Critical Observer

<a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/josh_gross/10/20/elitexc/index.html">Sports Illustrated</a> has reported that EliteXC is closing its doors for good. On the heels of the disastrous Kimbo Slice fight, it was revealed Seth "pink hair" Petruzzelli was paid not to go to the ground. CBS was planning on rescuing the MMA promotion which was hemorrhaging money but after this incident they backed out leaving EliteXC to wither and die. The Florida State Athletic Commission is investigating EliteXC, which obviously did not help things. CBS did get some very good ratings for the last two televised events, but a federal investigation coupled with a main-eventer who lost almost all his credibility was enough to scare off CBS. This just goes to show that just because a sport is popular and it seems easy to profit from, you cannot simply half-ass it and hope that things go according to plan. UFC works because it was built from the ground up and not built around an Internet sensation or because its a fast growing Trend. Let's take a look at how some MMA upstarts have fared recently: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Fight_League">International Fight League</a> (IFL) ceased operations on July 31, 2008 due to Financial problems and general lack of intrest. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRIDE_Fighting_Championships">PRIDE Fighting Championships</a> was purchased by Zuffa, the parent company of their biggest rival, UFC. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Extreme_Cagefighting">World Extreme Cagefighting</a> (WEC) has always been owned by Zuffa, but few people were aware of this. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cage_Warriors">Cage Warriors Fighting Championship</a> (CWCF) is a UK based promotion which is struggling to survive. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-1">K-1</a> is a Japan based promotion which is still going strong after 15 plus years. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BodogFight">BodogFight</a> closed down in Mid-2008, laying off most of their employees after losing a reported $38 million US dollars. Anybody see a trend here? There are way too many cooks in the kitchen. I didn't even mention Strikeforce or HDnet Fights. There are roughly 21 Promotions in The US alone. Another 30 Promotions in Asia, Europe and South America. Plus, 10 Defunct promotions. The powers that be in the MMA world need to consolidate before the whole sport bottoms out. In the world of Professional sports, there unfortunately is no room for competition. The Audience just wants all the best MMA fighters in one Promotion that can consistently put on a good show a few times a week and consistently provide a great PPV card at least once a Month. this is the only way it is going to work. Look at the other popular pro sports leagues. Baseball did not become America's pastime until the American League and National League were able to come to terms with each other, establish the MLB and the World Series. The NFL did not become the Cash Cow it now is until the NFL agreed to play the AFL in a Little known game called the FRICKIN' Super Bowl. The same could be said about the NBA and the ABA in the seventies. Even Professional Wrestling did not hit its stride until all the territories where consolidated into the NWA/WWE. I am a fan of MMA and I would find it much easier to follow and watch if there was one Main promotion which had an extensive farm system to develop younger talent. Affliction is attempting to make that happen by organizing the <a href="http://gowamma.com/">World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts </a>(WAMMA). But without the cooperation of UFC, K-1 and a handful of other promotions, this is an exercise in Futility. UFC may be the biggest promotion and are extremely successful but without a network television contract they will never reach the status that the other 4 professional sports leagues have long ago achieved. UFC is currently a staple on Spike TV, which is a good start but being on a cable network limits their reach. CBS(EliteXC) and NBC(Strikeforce) have proved that MMA could work on network television and until a legitimate promotion like UFC or WAMMA is on network television, MMA will always be a fringe sport on the brink of demise.

EliteXC is down for the count!

Sports Illustrated has reported that EliteXC is closing its doors for good. On the heels of the disastrous Kimbo Slice fight, it was rev...

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