking for reasons to write off mma and watching two women beat the crap out of each other gives it to them on a silver platter. Shame for gina but women and the ufc is a bad fit.
I DID want to see Gina throw down with Cyborg. But did you see Gina on MMA Live? She sucked. She has no stage presence and laughed after everything she said.
Thanks Seth P.
LOL!! imagine that.
now that i think about it … On the last InsideMMA they mentioned Strikeforce might be signing a deal with cbs .
I thought strikeforce was with proelite… Anyone know?
Stikeforce has done deals with ProElite/EliteXC to co-promote cards, but is completely independent. They actually have a deal with NBC (they pay to put on “Stikeforce on NBC”) and the rumor is that NBC is considering taking it live.
ohhhh yeah.. NBC .. thanks for the correction. i got cbs mixed up with nbc.
kimbo- back to the streets!
Shamrock,-affliction
lawler, et al-UFC
Carino-playboy (ummmmmmmmmm homer like)
We all win.
Strikeforce I believe is independent from ProElite, but worked closely with them in sharing fighters and such. I sure hope Strikeforce is not affected by this news, they have put on some good events in the past and have proved they can turn a profit.
I think this is actually a good thing for Strikeforce. They can collect a lot of the fighters that Elite will drop who don’t want to go into the UFC. I know Diaz has said before he doesn’t want to fight for the UFC.
NBC may have second thoughts on bringing Strikeforce to live tv after watchin EliteXC fail, but they will probably get there eventually.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Rogers try his luck in UFC as well. Wondering if he is talented enough to compete in a mediocre UFC Heavyweight Division.
The heavyweight division seems like it is lacking but it is a division that is on the rise. Right now it seems stagnent but with Carwin,Valesquez,Nog,Randy,Brock,Mir,Dos Santos,Evenson,
gonzaga it is groing****
growing**
Werdum and Kongo as well…
As well wouldn’t mind seeing Kimbo and Houston Alexander duke it out…cause that is about all it would be…LOL.
TUF 10! CHICKS! CYBORG AND CARONO AS COACHES!!!!!
Danan should really consider this, that would be fukin awesome!!!!
Honestly I dont think I could watch it.
waaat! y not! or would that be to much “chick drama”?
Hell yeah, a bunch of hot chicks training with eathother during the day then going back to the mansion at night and pulling pranks like slipping naked into eachother’s beds at night and shit.
Pillowfights!!!!!!!!!
best idea EVER!
So they try to get a contract into the UFC to fight who?
I bet Tito is doubled over in a fetal position. I’d like to see Big Foot, Lawler and Shields come to the UFC. I feel bad for the ladies cause I love Gina Carano but Dana ain’t havin it!!! Sorry ladies. I wish all the other fighters the best of luck.
HaHa Tito, he doesnt deserve to be anywere, he is a PUNK ASS BEEATCH!!!!
HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA JACOB ORTIZ JUST GOT RAPED NOW WHO YAH GUNNA FIGHT FOR YA BUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 F.U. JACOB.
HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA JACOB ORTIZ JUST GOT RAPED NOW WHO YAH GUNNA FIGHT FOR YA BUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 F.U. JACOB.
YEEAAHHH!!!!
Ha Tito got bent with vasoline and astro glide
Dude just lost out on $600,000. Allegedly. He ain’t even getting the lube, he’s taking it dry.
lmfao
Ouch!
Sucks only for Gina. JZ and Noons welcome to the UFC.
Maybe Dana’ll do the Cyborg/Carano match as kind of a trial fight for opening a women’s division in the UFC, depending on how good the fight is. If he doesn’t, maybe some other organization will, I was looking forward to seeing them fight.
cung le to the ufc plz
cung retired.
I hope the UFC signs KJ Noons, Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, Antonio Silva, Brett Rogers, Eddie Alvarez, Robbie Lawler, Cung Le, Rafael Feijao, Malapet, Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thompson
cung le is with strikeforce not elite
strikeforce is owned by pro elite
I don’t believe so. They don’t list any Strikeforce related things on proelite.com
Strikeforce is NOT owned by Pro Elite.
oh
He hasn’t fought in a year anyways. We can probably consider him retired as well.
Wow, I’m totally shocked!!! Not!
Maybe I missed it in all these comments, but didn’t these ProElite guys like Lawler, Petruzelli, Shields and Diaz start out in the UFC, and just couldn’t make it? A lot of y’all are talking about bringing them to the UFC, but I think they’ve been there, done that and lost their opportunities there.
Petruzelli fought twice in UFC, losing to Hammill and Gouveia, so no real shame there. Plus, he has some serious name recognition now. Lawler was 4-3 in UFC, and one of those losses was to Nick Diaz. Diaz is 6-4 in UFC and left on his own. I also have to think that all of them are better now than they were when they left, so bringing any or all of them back isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
So does this mean that Tito was “full of it” again?
Ha!! Tito a liar?? Jacob please say it ain’t so!!!
Damnitt! This means less fights! I want more fights! Mania, you should start a fighting venue! We need more fights! Not less! Hell! There is enough fighting in your Chat rooms to start a company! All you have to do is figure out how to get it on film! Gooooooo Mania!!!
LMAO, I think it’s especially funny in that Tito just signed with them. Boy, that guy sure knows how to research a company before taking a job offer…
But he’s a smart businessman, didn’t you heat Tito say so?
oh yeah, forgot….
Tito said the deal was “almost done”.. meaning there probably was no final deal. Hell, he might have even got a deal, with a signing bonus pre-paid.. and now has free money/may have put them out of business haha
awesome news. WOOT!
I haven’t seen any comments from John yet.
TIME FOR YAMMA TO STRIKE
another idiot will be allong soon enough to pluck out 3 letters and claim they are a company
ortiz is the only guy wholl get on an affliction card
they dont seem overly interested in the lighter weights yet although diaz shields maybe noons could be interesting additions
i cant see where gina is going to go unless affliction put her vs cyborg on their card… atm the world isnt ready for female mma… from what wev seen there are ridiculously few decent fighters (carano + cyborg) (unless elitexc were unable to find the others which even for retards like the shaws shouldnt be tough)
strikeforce is still in business??? some will end up there
cant see ufc/wec wanting many of the fighters…
shields
diaz if they can get him under control
noons if he isnt too scared to fight anyone decent
Bottom line-Less fights on free TV. Shitty. Kimbo has to start bathing in the ocean again. Carano won’t weigh in naked anymore. Damn.
If you go in the hole $60,000,000, you can start your own company and put some free fights on tv for us!
i will boycott the UFC for 6 months if they pick up Kimbo. who’s with me?
They won’t pick up kimbo.
they should pick up kimbo. Let him fight BJ hahaha. Cause i guess mediocre LHW opponents are too big for him haha. Hell let urijah fight him haha.
Feed him to cain, carwin or lesner as a human sacrifice. I’d watch it and enjoy every second of the ass kicking
You guys are freaking morons. This is horrible news. Maybe you think that Microsoft shoulf be the only software company in business too. The UFC was forced to offer good free programming to counter Elite. Now our fate is soley resigned to the whims of the “bitchslapper”. You want to see Nick Diaz fight in the octogan?, too bad the bitchslapper thinks he’s a jackass. You want to see 2 live shows in a single weekend??? Aha ahaha fat chance now. Now the UFC can focus soley on their cheif objective….extracting as much money as possible from you and paying their fighters as little as neccessary as they have nowhere else to go. If you liked Standard Oil, OPEC, and Debeers you’ll love the new MMA scene.
we like competition. I think strikeforce, and affliction are okay. But elite suckssssssssss.. They labeled Kimbo slice, the baddest striker alive? and the fightfixing issue? The questionable matchmaking? cmon man. Its not hating on the UFC competition its hating on EliteXC.
Ya I think we’re hating on the fact that they tried to make some bum out to be the greatest fighter ever and paid off refs to fix fights. I mean i’m not one to quickly jump to conspiracy theories but tell me how many MMA fights you’ve seen get stood up when someone is in side control yet I saw it happen numerous times in Elite XC and it just happened to be one of their top paid fighters on their back (Kimbo vs Thompson, AA after Nelson was actually fairly close to sinking in a kamura). Then after Petrevelli’s comments you can’t help but think they were doing a lot of corrupt things and that is exactly what you don’t want to creep into MMA.
Doug, EliteXC was run like shit and they deserve to fold. I’d like to see a Mac compete with the UFC’s Microsoft, but it’s gonna take a well-run business to do so. So far, we haven’t seen it.
plus i would like to add that the ufc has been airing free shows since before elite or affliction was formed. they have had a few more since, but even with elite failing and affliction very iffy, i can see the ufc along with the wec having more free shows next year than ever. just wait.
I’m really only exited to see Jake Shields and KJ Noons come over to the UFC.
You guys are freaking morons. This is horrible news. Maybe you think that Microsoft shoulf be the only software company in business too. The UFC was forced to offer good free programming to counter Elite. Now our fate is soley resigned to the whims of the “bitchslapper”. You want to see Nick Diaz fight in the octogan?, too bad the bitchslapper thinks he’s a jackass. You want to see 2 live shows in a single weekend??? Aha ahaha fat chance now. Now the UFC can focus soley on their cheif objective….extracting as much money as possible from you and paying their fighters as little as neccessary as they have nowhere else to go. If you liked Standard Oil, OPEC, and Debeers you’ll love the new MMA scene
Dude…YOU’RE a freaking moron. Quit whining over something that was inevitable to happen. Comparing Microsoft to the UFC is so stupid. And if Elite continued to have shows, MMA would have turned into slimball boxing.
And as far as the money comments, who f—ing cares???? It’s irelevant. Why do you even consider yourself a fan when you bring up stuff that fans could care less about.
We all know that the UFC is the top dog and has the BEST interest of MMA fan so shut the hell up you idiot!
Well, I sure am enjoying your loathing! tool
I agree on all the sentiments about how crappy Elite has been… BUT… I am saddened to see the competition against the UFC weaken. Don’t get me wrong, I love the UFC and their corporate direction, but you gotta admit that even the very little competition they’ve had made them agressively competitive, from free TV events, to crazy matchups like Silva Vs Irvin, to PPVs closer together on the calendar, which are all great news for the fans.
Without a good competitive front, the UFC might take things for granted, and be less aggressive in their decisions. I honestly wish the best for Affliction!
Yeah, but Elite XC was never competition…just cheaters. I think that’s what did them in. They knew if they were investigated they’d REALLY be screwed. Add a $60,000,000 debt and RIP elite XC.
Screw it, sign Kimbo to one fight, toss him in there with Shane Carwin and lets see that murder go down and afterwords Carwin can go and kill all of Kimbo’s corny ass money grubing posse.
I saw sign Kimbo to one fight and have him face Shane Carwin. He will kill Kimbo and we will not have to hear about him again.
lol give him to lesnar. maybe he’ll spear him right through the cage like he almost did to hearing.
The only way they pick up Kimbo is for one fight and they feed him to Lesnar or Carwin or Valesquez so he will get murdered and retire!!! I’d love to see it!
Kimbo will never fight in the ufc. Great thought and dream but that is all it is. There is a greater chance of seeing randy vs fedor than kimbo vs anyone in the ufc. Kimbo was in it solely for the money and dana aint going to pay kimbo shit just to watch him get his ass kicked.
Terrible news for MMA. EliteXC had some really good fighters, and for everyone to ASSUME that they will go to the UFC is just plain wrong.
(Comment by fightfan)
“I am happier than a pig in shit!!!!!”
Hahahahahahha!!
I couldn’t have said it any better…This is a dream come true, to see this shit company flush down the toilet…i bet CBS is on the phone with Dana as we speak…weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Sexy Time Sexy Time
So Tito Ortiz has no other choice but to go Affliction or maybe back in the UFC…
I guess they’re getting what they deserve. It just sux for those fighters who are legit to have to find new contracts. They didn’t spend their money wisely and paid sum fighters exorbitant amounts of money way too early–not smart business.
hahaha Dana is laughing his ass off right now.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good Riddance scumbags!
I’ll bet Seth Petrozelli has got to feel like the biggest dumbass on earth. No, wait, that’s sportscaster on CBS (whatever the f—k his name is) who was yelling when Seth knocked out Kimbo “This is the greatest moment in MMA History…Rocky, Rocky blah blah blah” feels like an even bigger horse’s ass. Man, I love to see people make asses of themselves.
We all knew this was gonna happen. Thank god it did. Ba bye and let the good times roll!
ya real goood we dont have ANY shows now ???wtf we get less and less mma how is this sport growing ,this is a huge black eye for mma
Get your money ready bitches, Uncle Dana has you by the balls now!! PPV’s gonna spike, salaries gonna drop, Dana is laughing at you “hardcore” fans. Gonna buy him a new yacht, or help him fuck alot more models with your money, No competetion = no reason to have free fights. Dummies
hopefully all these new free agent fighters go to Affliction so there will be at least one alternative to the UFC.
Now that trump is involved with affliction dont expect them to fold like elite xc because the main difference is they have thier whole promotion based on the best fighter in the world who can actually kick anyones ass
I hope to see a video clip of Dana White, first some interview and trash talking and after that some Laughing, Singing and Dancing.
I’m so frigging happy… this is a good day for MMA.
Yeah Dana is gonna throw a party over this.
You know he’s gonna lay a verbal beating on Shaw Sr And Jr and Kimbo…. I CANT WAIT.
mayan i wonder what tito gonna do ?
RIP
I’d really like to see Zuffa take this opportunity to flesh out and differentiate the WEC. My suggestion would be to add a women’s division to the WEC and change the lightweight limit to 160 lbs. The talent between 155-170 is so well stocked it could easily support 3 divisions.
Plus that would give the WEC four talented classes (135, 145, 160 and female) with marketable champions that aren’t just good fighters that couldn’t quite hack it at the UFC level (think Diaz or Alvarez as the 160 champ as opposed to Varner as the 155 champ).
so tired of all you assholes hating on Kimbo…I’d LOVE to see ANY of you step in the ring or the backyard with the man and be face to face with him. I bet that would shut you up if you even showed up! Quit hating on the man because he made money and you didn’t.
So I’m guessing you’ve never cursed at someone on your favourite sports team? If I’m yelling at Jordan Farmar, does that make me a hater because he would whoop my ass in a game of one-on-one?
I hate the Dallas Cowboys and talk $hit about them all the time. Doesnt mean I’ll step on the field and play a few downs with them. I’d obviously get killed.
WOW, they are reporting this on ESPNs bottomline, thats pretty funny but good that that they’re reporting mma news i guess
That’s where I first saw the news! It’ll be for the best in the end.
this is bad for the sport of mma as a whole..and the long term plan of mma being mainstream/worldwide sport..its good for the UFC only…whoever is the ufc champion is like a club champion..because 2 people run it Dana and Lorenzo(1 owner)..imagine NBA, NFL or soccer league having only one owner…imagine in boxing golden boy is the only promotion—no top rank no don king no small promotions..
mma would be like the WWE a very profitable monster ppv’s but a niche sport…
This is good news.. it’d be interesting to see what Tito does in about 6 months or so, there’s 2 options UFC or retire..
So how did mmamania confirm this report? You guys always put confirmed but just because you see it other web sites that doesn’t mean confirmed.
You need to name a source to confirm a report and not third party sources.
They said Sports Illustrated.
I bet this effectively retires Kimbo too. With EliteXC gone and his 14-second ass beating and his hype train completely derailed, there’s nobody who will ever pay him anything close to the $500,000+ he got for his last fight.
I also think this is good news to see where fighters go.
I want to see women fight in the UFC fight nights personally.
It’s nessesary for Jake Shields to go to Zuffa (WEC or UFC) There really isn’t anyone else out there for Jake to fight that doesn’t fight for Zuffa.
Tito should go to Affliction and fight Kimbo.
Petruzzelli should fight Fedor next. LMAO!
Now where are the Shamrocks’ going to fight?
Is StrikeForce affected at all by this finacially b/c they had shows with EliteXC?
I hope Nick Diaz will go back to the UFC!!! And no, I’m not a huge Diaz fan. Infact, I’m not a Ceasar Gracie Camp fan at all really. But they r good fighters.
Strikeforce are safe.
I wonder if Dana will sign kimbo and embrass him if some fights with some tough no names.
The one fighter who is smiling out of all of this is???? GRIM Rogers. He will actually go to a good org like the UFC.
cung le vs anderson holy crap. cant wait for that. or is he with strikeforse?
How can anyone be happy with the closure of Elite, except of course for Dana White and associates, but for the mma fan and for the fighters out there no one can be happy. I was hoping that Elite would survive because I was really happy with the cars they have put on, I even felt that they were giving UFC a scare. UFC were showing for free previous UFC events clashing with Elite. They have some good fighters, and I have been really impressed with the women. Some of their fights were fantastic, much better than some of their male counterpart fights. I hope someone can bail them out before they file for bankruptcy. Sure get rid of the management, i think it was them who folded the company, haemoraging money like that, reportedly giving Kimbo $500,00 for a fight. That kind of money is crazy, he didnt deserve that amount especially when the company wasnt up and running successfully as of yet. and the actions of their management jumping up and down yelling at that ref like that for the Seth V Kimbo fight is a disgrace, should have been sacked their and then, and then Seth coming out and saying what he said, I think that was the final nail in their cofin. You cant expect an investor to come in and invest in an organisation that was bleeding all over the place with the high wage costs and management carrying on the way they did, and the company reporting a loss so for of $55 million dollars. Absolutely crazy. I firmly believe with the right team of management running the company they would have gone a long way. I mean their the first to have a television deal like that. They were going places but mismanagement and ridiculous wages derailed the company. I hope someone can come in last minute and save the company. They have a future. Its a sad day for MMA if the company do go under. With that all said and done I dont think Afflication will make the same mistakes as Elite, i think they are doing their homework right, cancelling the last event like they did and working behind the scenes making deals with other investors. Enough said but I cant understand why any mma fan would find this funny??
Uh, paragraphs would be nice.
But you said it yourself, the management of EliteXC was crazy. I’m happy a poorly run organization is gone. MMA doesn’t need a badly run company getting huge and messing up the public’s view of the sport.
Besides, other legit companies can purchase EliteXC’s assets, and fighters can sign elsewhere. It’s a minor setback to lose the good fights that were going to happen in the near future. In the long run, losing the crooked Shaws and Lappen and the Kimbo freakshows are a good thing.
“He’ll be broke within two years. I may be stereotyping here, but I didn’t see anyone in his posse who looked like either a CPA or a financial planner.”
LOL hahahha
Somebody let Kimbo know that he can come work for me…cutting my grass!
Local strip clubs always need bouncers
I can understand if some people here like the fact that Shaw and/or other business partners are looking foolish right now. But the happiness and glee shown by many of you, while there are very good fighters out of work right now, is disgraceful IMO. Lawler, Radach, Diaz, Silva, F. Shamrock, Carano, Cyborg, (possibly Ortiz), etc are quality fighters that still have alot to offer us “REAL FANS” who don’t go by 1 specific “BRAND NAME”, but rather “QUALITY” of fights.
Take the most recent fight cards for example :
Elite XC - Although surrounded with contraversy, was very entertaining, because the “FIGHTERS” put on a “QUALITY” show.
UFC - Look past all the hype and hoopla, was as exciting as watching grass grow IMO. Why? Because the fights were not “ENTERTAINING”.
But I guess because there was a UFC logo on the floor in the octagon, it’s all of a sudden a more entertaining show for a lot of people here…….not me.
I just hope that Affliction can pick up some of these fighters so I can still see entertaining fights….sans UFC logo.
the fights in the UFC “seem” boring because they are generally not mismatches.
LMAO. 2 evenly matched guys do not create boring fights. Backpeddling, counterpunchers create boring fights…i.e. Vera, Liddel, Griffin, Bisping, etc….
Speaking of fighter’s salaries, I was watching Off The Record the other night and the host was asking Chuck Liddell about salaries. Chuck was very happy about his, but seemed surprised that in the NFL and NHL over 50% of the revenues go to the players. Obviously the “stars” are being paid very will in the UFC, but the vast majority of the UFC’s stable is getting paid very little given their commitment; you don’t see Sidney Crosby of the NHL or Randy Moss of the NFL doing 3 to 4 workouts a day, year round! I don’t want to see the UFC mess with their business model too much, but I wonder how long Dana can afford not to pay all his fighters properly? Comments?
You also don’t see up fighters fight 60 plus times a year.
True Jas, but the “Big League” pros get million dollar paydays, sometimes for riding the bench, in addition to getting 2 to 3 months off a year. I sill think the UFC fighters in general are under paid. Also, if you sign with a major pro team your medical, training, coaching, travel between opponents cites, etc. is all paid. These days the even get a pension. We’ve got UFC fighters taking care off all of this for $5000 paycheck. I’m just saying that the UFC could invest a little more in the guys that bring in the cash.
SILASM. i watched it a few days ago. you forgot to mention that chuck ALSO said he was making at least a” couple million” per fight. so most of the ufc fighters make alot more than what some think (including bonuses,sponsers, and in chucks case, ppv%). kieth jardine’s name is brought up alot as far as salaries goes, but when asked, he always says that ufc takes good care of him. i wouldnt worry too much about the ufc’s fighters salaries. Affliction has already proven that paying fighters more than their market’s worth is not a good business plan. and dont forget to mention the whole story when making a point, unless you did’nt forget.
Good point B.W., but I’m not talking about name fighters and fan favorites. Yes, simply handing over cash like Elite is stupid. I guess I’m just feeling for the guy that has to train on a part-time basis and hold down a full-time job even though he is under contract with the biggest MMA promotion in the world. Surely by the time a guy is fighting for the UFC he should be paid enough to train full-time. I’m not thinking about Chuck, GSP or BJ. I’m thinking about guys like Cote and Sean Sherk, both of whom spent a lot of time working day jobs (although they both train full-time now) just to be able to train while they were under UFC contracts.
i hope that someday all the ufc fighters dont have to do anything else but train and fight. alot of them do have there own gyms that gets alot of pub from them being in the ufc. i dont think the ufc is purposley undercutting fighters, they are just trying to pay everybody what they think they are worth while still trying to keep a good business model and are constantly pumping more money back into the org. the ufc has alot of employees to take care of aside from the fighters. i have heard they are coming up with a medical plan for contracted fighters(non-fight medical issues included)so that is one step closer.
like we didnt see this coming….. the only benefitial thing that came from them was that it was free.
Do no one think that maybe some of these guys might sign with Affliction or Strikeforce instead…the reason some of the more talented guys are not with UFC to begin with is the fact that they don’t see eye to eye with UFC. Granted most of the top talent is in UFC…but I imagine a lot of the fighters out there not in UFC are stick and tired of the monopoly that UFC has over the MMA scene.
The only good i see coming out of this for the ufc is bigfoot silva, a lot of these guys like robbie lawer and nick diaz already couldn’t hack it in the ufc they tried got beat and left, i hope that dana relizes how popular womens mma can be and gina is a great face for it. Now the artical above said that elight ex was responsable for frank vs cung le….How? and cung needs to come o the ufc
I wonder what this means for Cage Rage. Aren’t they owned by Pro Elite?
Aw man, what about Ken Shamrock?? haha.
About time! I wonder if I can have Gina wrestle me if I come up with 10K
Not a surprise at all. Making Kimbo the headliner was a mistake; but offering Petruzelli a KO bonus (and not a sub. or finish bonus) was lethal. Skala jumping around in the audience like a moron when Kimbo lost was lethal. Neglecting to effectively promote legitimate fighters like Shields, Lawler, and Diaz, was lethal. It was a cluster of lethal mistakes that did EXC in. Good riddance, and I hope these guys stay out of the promotion end of the sport for good.
The lesson for future promoters should be that gimmicks (big, scary-guy-from-the-hood or cute-centerfold-female-fighter) do not work. You build your promotion gradually around a group of solid fighters who already have credentials. You don’t build it around novice fighters who have merely a certain look or sex appeal. Everyone should be able to understand that now.
All I care about is where Gina goes.
Damn…I have been out of the MMA for some time, but I did not know Elite went under!?! In the midst of the holidays, I was sitting here wondering when the next show would be televised-this SUCKS!