By Zach Arnold

With Mixed Martial Arts in a major slump in Japan, it is going to take some new stars to build up fan interest in a product that, five years ago, was drawing tens of thousands of fans to every major fighting event in the country. The Japanese fight fans love freak shows and native heros. The evil, monstrous gaijin and a tough countryman with fighting spirit has always been the easiest way to tug at the heartstrings of the casual fan in Japan.

For K-1, the promotion instantly struggled in attracting TV ratings and drawing a significant amount of fans to their DREAM MMA events. Shin’ya Aoki, who walk around at 155 pounds on the street, is not exactly the prototypical larger-than-life figure that appeals to the Japanese public as a mega-star. He’s a great undercard fighter, but a terrible choice to use as the main face of your company. Kazushi Sakuraba, who is a legend in the fight business, is literally on his last legs. Even Sakuraba, in a cold market, struggles to pop a rating. The only draw that K-1 has that can pop a rating is Yoshihiro Akiyama, and the promotion recently admitted that he’s a free agent. With the prospects of drawing a terrible rating on NYE on the horizon for K-1, the promotion is in desperate need of a spark plug or two. They may have found their men.

Sharon Robb in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that K-1 is interested in booking Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli in a re-match for the promotion’s NYE event on Tokyo Broadcasting System. Kimbo is the absolutely, totally perfect fit for K-1. He fits every stereotype that the Japanese public has about a big, scary black man and has his own unique charisma. Unlike Pro Elite on CBS, K-1 will be able to get away with pushing more racially-based stereotypes in regards to Kimbo on Japanese television. Don’t think for a second that Kimbo’s YouTube brawling clips won’t be blasted onto national TV and the angle of Kimbo being a backyard brawler and porn star bodyguard won’t be pushed to the hilt. Some of the executives that worked at PRIDE are now working for DREAM and they have had good experience at pushing another famous black star in MMA, Quinton Jackson. When Jackson debuted for PRIDE in the early part of this decade against Kazushi Sakuraba, PRIDE marketed Jackson as a ‘homeless fighter’ who lived on a bus and talked to pigeons while wearing a chain. A lot of Japanese fight fans actually believed this was true. Bob Sapp, who K-1 heavily pushed five years ago against Akebono on NYE, portrayed every negative black stereotype you could think of (including eating a banana at a zoo to do a heat-up angle for a match against Manabu Nakanishi in New Japan at the Tokyo Dome). In other words, Kimbo Slice will fit in beautifully into the K-1 marketing scheme. He may not be a great fighter, but the Japanese love scary foreigners who look tough. Kimbo Slice is the type of freak-show attraction that could certainly help K-1 pop a good rating on NYE.

The longer-term new draw that K-1 has acquired, however, is 2008 Olympic gold-medalist judoka Satoshi Ishii. According to Daily Sports in Japan, Ishii will be paid 500 million yen and his fight contract also contains ‘escalator’ clauses which could increase Ishii’s fight money based on how well he draws for big MMA events that he is a headliner of. The wirepuller behind Ishii’s signing with K-1 is Naoya Ogawa, who made a fortune in Japan several years ago. It was Ogawa who was involved in the richest MMA fight ever booked (versus Hidehiko Yoshida) several years ago for PRIDE. With the signing of Ishii by K-1, the door is open to the possibility of Ogawa returning to action. An Ogawa/Ishii match would create some very big interest, and would ironically open the door for Antonio Inoki to get back into the MMA industry. Ogawa and Inoki both share the same power source — Tatsuo Kawamura, who is a long-time player in Japan’s entertainment business. K-1 boss Kazuyoshi Ishii has done plenty of business before with Inoki, so it should not be a big surprise if we see some wrestlers from Inoki’s IGF promotion end up working for K-1 on NYE.

Ishii will likely enter the MMA scene at the young age of 22, after he gets some training in Seattle (Matt Hume). Another possible encounter for Ishii would be a fight against Kazushi Sakuraba. They could even set it up as an ‘exhibition match’ for Ishii’s TV debut, which would be the safest play of all. The key for maintaining Ishii’s value as a top star is to protect him and K-1 will certainly do that.

There are a lot of possibilities at play for K-1 with both Kimbo Slice & Satoshi Ishii under their banner. Given Kimbo Slice’s currently options in the fight business, K-1 is by far his best player. Ishii cashed his golden ticket to become a millionaire in the fight business. Whether or not both men can capitalize on these opportunities remains to be seen, but K-1 finally has some hope and can see some light at the end of the tunnel. They have both literally and figuratively bought themselves some time for survival. That’s a good thing for the Japanese MMA business.

By Dave Sholler

Anderson Silva needs a challenge. After witnessing his lackluster, uninspired performance against Patrick Cote at UFC 90, it is clear that the Brazilian needs stimulation. Already publicly pondering retirement, it is abundantly evident that Silva’s fire to fight has been doused. With that said, MMAMemories.com takes a look at some of the potential opponents for Silva in the months to come. From former world champions to current pound-for-pound contenders, the list of foes could easily spark Silva’s desire to once again unleash all of his talent.

Chuck Liddell – “The Iceman” may have lost three out of his last four fights, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t marketable. By accepting a lucrative bout against Liddell, Silva is guaranteeing himself a stand-up war against one of the best strikers of the past decade. Odds clearly favor the crisper, technically-sound Brazilian, but Liddell’s hands cannot be underrated or overlooked. This would be a fun bout to watch even if Liddell is on the downside of his career.

Prediction: Silva TKO 2

Quinton Jackson – We’ve seen “Rampage” struggle with fighters who understand the value of using angles when striking. This deficiency has caused Jackson to eat some vicious Thai knees and stiff punches in his career. Still, Jackson would give Silva problems. The former light heavyweight champion is fearsomely strong and not afraid to take one to give one. A Jackson-Silva clash would make for an interesting contrast in styles.

Prediction: Silva by TKO 3

Yushin Okami – The last man to defeat Silva, the 185-pound Okami is versatile and can take a punch. While his victory over Silva came via disqualification in 2006, Okami is the last man to conquer Silva and thus may have a slight psychological advantage. Nevertheless, Silva is a superb technician and could become only the second person to stop Okami.

Prediction – Silva by TKO 4

Chael Sonnen – After nearly finishing Silva’s friend, Paulo Filho at WEC 31, Sonnen proved to the world that he has all the tools to be dangerous at middleweight. A solid grappler with underrated hands, Sonnen could pose similar problems for Silva as he did for Filho. On the other hand, Sonnen could suffer the same fate as fellow Team Quest teammate Dan Henderson did at UFC 82, losing by submission.

Prediction – Silva by second round submission (triangle choke)

Forrest Griffin – Should Griffin get by Rashad Evans in his first title defense, don’t be too surprised if he faces Silva next. The Ultimate Fighter series winner has the grit needed to challenge Silva; however, his chin would be dramatically tested. While Griffin’s defense has markedly improved over the years, one must wonder if he can withstand the Spider’s onslaught. It’s hard not to love Griffin, but this seems like a bad match up.

Prediction: Silva by TKO 1

Georges St Pierre – Hmm. Let the intrigue begin. A potential bout between the two could be contested at 185 or at a catch weight. It’s a guaranteed classic either way. St. Pierre is a brilliant five-tool fighter with explosive athleticism. Silva is as multitalented as they come and can adapt to most situations. This is a recipe for fight of the decade. In the end, fans would see which fighter is truly the best in the world.

Prediction: St. Pierre by split decision

BJ Penn – We know that “The Prodigy” is willing to fight at any weight class, so long as he’s fighting the best. Should Penn defeat St. Pierre in their mega-bout slated for early 2009, the Hawaiian would undoubtedly consider a fight with Silva. The flexible, iron-chinned Penn could withstand some of Silva’s firepower and would not be fazed by the Brazilian’s ground game. If he comes in shape, Penn could be a huge threat to Silva.

Prediction: Silva by split decision

Randy Couture – Call it a reach. Call it unlikely. Just don’t call it impossible. If Silva manages to wrestle the light heavyweight crown away from Griffin (or Evans), what’s to say that he wouldn’t consider a run at the heavyweight title? Couture, a former light heavyweight titleholder, would clearly accept the super fight and give Silva a run for his money. A bettor would likely pick Silva based on age and skill, but can you ever count out Couture?

Prediction: DRAW

By Zach Arnold

“They’re all a bunch of pukes who tell you ‘we can do this, we can do that.’ If they deliver on 20 per cent of that they tell you they’re going to do, you know … When you end up signing with this those guys, they end up (screwing) you up some way.”

Those are the words of UFC President Dana White in an article by Neil Davidson of The Canadian Press published last Saturday. Davidson’s article detailed Georges St. Pierre’s recent move to agency powerhouse CAA to represent him in all major business matters.

What? A major fight promoter upset with one of his top fighters signing up with a real agency to represent him in business matters? I’m shocked. Maybe if St. Pierre cut his ties with CAA, Dana White and UFC will also cut his ties with Shaquille O’Neal’s agent, Perry Rogers. Sure.

No one should be surprised that Dana White is angry about the concept of his top fighters getting ‘Hollywood’ agents. After all, Randy Couture ended up with agent Matt Walker and proceeded to have a long legal battle with UFC management. Tito Ortiz has found himself in-and-out of UFC several times. White has a long track-record of not dealing with high-powered agents representing high-profile fighters, which is why Lorenzo Fertitta has been Ortiz’s conduit to talk to UFC on a business level.

Unfortunately for White, he better start boning up on how to do business with real sports agents and managers. With UFC being the only ballgame in town for Mixed Martial Arts, fighters are more than ever in desperate need of representation at the bargaining table. Leverage is rapidly decreasing along with the amount that UFC will pay out to fighters in base salaries and bonuses. Why wouldn’t a fighter like St. Pierre sign with powerhouse CAA?

White has boxed himself publicly into a corner in regards to fighter representation. In the past, he has made remarks about how unserious some fighter agents are, claiming that fighters bring along their fathers, brothers, and uncles to represent them at the bargaining table. However, someone like St. Pierre signs with CAA and suddenly Dana’s upset at ‘Hollywood’ puke agents? Is there any agent Dana White likes? Of course not. However, if he thinks that every MMA fighter will represent himself like Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics represents himself at the bargaining table, then think again.

Given UFC’s current structure for fighters to make money, sponsorship is a big part of the equation. UFC has gone to great lengths to not only supervise which sponsors fighters are with but also which sponsors (like Affliction) are permitted by the company themselves. It doesn’t seem like there hasn’t been a month gone by when we haven’t heard some story about UFC having trouble with another company over merchandising or sponsorship. MMA Payout recently claimed in a report that Walmart has been having problems with UFC. If UFC wants to keep a low base salary structure and have fighters heavily reliant on bonuses and sponsorship money, then the company has to be prepared for fighters to turn to major agencies like the CAA to protect the fighter’s interests in terms of obtaining sponsorships. It only makes business sense, especially considering that UFC manages to utilize WWE-style tactics in having fighters sign as ‘independent contractors’ despite the fact that fighters, when signing such an agreement, are only allowed to work for UFC and for what UFC deems to be appropriate in terms of business deals.

For fighters like Georges St. Pierre, signing with CAA is an absolute necessity. With UFC now pushing new merchandising provisions and contracts to fighters to sign away their image likenesses for video games, toy figures, and other merchandise items, it is imperative for a fighter to protect themselves at all costs. It’s also interesting to note that if UFC is able to get the rights to all of the likenesses and image trademarks of the fighters who work with them that it would, in theory, make it easier and more attractive to sell the company and its assets to the highest bidder down the road (if Zuffa wanted to get out of the business at some point.)

UFC has created an environment in Mixed Martial Arts where they are gaining acceptance within the mainstream sports media. As part of that tradeoff of being taken as a serious sports entity, UFC better be prepared for its fighters to sign with good agencies and to pay out more of the profits made from shows to the fighters who deliver the goods in the cage. In past business analyses of World Wrestling Entertainment business reports, Dave Meltzer has noted how WWE has been able to manage costs in such a way that wrestlers are taking home maybe 15-20% of the profits while the company maintains the rest of the revenue stream. While MMA is certainly a more expensive business to run than WWE, the fact remains that UFC has done a masterful job of controlling costs by limiting the salary structure that fighters are under. Part of this strategy is by encouraging fighters to generate a significant portion of their income through sponsorships. As long as UFC continues to encourage fighters to look elsewhere for further revenue streams, then the company better expect that fighters will look to high-powered agencies to represent their best interests. UFC can’t have it both ways.

By Zach Arnold

The only way things could get worse for Jeremy Lappen, Jared Shaw, Gary Shaw, and others associated with Elite XC is if they got sent to jail for ‘fixing’ a fight between Kimbo Slice & Seth Petruzelli on October 4th in Sunrise, Florida.

“I don’t have a smoking gun, (but) I’ve been around long enough, I’ve talked to enough people that were there, I won’t name names of executives in the company that I know—Seth was paid to stand up. I’m confident of that. If the commission wants to talk to me, I’ll tell them what I know.”

Those are the words of one T. Jay Thompson (in an interview with MMA Weekly), whose Icon Sport company was bought out by Pro Elite Inc. a year ago. Thompson is one of the most respected promoters and matchmakers in the MMA industry, as his long track record of success and accomplishment in the fight business is well-known. In other words, Thompson’s career is everything that Jeremy Lappen’s career hasn’t been.

When Icon Sport was bought out by Pro Elite, the idea was to create a worldwide talent feeder system for Elite XC. Pro Elite used stock and money to buy out Icon Sport, Cage Rage, Spirit MC, and King of the Cage. Each of these smaller MMA promotions had a track record of producing successful shows on a regional scale. Thompson’s Icon Sport promotion (he promoted Super Brawl before that) always did well in Hawaii. Before Pro Elite bought out Cage Rage, the promotion was drawing respectable crowds in Wembley and was clearly building something good for the UK MMA fans. Spirit MC was a growing promotion in South Korea that could have given Elite XC an ‘in’ into the Asian marketplace. King of the Cage, which is Terry Trebilcock’s set-up involving numerous licensed promoters, has always managed to run a boatload of MMA events in California, Nevada, and in Midwestern states. In other words, the crew of Thompson, Dave O’Donnell, Spirit MC, and Trebilcock all were bought out by Pro Elite. If you believe Thompson, then you will believe that Elite XC management choose to listen to everyone else but the regional promoters the company bought out in the first place. Brilliant.

Of course, Thompson is the only Elite XC official who is talking openly to the press these days. At Fight Opinion, we contacted a couple of Elite XC officials to come onto our radio show. They declined. You haven’t heard any public comments from “Smoothie King” Seth Petruzelli, Jeremy Lappen, Jared Shaw, or Gary Shaw. According to the Cage Potato web site, Jared Shaw has a voicemail message claiming that he won’t answer questions from the media. Gary Shaw, only a week after the LA Times described him as a consultant to Elite XC, denies that he was a consultant to the company and knows absolutely nothing about what is happening to Pro Elite Inc. right now. Lappen’s silence, however, is the most ironic given that it was his horrible attempts at damage control (along with the Smoothie King) that set the wheels in motion for public outcry in regards to the stand-up scandal.

History from past implosions in the fight business tells us that Thompson is not likely to be the only person speaking out about the mismanagement of Elite XC. However, Thompson raised the stakes higher by saying that he would be glad to talk to the Florida Boxing Commission in regards to the stand-up scandal. Sam Caplan, came out with an anonymously-sourced article stating that a source had approached him about a story regarding someone approaching Petruzelli to avoid giving Kimbo Slice thai-style kicks.

“For instance, separate sources informed Five Ounces of Pain last week that there was also a possibility that a deal had been struck preventing Petruzelli from using “Thai-style kicks on Slice, since he had not prepared for them leading up to the fight.”

What’s that all about? Somehow, I think a lot more individuals associated with Elite XC might be talking if the FBI was investigating this matter, which UFC President Dana White has called for.

The next big step for Pro Elite Inc. is bankruptcy court. Last September, CBS issued a secured loan of money to Pro Elite Inc. in exchange for first rights of purchasing the company’s assets should Pro Elite go bankrupt. Now that things are heading to bankruptcy court, what will CBS do? What will officials like Jeremy Lappen have to say for themselves? Lappen is a huge loser in this entire implosion of Elite XC. Dana White eviscerated Lappen in a recent Youtube video, in which White said that the implosion of Elite XC was Mr. Lappen’s third big bust in recent memory in the industry. (Lappen is a corporate lawyer who was an agent to fighters like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, then became the boss of the now-defunct WFA, and now was at the helm for the implosion of Elite XC.) Will the media let Lappen quietly disappear into the background or will he receive further scrutiny from the press?

There’s also another interesting angle to the bankruptcy of Pro Elite Inc. that has not been addressed much at all in the media — the lawsuit filed by famous Brazilian fighter and promoter Wallid Ismail. Ismail sued Pro Elite Inc. after he claimed that Gary Shaw and those involved in the initial construction of Pro Elite Inc. stole production and business ideas that Ismail had been using for his Jungle Fight promotion. This includes the dragon-type entrance that Elite XC used for their Southaven, Mississippi event a couple of years ago. Ismail claimed in his lawsuit that he presented EXC officials with a plan on how to get into the MMA business and that all of his ideas were stolen without him. Will Ismail and his attorneys be able to get a lien attached to the proceeds from the bankruptcy court sale of Pro Elite’s assets?

Finally, think about the employees who worked for Elite XC tirelessly and put over the product to the best of their ability only to see everything blow up in their face. Both Turi Altavilla (office) and Mauro Ranallo (TV) worked for PRIDE and Elite XC, which happened to be the organizations with the two largest implosions in the history of Mixed Martial Arts. What about promoters like JD Penn, T. Jay Thompson, Dave O’Donnell, and Terry Trebilcock? How long will they be stuck in bankruptcy court before they can start promoting events again?

The only thing worse at this point for Elite XC is if a fighter stepped up and claimed that their paycheck bounced and that the money didn’t clear. The last thing you ever want to do is piss off a fighter by stiffing them on their paycheck. They’re the type of individuals that will come after you and get their money someway, somehow. Fighters are also very open to naming names in media interviews. Joey Villasenor was interviewed by Franklin McNeil of ESPN and said that he could have earned $60,000 USD ($30k to show + $30k to win) if he fought for Pro Elite on November 8th in Reno. Instead, Villasenor is stuck in limbo because his contract will be an asset in bankruptcy court. A lot of fighters are stuck in limbo. A lot of sad holiday moments coming up. A lot of angry fighters, who might be liable to make some statements and reveal some dark secrets about what really happened behind closed doors in Elite XC.

By Dave Sholler

Josh Koscheck understands that the window of opportunity to succeed in mixed martial arts is very small. For that reason, the former NCAA Division I wrestling champion did not hesitate when UFC matchmakers called last week to ask if he’d fill in for the injured Diego Sanchez at UFC 90. With a chance to fight rising welterweight contender Thiago Alves, Koscheck knew a future title shot could be on the line.

“I felt like me and him (Alves) should have been fighting in the first place,” Koscheck, who defeated Sanchez at UFC 69, said during a press conference last week. “I personally will fight anybody anytime. I’m always in the gym training all year round, so I don’t take any time off, and I’m ready to step up. The way I see it is this is a short-notice fight for him (Alves) too, and you know he’s got a lot to prepare for because I’m not Diego Sanchez.”

Despite the short-notice, Koscheck (13-2) believes he has all the tools necessary to defeat Alves. Riding a two-fight winning streak, the Edinboro University product thinks that his versatility will prove as his biggest weapon. Still, he is mindful of his opponent’s striking ability, especially since Alves (21-4) stopped Matt Hughes and Karo Parisyan in his last two outings. That doesn’t mean Koscheck is lacking confidence though.

“I have way better wrestling than those guys,” the 30-year-old Koscheck said. “And I went back to my roots. I’m training with a lot of wrestlers. He’s (Alves) not fighting Matt Hughes. He’s not fighting Karo Parisyan. He’s not fighting Diego Sanchez. He’s fighting Josh Koscheck.

“He’s (Alves) a good fighter,” Koscheck admitted. “He’s actually a great fighter and I have a lot of respect for him and his camp. But at the end of the day, its business for both of us and we both want to win.”

Regardless of the outcome of Koscheck’s bout with Alves on Saturday, the American Kickboxing Academy pupil still plans on fighting judo champion Yoshiyuki Yoshida at a UFC charity event slated for December 10. He believes a win over Yoshida would only further catapult him into a rematch with George St. Pierre, a man who Koscheck lost to at UFC 74. Nevertheless, he’s making sure to stay focused on each bout one at a time.

“I think with two wins, I’ll be the next guy in line for (welterweight champion) Georges St. Pierre,” Koscheck said. “The first GSP fight, mentally I was a little bit not there. I didn’t really work on my wrestling back then, so I’ve become more of a complete fighter. That’s one of the lessons that I’ve learned from fighting Georges St. Pierre.

“I care about winning fights and whenever the UFC thinks I’m ready to step up again and fight a rematch (against St. Pierre), then they’ll give me that opportunity,” Koscheck added. “My goal is to win this fight and then go fight (Yoshida) and win that fight. And then if the UFC says that I’m ready for a title shot, I’ll take it. I’m in no hurry right now.”

By Dave Sholler

There have been a lot of things running through UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s head lately.

For starters, the Brazilian has spent the past few months preparing for his title defense against crafty striker Patrick Cote at UFC 90 tomorrow night in Chicago, IL. If that wasn’t enough to keep his mind occupied, the jiu jitsu black belt – who won his UFC light heavyweight debut by knocking out James Irvin in July - has also been considering making a run at the 205-pound crown. His logic? Two belts are always better than one.

Even though he is considered by many as the pound-for-pound best and a threat to both divisions, Silva stunned many in the MMA industry recently by announcing that he is pondering retirement. At 33 years old, Silva seemingly wants to leave the sport unharmed and on top.

“What’s going on is even before Anderson came into the UFC, his goal has always been to retire at the age of 35,” Silva’s manager and interpreter Ed Soares said last week during a conference call for UFC 90. “You know he actually is talking about it much sooner than all of us would have liked to, but the reality of it is that his goal is to retire at 35. He’s got 18 months before he turns 35, and it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to retire right when he turns 35, that would just be his goal.”

While Soares did his best to protect his client, the truth is that Silva has been openly contemplating retirement in the media for months. Having compiled a 22-4 record and defeated some of the sport’s finest fighters, Silva may indeed be losing the fire to actively compete. After all, he’s headlined major cards, earned millions through endorsements, and clearly cemented himself as a future Hall-of-Famer. With six fights remaining on his UFC contract, could Silva’s public pondering be a sign that he is simply tired of fighting?

“Not at all,” Soares said firmly. “It’s just that his goal has been to retire at 35. And I told him, ‘let’s achieve your goal of getting to 35, and being in a position where you could retire, and at that point in time make your choices. And if you feel like you’ve got a few more fights in then let’s go a few more fights.’”

With retirement swirling in his mind, one must question Silva’s level of focus heading into tomorrow night’s contest against Cote. The 28-year-old Canadian is riding a four-fight winning streak and boasts good hands and decent submission skills. This combination of striking and grappling could pose problems for Silva, especially if he isn’t mentally committed to the fight. Soares believes otherwise.

“Right now our main focus is getting through Patrick Cote,” Soares said. That’s where (Anderson’s) mind is at right now, to go out there and perform well and beat Patrick. He’s not taking Patrick lightly. He has trained super, super hard for this fight and really the main thing on his mind is not after his fight. He’s focused on Patrick Cote. That’s what he’s focused on.”

STIFF JABS

In addition to Silva-Cote, Josh Koscheck steps in as a last minute replacement for Diego Sanchez and takes on Thiago Alves. The bout should go a long way in determining the number one welterweight contender. Potential fight of the night? Sean Sherk takes on Tyson Griffin in a lightweight battle. The winner would join Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson as top contenders for BJ Penn’s 155-pound title.

It looks like EliteXC has seen its final days. We hate to say we told you so. The company had plenty of promise. But much like any wobbly business, mismanagement ultimately ran it into the ground. Just goes to show you that not even millions of dollars and Kimbo Slice can keep you afloat.

By Zach Arnold

The idea of Pro Elite Inc, the parent company of Elite XC, closing up shop is not surprising. This is an organization that lost $55 million USD in 18 months and then had to rely on CBS to help finance their October 4th event in Sunrise, Florida.

What’s surprising, however, is the way the organization closed up shop and how it happened. Even stranger are the parallels between the end of Elite XC and the end of PRIDE.

According to both Dave Meltzer and Adam Swift, Elite XC was on the verge of being purchased by CBS & Showtime. CBS network executives were supposedly thrilled at the ratings that the third MMA event drew on broadcast TV, despite the clear debacle that was Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli. Viacom officials were reportedly so happy that they were reportedly preparing the paperwork to purchase Elite XC and … bring back Gary Shaw on board. Seriously.

Then, a funny thing happened. Elite XC got hit hard by the Kimbo Slice/Seth Petruzelli ’stand-up’ scandal and CBS found themselves in a position similar to the position that Fuji TV found themselves in a couple of years ago with PRIDE. In 2006, PRIDE withered under heavy media scrutiny from a negative campaign by Shukan Gendai in regards to yakuza allegations and stories. Fuji TV, facing the prospects of having to deal with angry shareholders, pulled the plug on PRIDE programming from the network despite the fact that PRIDE was attracting ratings anywhere in the 15-20% range per show. CBS, meanwhile, pulled the plug on buying EXC within a couple of weeks of the promotion’s third broadcast MMA event. The lesson to be learned here in the bigger picture is that as a fight organization, if you do not control 100% of your operation you are at the mercy of a corporate sugar-daddy that can make you or destroy you instanteously. This is why WWE and UFC will remain monopolistic players in their respective sectors of the fight business — they understood this business concept long ago and became self-financing business machines that produce 100% of their product. It doesn’t matter what TV platform these organizations shift to, as the product will always look and feel the same.

There is karmic justice at play here with the closing of Elite XC. If it is true that CBS wanted to bring back Gary Shaw into the fold of Elite XC management, then the irony grows even thicker in regards to the comments Shaw made to The LA Times newspaper regarding the Kimbo/Petruzelli stand-up scandal. When asked by a reporter from the newspaper about the stand-up scandal, Shaw said that he didn’t think it was a big deal at all and that it is not unethical for promoters to ask fighters to ’stand-up’ during fights because the promoter is encouraging a ‘fan-friendly fight.’ Shaw’s words only added fuel to the fire of what was a spectacular PR disaster of magnificent proportions involving one Jeremy Lappen, whose conflicting statements and words in various media outlets got him into so much hot water. Why? Because the media closely studied the lawyer’s words and the lawyer’s statements started contradicting each other. It got so bad for Lappen that at one point he claimed (in an interview with Michael David Smith of AOL Fanhouse) that both Sports Illustrated writer Josh Gross and ESPN writer Franklin McNeil had ‘misquoted’ him regarding bonuses paid out to fighter in Elite XC, despite the fact that both writers had audio recording of their interviews with Lappen. Suffice to say, Lappen’s resume in the MMA business is now largely tainted (between the collapse of WFA and the disastrous collapse of Elite XC) because of what has transpired in the last few weeks.

However, I expect Lappen to only receive a minor footnote when the history is written regarding the collapse of Elite XC. It shouldn’t be this way, but it will be nonetheless. Instead, the face of Elite XC’s collapse will be, for better or worse, the ‘Smoothie King’ Seth Petruzelli. Petruzelli will forever go down in MMA annals as being the face of Elite XC’s collapse, much in a similar vein to how Mr. I (aka Mr. Ishizaka aka Kim Dok-Soo, the mysterious backer of PRIDE according to Shukan Gendai) became associated as the face of the PRIDE yakuza scandal. It was Petruzelli’s own self-inflicted verbal wounds that started the stand-up scandal, just two days after he beat Kimbo Slice in 14 seconds by KO. Petruzelli’s controversial comments on an Orlando radio station that he might have been financially ‘encouraged’ by Elite XC officials to have a stand-up war with Kimbo Slice caused such an immediate media blowback that Petruzelli had no idea what hit him. Further complicating matters for Petruzelli was the impression (in my opinion) that he and Jeremy Lappen were not exactly on the same page in terms of having a PR strategy to handle the controversy from the comments. There were conflicting quotes from both parties in various media reports throughout the week. There were so many conflicting statements that both men were only adding fuel to the raging fire that was gaining significent traction in both new & mainstream media circles. Petruzelli, who was being heralded as a hero a couple of days after beating Kimbo Slice, became the face of the Elite XC stand-up scandal. Consequently, according to both Meltzer and Swift, the stand-up scandal supposedly cost Elite XC the opportunity to be purchased by CBS.

When historians look at the collapse of MMA promotions such as the IFL and Elite XC, the one common denominator in the groups that have collapsed is the absolutely insane burn-rate that these organizations had when it came to financing their operations and spending all the money they obtained so quickly. $55 million USD lost in 18 months? Hell, when the IFL closed up shop, they lost $35 million and were relentlessly mocked by everyone for doing so.

There are a lot of angles to analyze in regards to the story of Elite XC collapsing. We will analyze several different storylines over the next week, including what Elite XC’s demise means for the MMA industry as a whole. The biggest loser in the collapse of Elite XC is Gina Carano, who will likely have to give up on being a full-time MMA fighter and make a permanent transition to Hollywood for good. Meanwhile, PRIDE and Elite XC hanger-ons like Jerry Millen and Jeremy Lappen will continue to try to get work (and likely will) in the MMA business. Eventually, however, karma will catch up with everyone involved in these scandals in a big way. It always does.

Finally, a tip of the cap to Dana White. Give the Vince McMahon of MMA credit — he saw how big of a deal the Elite XC scandal was and how it could damage the entire industry and UFC brand as a whole. White took charge and went after Elite XC publicly in the media. He described to the average human being what the stand-up scandal was all about and why it should matter in the time span of about two minutes in a media interview. White was protecting his turf, his industry, and smelled blood all at the same time. His comments helped keep the heat on Elite XC in mainstream media circles, which led to even more ridiculous statements from people like Gary Shaw, which in turn reportedly soured CBS on investing any more in Elite XC.

By Zach Arnold

For a ‘free’ MMA show on Spike TV, UFC 89 sure felt like an average show. Sure, there were some gutty performances from Chris Lytle and Marcus Davis in the midcard fights, but the majority of the fights in Birmingham, England were entirely missable.

The big question going into UFC 89 was whether or not Michael Bisping would be ready to elevate his game to the next level and face Anderson Silva in the near future. The answer coming out of his event and his fight against Chris Leben was a big fat ‘no.” Bisping had a game plan he stuck to throughout the entire fight against the perennial midcarder Leben, but it was clear that the Brit was in no mood to get into a power slugfest. Leben was a tailor-made opponent for Bisping to knockout or finish. Instead, he chose the safe route and continued his upward climb in UFC. Part of that climb includes a future coaching spot on The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show as a coach. There’s discussion that either Rich Franklin or Dan Henderson will be the opposite coach. Normally, the two TUF coaches end up fighting each other. Based on Bisping’s recent performances, if he gets in the cage against either Henderson or Franklin, he’s in a lot of trouble.

Bisping is plenty popular in the UK and is easily the face of UFC in Europe right now. The problem is that for as good of a job as UFC has done marketing him, Bisping simply is not at the same level as many of UFC’s top 185-pounders or 205-pounders. He talks a great game, has a hardcore legion of fans, but there’s a glass ceiling that the Brit needs to crack before anyone should give him serious consideration as a championship contender. A match-up between Bisping and Anderson Silva at this point would be even more lopsided than when Ricky Hatton was decimated by Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The title of this article claims that more questions than answers were raised coming out of the UFC 89 event, and one big fight on the card that underscored this theme on the show was Keith Jardine vs. Brandon Vera. Jardine won a split decision over Vera, whose career in the UFC is in real trouble. Vera has always talked a great game, but he just doesn’t have that killer instinct any longer to finish off opponents when he gets them in a precarious position. Jardine, meanwhile, is stuck in limbo even after this win. It was another colorless win for a fighter who clearly has talent but not a lot of marketability. The difference between Jardine and Rashad Evans, who both train with Greg Jackson in New Mexico, is that Evans gives you some flashes of brilliance and excitement in his fights. You never know if he is going to get a spectacular knockout or wear down an opponent with takedowns. Jardine, meanwhile, is a respectable fighter who simply doesn’t move the needle at this point. He lose to Wanderlei Silva, beat Chuck Liddell, and now narrowly got a win over Brandon Vera. Jardine is going to need a few impressive wins to even earn consideration for a title shot.

Marcus Davis continued his impressive streak of good fights in the UK by defeating Paul Kelly with a front neck lock for the submission in round two. Davis is another fighter who is kind of stuck in limbo, having lost decisively to Mike Swick but winning impressively against other fighters. UFC commentator Joe Rogan said that Davis is constantly improving, which is undoubtedly true. The problem is that at 170 pounds, he’s in an absolute murderer’s row of a decision. A move up to 185 pounds would provide some interesting match-ups and perhaps add some career direction for the New Englander.

However, it seems that Davis is on a collision course with another midcard 170-pound fighter in Chris Lytle, who showed a great chin against Paul Taylor and won a unanimous decision. It may have been the best fight on the televised portion of the card. How much interest is there for Davis vs. Lytle, however?

Even thought UFC 89 aired for ‘free’ on Spike TV, the event itself really didn’t build much momentum for next week’s UFC 90 card in Chicago. Anderson Silva’s retirement talk was the hot topic of conversation going into UFC 89 and his upcoming fight against Patrick Cote is the hot topic of conversation going into next week. The talk about Silva vs. Bisping should stop… right about now.

UFC 90 (10/25 Chicago) card line-up:

Welterweights: Josh Burkman vs. Pete Sell
Lightweights: Hermes Franca vs. Marcus Aurelio
Middleweights: Dan Miller vs. Matt Horwich
Lightweights: Spencer Fisher vs. Shannon Gugerty
Middleweights: Thales Leites vs. Drew McFedries
Lightweights: Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin
Heavyweights: Fabricio Werdum vs. Junior Dos Santos
Lightweights: Rich Clementi vs. Gray Maynard
Welterweights: Josh Koscheck vs. Thiago Alves
Middleweights: Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote

By Dave Sholler

Many people inside the mixed martial arts industry were appalled to learn that heavyweight Seth Petruzelli may have been paid to keep his Oct. 4 fight against Kimbo Slice standing.

Considering the time it took for the sport to become mainstream, most longtime MMA executives wondered if the rumored fix would fatally damage the burgeoning industry.

One man took the allegations a bit harder than most. Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, a businessman who many believe saved the sport over the past decade, responded harshly to the contention that EliteXC officials paid Petruzelli to avoid taking the fight to the ground.

After the UFC spent millions of dollars in recent years trying to secure the longevity of the sport, White told MMAReport that he was incensed to hear that EliteXC officials reportedly tried to alter the outcome of a bout. The bout, which is currently being investigated by the Florida State Athletic Commission, shows just how crooked EliteXC management is, White says.

“They don’t care about mixed martial arts,” White said in reference to the EliteXC management team. “These (expletives) are in it for the money. They want to come in and take a piece of the pie. And in it, they don’t give a (expletive) if they destroy the whole sport.

“They are being investigated by the Florida Athletic Commission,” an angry White continued. “They ought to be investigated by the FBI. Mandalay Bay and The Venetian both had betting on this. Anybody that’s going to bet on this fight is going to think, ‘well, if Seth Petruzelli can get him on the ground, the fight’s over.’ But you don’t know the scumbag promoters behind the scenes went in and paid him (Petruzelli) to not go to the ground. They paid him to standup. That’s (expletive) illegal.”

If the allegations hold true, White is absolutely correct. Even though Petruzelli backed off his initial statements that he may have been paid to remain standing with Slice, it is a comment that is hard to ignore. If Petruzelli was indeed instructed to avoid ground fighting, officials at EliteXC not only defrauded consumers, but it also cheated other industry personnel. In essence, by paying the former Ultimate Fighter series contestant to compete in a veiled boxing match, they seriously jeopardized the integrity of the sport. It may even serve as an insurmountable hurdle.

Once referred to as “human cockfighting” by an uninformed, warmongering Presidential candidate named John McCain, the sport of MMA has forever had its identity questioned. Some have called it barbaric. Others have called it street fighting. A few have even compared it to professional wrestling. Yet amidst all the criticisms and false statements, MMA has always risen to the surface. Still, MMA nearly failed because of similar misconceptions, unfair analysis, ignorance, and assumptions.

With that said, mixed martial arts – deemed by many to still be in the growth stage of the business model – does not need accusations questioning the honesty of its bouts. The sport does not need the authenticity of its matches doubted, nor can consumers be led to believe that the bouts can, in any way, be altered.

If and when EliteXC is proven guilty of turning the Petruzelli-Slice bout into a boxing match, athletic commissions worldwide should revoke its promoters’ license. Simply put, MMA consists of multiple forms and disciplines of combat. Any attempt to limit one fighter from using a particular aspect of fighting goes against the foundations of the sport. The variety of disciplines used serves as the major reason it is called “mixed” martial arts. If you can’t use a plethora of skills, then you can’t be considered a “mixed” martial artist.

Perhaps White said it best when he asserted that EliteXC officials should consider promoting kickboxing if they want fights to stay off the ground. After all, MMA is a sport made famous by the likes of Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, and Ken Shamrock. All three combatants were superior submission fighters and grapplers. They knew that the sport consisted of much more than standup fighting when they signed up to compete. Therefore, all three should and would be offended to know that the future of MMA was jeopardized by some money-hungry, inept fight promoters.

Here’s to hoping that EliteXC did not pay Petruzelli to stay on his feet. Otherwise, the EliteXC organization will feel what it’s like to fight on the ground. If EliteXC officials are found guilty, not even a boat load of money could help them stay on their feet.

By Dave Sholler

Fourteen seconds. That’s all the time it took for a struggling mixed martial arts company to watch its future crumble.

When YouTube sensation Kimbo Slice was knocked out by 28-year-old Seth Petruzelli (10-4) in the main event of EliteXC’s network television broadcast last Saturday, the deteriorating organization gazed helplessly as the face of its business collapsed to the canvas.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Slice was supposed to face an aging Ken Shamrock in the main event on CBS. He was supposed to pummel the fading founder of the Lion’s Den and prove his dominance in the heavyweight division. Most of all, a win by the 34-year-old backyard brawler was supposed to unlock treasure chests full of advertising dollars for EliteXC.

My, how quickly it all unraveled. First, Slice learned that he wouldn’t be fighting a member of MMA’s senior circuit. After sustaining a cut during warm-ups, Shamrock was ruled ineligible to fight. With “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” out, Slice agreed to fight Petruzelli, who at the time was “The World’s Most Unknown Fighter.”

To many MMA experts, the outcome was hardly surprising. Slice, an inexperienced and technically flawed striker, was clipped by Petruzelli, a 14-fight veteran, just seconds into the contest. Despite pressing the former UFC fighter against the cage, Slice left his hands low and his chin exposed. This lack of defense resulted in Slice tasting professional defeat for the first time. While obviously upset with the disappointing loss, Slice was somewhat respectful in the post fight press conference. He knew he was defeated by a more polished fighter.

“Before tonight nobody knew who this guy was,” Slice, who fell to 3-1, said of Petruzelli. “Now everybody knows who he is. I have nothing but good stuff to say about him.

“You beat me in front of my family, man, that’s (messed) up. But it’s all good. And I got the first black-eye of my life.”

While it was Kimbo’s first black eye, it wasn’t the first for EliteXC. After spending millions of dollars running glitzy shows, developing pricey marketing campaigns, and attempting to lure big-named fighters to its organization, EliteXC once again found that its business model is flawed.

By making Slice the face of its organization, EliteXC failed to recognize that his bark was more devastating that his bite. Sure, he beat the hell out of a ton of untrained street fighters. But not even Bas Rutten could make him a seasoned mixed martial artist in just four professional fights.

With that said, let’s make one thing clear. In no way, shape, or form should Slice have been given the headliner act at such an infancy stage of his career. He just wasn’t ready for the bright lights and pressure. It was like asking your local garage band to go on tour with The Rolling Stones. Yes, they may have been able to strum the guitar. But were they ready to perform on the world’s biggest stage?

Given Slice’s fall from grace, one must wonder if the debt-ridden EliteXC organization can overcome this blunder. Clearly, it’s time for the company to realize that it needs an experienced driver to take the wheel. Quite honestly, EliteXC needs someone with a proven track record to take the helm of this sinking ship. Still, the question remains: who can take Slice’s spot as top-billing?

The obvious choice is free agent Tito Ortiz. After all, his resume speaks for itself. A former UFC world champion with cross-over appeal, Ortiz could sell snow to an Eskimo. Even though he is 0-2-1 in his last three fights, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” is still only 33-years-old and boasts plenty of fighting experience to warrant leading an MMA card. Given his affinity for Affliction partner Donald Trump and Affliction’s close ties to EliteXC, no one should be surprised if Ortiz signs some sort of deal with both companies. The deal may even let him compete on both Affliction and EliteXC cards.

If landing Ortiz falls by the wayside, EliteXC should give a slice of the marketing pie to the sport’s rising fighters. With the likes of Robbie Lawler, Jake Shields, and Cung Le in the fold, what’s wrong with guaranteeing fans a card full of entertaining bouts? We already know that EliteXC has lost a ton of money trying to promote one home run hitter. Wouldn’t a more feasible marketing plan be to stockpile young, fiery talent poised to give outstanding performances? Could EliteXC become the Florida Marlins of MMA and offer some of the best, fresh faces in the sport?

Once again, EliteXC has left us all with plenty of questions. This time, we at least know that Kimbo Slice is not the answer.

Dave Sholler is a Boxing and MMA columnist for publications across the country.