My Take on MMA 10.23.08: The Death of EliteXC, Repercussions on the Industry and Who Zuffa Should Ponder Acquiring

Posted by Larry Csonka on 10.23.2008

Turn out the lights,The party’s over…
They say that, All good things must end…
Call it tonight, The party’s over…
And tomorrow starts, The same old thing again…



~WELCOME~
Welcome back once again to another edition of My Take On MMA. Usually I break out this column in order to discuss a recent show from the world of MMA, but today we are here to discuss the death of another MMA Promotion. EliteXC has come and gone in what seems like a flash, and with that a lot of things will get interesting. Today we'll look at the short history of the company, what repercussions the shutdown will have on the rest of the industry and who Zuffa could be interested in. Let's get to work.


~ELITEXC: Around 2-Years, 20-Shows, Close to $60-Million Dollars in Loss covered in just 1,200 Words…~
To tell you the truth I had a hard time putting all of Elite's good traits into writing. No matter how hard I try, I can never do justice to what they did do right because of how much they did wring. Some of us are happy that they are gone, and some of us are upset; the bottom line is that as MMA fans it affects us all. Between February 10th of 2007 and October 10th of 2008, EliteXC was a part of bringing 20-MMA Events to life. Nine "ShowXC" events, Eight "EliteXC" Events, two co-promoted events with Strikeforce and they were also a part of the "Dynamite!! USA" event.

EliteXC was a company that wanted to be an alternative to the UFC, they wanted to be the competition; they wanted to grow way too fast. $60-Million Dollars in right around 2-years, and they are gone. In many ways they were the TNA of the MMA world, but in the end, even with their short tenure, they may end up like the WCW of the MMA world.

Things looked good at times for the company. Sure they weren't making money, but they had a secure deal with Showtime, a working relationship with Strikeforce, ShowXC became a reality and they launched an ambitious website design. Unfortunately the website never made money and continually lost a lot of it. The company began to expand, but instead of baby steps they decided to head right into the long jump event. ProElite, the parent company purchased King of the Cage, Cage Rage, Icon Sport, Gladiator Challenge, Bob's Backyard Bouts and anything else they could get their hands on. While a sound idea in theory in order to secure athletes, tape libraries and the like; this led to a constant hemorrhage of cash that never stopped.

Showtime loaned them money and they stayed afloat, and then they got the first golden goose. Kimbo Slice was brought into the MMA world, and while I can hear the collective groans now, Kimbo meant money to the company. They did record numbers on Showtime when he fought Kimbo and also did their first sell out on the very same show, in Kimbo's backyard. The thing is that it was love and hate. Traditionalists hated Kimbo Slice, but there was an audience for the man. Let me give you a wrestling analogy that 99% of you will hate, since it has to do with wrestling. I was a HUGE Ricky Steamboat fan. The man was awesome and I would always watch for a guy like him. BUT, Steamboat DIDN'T bring in the crowds or the PPV buyers, Hulk Hogan did. I hate to say it, but the awesome 1989 series of matches between Flair and Steamboat did shitty business overall. For all of the MMA traditionalists bitching that they should push Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler and other "real MMA stars," you need to have an audience in order to push them. Kimbo is Hulk Hogan, he puts the asses in the seats. Jake Shields is Ricky Steamboat; he gives them a reason to stay. It's simple.

The company was surviving, but still losing money. And then the second golden goose came, and it was named CBS. MMA was now on network TV in the form of EliteXC, and this offended some people because it WAS EliteXC. But they, through their relationship Showtime they got the deal and they were off and running. The first CBS show did well in the ratings with a constant increase in viewers throughout the show and climbed to a climax at 6.5 million viewers, for the Streetfighter in the main event. It looked as if the company was on the rise, but a decline in the second CBS show, combined with the continued loss of money-started rumors that the company was in deep trouble.

Enter Ken Shamrock. Ken Shamrock was a man on the downside of his career, hell, he was at the bottom of the hill already. But Ken Shamrock is a man synonymous with MMA, and also a man that many credit at least partially (along with Tito, Chuck and Randy) with the sport blooming as it has. I really don't think that many can argue the fact that Ken was a draw. The season he and Tito coached "TUF" did strong ratings, and the PPV that came from that drew 775,000 buys. The third fight, a rematch on Spike TV drew 5.9 million viewers at the peak and at the time it was the most watched MMA fight ever. Granted Tito was a big part of that, but it takes two to draw like that. They had high hopes that Ken vs. Kimbo would be a huge draw, and that the company would be attractive enough that Showtime would buy the company.

Reality bites. The day of the big fight it was announced that the commission doctor ruled Ken Shamrock unable to compete in the event's main event. Shamrock had a previous cut opened over his eye when training with Dan Freeman, who accidentally head butted him. They opened the show with an explanation and we saw the cut and stitches. Kimbo Slice's people were presented with Seth Petruzelli as a replacement. Not to be melodramatic, but in many ways, Seth Petruzelli killed EliteXC. Killed may be too string of a word, but he certainly handed the nails to the guys with the hammer. In the blink of an eye we witnessed the end of Kimbo Slice as Petruzelli got the TKO victory in 14-seconds. My feelings on this have been noted. Elite shouldn't have tried to replace the main event. I feel that Elite made a big mistake in trying to replace the Kimbo vs. Shamrock fight. I fully understand that they were the draw of the show, but with the Welterweight Title match on the show they could have switched that to the main event and then added the Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos match to the show, since they are building to her vs. Carano. Also, Kimbo's people should not have taken the fight. I feel that the people surrounding Kimbo, Bas and Kimbo himself included made a poor decision in taking the replacement bout. While I can appreciate both guys stepping up to deliver a fight, it was just too dangerous. Kimbo may be a "fighter," but with his inexperience, it was an ill-advised decision in my eyes.

But it got worse. After the fight, when giving an interview on October 6th, 2008, Seth Petruzelli made the following quote: "The promoters kind of hinted to me, and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him. 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." The Florida State Athletic Commission then began an investigation into whether EliteXC officials paid Petruzelli to stand with Kimbo, Showtime and CBS got the hell out of Dodge, and on October 20th, 2008; ProElite, the parent company of EliteXC, informed its employees and fighters that they were shutting down.

Turn out the lights,The party's over…
They say that, All good things must end…
Call it tonight, The party's over…
And tomorrow starts, The same old thing again…


~Repercussions on the Industry~
The WFA, YAMMA, IFL, Bodog Fight all came and gone, and in reality never made a dent in the world of MMA; but now EliteXC is now gone, and the big question is "what will happen to the industry" with this company shut down? The first thing that people are afraid of is the current investigation by The Florida State Athletic Commission. While many think that they will find no wrongdoing in the Petruzelli case, there is a chance that they may and that is bad for the whole sport. Another issue coming out is that Icon Sport founder T. Jay Thompson says that while he doesn't have "a smoking gun," he talked to enough people the night of the Kimbo vs. James Thompson fight to believe that Thompson was specifically paid to stand, and that if the Florida Commission wants to talk to him he'll tell them what he knows. If there is something there with that fight as well, I fear that the Florida Commission could end MMA in Florida, and that could cause other states to get cold feet and hurt the industry. I hope not, but it is a possibility.

But what about the fighters? With ProElite out of business there will now be a lot of fighters without a place to call home, without a place to compete. Sure some of the top guys will easily find somewhere to fight, but there aren't exactly a ton of options out there. There is Affliction that has run all of one show, and we don't know if they will reach the second one. Strikeforce is an option, but they haven't been much of an impact on the business. They have run a total of 15-events since March of 2006, and the 16th event will be in late November. 2008 will see a total of 8 events from the company, so they have been slowly growing. The opposite of Elite. While Strikeforce hasn't made a huge impact overall, they have been VERY smart in their business model; running primarily in California where they have been able to draw a good on a consistent basis, as well as traveled to Colorado and Washington State. But there are only so many spots, and while they have had a smart business model, they have also been tight with the purse strings, even holding certain fighters off of shows because they make too much per fight, sup Daniel Puder? Adrenaline MMA isn't an option for anyone, the magical AFL doesn't seem to have much of anything going for themselves outside of signing Bobby Lashley and Art of War has apparently found a new backer for now, but again, how long will they run. Japan isn't stable at all, DREAM isn't on good shape and Sengoku has lost a lot of money. Oh wait, I forgot about Yamma. BWAHAHAHAHA…yeah, I know.

On the EliteXC website they have listed over 70-fighters as their fighters. Now I don't know is they are or were under contract, but let's work with the number for now. We have 70-fighters out of work, and with the above companies only offering so many show, and only being able to accommodate so many fighters, people will be out of work. This is the time where places like King of the Cage, Cage Rage, Icon Sport, Gladiator Challenge, and other small companies would come in. The fighters would have places to work, and these small companies that normally wouldn't be able to compete with the UFC, and still wouldn't be able too would at least be able to stay afloat while providing some small alternatives to the UFC. But the problem is that King of the Cage, Cage Rage, Icon Sport, Gladiator Challenge aren't around anymore. ProElite bought them, and with them shutting their doors, tons of doors have closed for the fighters and in turn the fans.

But life will go on for the regular fighter. It always has and it always will, it is a fact of life. Times may be tough for a bit, but it will work itself out because something new will come along. Maybe not as soon as it normally would have due to the economy, but these guys will eventually find somewhere to fight. But with Elite closing their doors the real victim is Women's MMA, and that's the real shame of this. Elite was perfectly content to not only have women's MMA but they were willing to promote it and do it with joy. With their doors closing, I don't see anyone that excited to pick up where they left off.

While EliteXC gets many wrestling comparisons to TNA, due to the way it lost money and that it was a company that wasn't around long going against the giant; the end of the company is more like WCW because with the CBS and Showtime deals they were the #2 promotion. And now that they are gone, it appears as if the jolly giant of the UFC is left standing alone and Dana White is there to tell you, "I fucking told you so!" My title for UFC 91, "Dana Wins" seems very truthful now, doesn't it?

There's just so much to be said…
So much is running through my head…
In a time staggered on the end…
Maybe now can we pretend?
This isn't the end…


~Possible Zuffa Acquisitions~
70-fighters listed on the EliteXC website, 70-fighters that now are out of work. 70-fighters. That is a hell of a number right there. Some of these people will be screwed, some will find enough to get by, but a few, a precious few will move on and be completely fine and perhaps even make more than they were with EliteXC. The big thing everyone is discussing is, "what fighters will the UFC hire?" Now obviously Zuffa will be able to pick and choose who they want, and very likely it will not exactly be who I think they should pick up. But this is the short list of people I think that the company should look at to not only keep the big machine of the UFC running, but also to help keep the WEC running strong.

Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg (WEC): Yes I know all to well that Dana White, on several occasions has said that he has NO desire to promote women's MMA. According to Dana when asked about his interest in women's MMA he said, "I don't. I'm not a huge fan of women fighting. Period. Not to say that I don't acknowledge that there are amazing female athletes out there in every sport. I just think right now we had a hard enough time getting over the stigma of the men." With that being said, I feel that the WEC would be the PERFECT place for Zuffa to highlight the ladies. Zuffa has worked hard to make the WEC a standalone product, and to make it feel different from the UFC. Basically Zuffa has done with WEC what WWE wanted to do with WCW, they made it a profitable 2nd product. With Zuffa scaling back the divisions in WEC to keep it to Welterweight and under, part of me thinks that they should add something and women's MMA would be just that. Carano has the star power, Cyborg is a beast; Zuffa could buy themselves a money fight that if promoted well by the Zuffa machine would do a strong rating on Versus. I also think that they could resurrect some interest in "TUF" by having half of the house Women Fighters. It is new, it mixes things up and alcohol + men + women = drama.

Wilson Reis (WEC): Wilson Reis is another addition to the WEC roster I would make. He became the EliteXC Bantamweight Champion on September 26th as he defeated Abel Cullum, who was the King of the Cage 135 champion and took the fight due to Bao Quach being injured. Reis is 6-0 overall and went 4-0 in the World of Elite. Reis is a good fighter from what I have seen and would fit perfectly into the WEC world. Depending on what weight they get him to fight at, he becomes an instant challenger for either Faber or Torres.

Nick Diaz (WEC then possibly to UFC): And here's my buddy Nick Diaz. Truth be told I am not the biggest fan of Mr. Diaz. I find him to be overrated by his nut hugging fans, and he's generally a douche bag. But that doesn't mean I think he sucks. Some will question my decision to move him to the WEC, but the thing is that he has some negative history with Zuffa. On top of that you have to build both brands, and Diaz would help do that. With his weight the way it is he could either fight at Lightweight and challenge Varner, or go up to Welterweight to battle Condit. The thing is that it is smart to keep he and his brother separated right now because if they are in the same division, I am not sure if they would be down fighting each other. But if they do, hell, let them fight.

Eddie Alvarez (UFC): Eddie Alvarez looks like a guy that really needs to be brought up to the big time. The man is 15-1 and would have likely won the DREAM Lightweight grand Prix if it hadn't been for an injury. Alvarez is an exciting fighter and would be a great addition to the UFC's Lightweight Division in my eyes. With BJ Penn not exactly being thrilled about his status in the division and wanting GSP and Welterweight gold more, adding someone like Alvarez who is there to compete, kick ass and collect a check would be a smart more.

Jake Shields (WEC then to UFC): Jake Shields, the man considered by many as the "best non-UFC Welterweight in the world" has to be a lock for Zuffa to sign. Jake Shields is the EliteXC Welterweight Champion, for what's that worth these days and ha snot seen defeat since 2004. He is working off of 11-straight victories and while he didn't look spectacular in the Daley fight, he found a way to win. Shields holds a win over the current WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit, and I think that Shields' first stop should be the WEC and a fight with Condit. Shields at times looks completely unstoppable, but then at other times looks very average. I think a brief stop in the WEC would be the best for Zuffa as a way to check him out, as well as bolster the WEC for a bit.

Robbie Lawler (UFC): EliteXC's demise could signal a return UFC for Robbie Lawler. Back in 2002 many thought Lawler would be a force in the UFC, and his 3-0 start with the company made that fact hard to argue. But then he went 1-3 in his next four fights and his tenure with the company was finished. But then in 2007 Lawler began a comeback and became a force once again. He defeated Frank Trigg for the ICON Middleweight Title and then in his next fight defeated Rua for the Elite Middleweight Title. After a no contest with Scott Smith, he then defeated him and was on his way to a title defense against Joey Villasenor. Lawler's comeback has been fun to watch and I would love to see him get a second chance with the UFC to see if he could continue that comeback.

Rafael Feijao (UFC): Rafael Feijao has one thing that makes him a lock for the UFC un my eyes, and that's his corner. What makes it so important? His corner is none other than BIG NOG and Anderson Silva. If that is not a ringing endorsement to go t a fighter into the UFC then I don't know what is. Feijao is a 7-1 Light Heavyweight, and his only loss wasn't him being defeated, but was due to his throwing an illegal kick. He has experience in both the IFL and EliteXC; and I feel that he has looked very good in his last three fights, which were all first round finishes. I feel that he would be a strong addition to the UFC Light Heavyweight scene.

Shane Del Rosario (UFC): Shane Del Rosario I think will come off as an odd selection to some. While there are others under the Elite umbrella like Dave "Pee Wee" Herman that have a better record, I feel that Del Rosario shows a ton of promise and could be another young fighter to bring in order to strengthen the product. He is 5-0, 3-0 in Elite and 1-0 in KOTC. Del Rosario in not only impressive in MMA, but is currently an active professional Muay Thai fighter, which a record of 5-1 (5KO's.) He is a smaller heavyweight with a ton of agility and speed. At 225lbs he'll have to make the choice to be a smaller heavyweight or to cut to light heavyweight. Either way he is a young gun that could use a look from the UFC.

Brett Rogers (UFC): And finally, in another effort to add something to the UFC Heavyweight Division we have Brett Rogers. Rogers is a 27-year old heavyweight prospect with an 8-0 record. He went 3-0 in Elite and that including a 1st round destruction of MMA veteran James Thompson. Rogers is mostly untested outside of the Thompson fight, but shows a lot of potential and could be a strong addition to the roster.

In closing I also think that Zuffa also should make an effort to snag some of the Elite holdings in bankruptcy court. While EliteXC may not mean a lot to some, I think unification bouts with the WEC champions would be a good thing. It would be a show they could build to, advertise ala Faber vs. Penn and give then a chance to not only define WEC as different from the UFC, but also to knock it up a step as far as importance as a promotion.