Elite Xtreme Combat
Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on December 14, 2006.[1] It was headquartered in Los Angeles.
 | |
| Public | |
| Traded as | OTC Pink: PELE |
| Fate | Folded |
| Founded | November 13, 2006 |
| Founder | Showtime Networks, ProElite |
| Defunct | October 20, 2008 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | William Kelly President & Chief Operating Officer, Chairman, Paul Feller, Glenn Golenberg, Douglas De Luca |
| Parent | ProElite |
The partnership to form EliteXC was announced on November 13, 2006.[2] The first major event occurred February 10, 2007 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi. Fighters Frank Shamrock and Renzo Gracie fought in the main event. Also debuting on this card was Charles Bennett, KJ Noons, Mike Pyle and Antônio Silva.
In early 2008, EliteXC had reached an agreement with CBS to broadcast EliteXC shows on prime time. The arrangement was that CBS would broadcast EliteXC specials every other month on Saturday nights.[3] CBS aired only three events in 2008, on May 31, July 26, and October 4.
EliteXC events
This is a list of events held and scheduled by Elite Xtreme Combat (EliteXC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States. The first event took place in February 2007. The list includes three events that EliteXC co-promoted (Dynamite!! USA, Strikeforce Shamrock vs. Baroni, and Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le) with other MMA organizations. Two events were shown initially on pay-per-view, while the others aired on the Showtime cable network or on CBS.
ShoXC
On July 11, 2007, it was announced that Proelite.com and Showtime would produce a new series titled ShoXC.[4] The monthly shows featured up-and-coming MMA talent, similar to Showtime's ShoBox boxing events. The first took place on July 27, 2007. The first event was co-promoted with King of the Cage and was also known as KOTC: Undisputed.
Partnership with Cage Rage
On September 7, 2007, ProElite, Inc. announced that they had officially acquired British MMA organization Cage Rage Championships. EliteXC and Cage Rage Championships planned numerous joint ventures together, beginning with Cage Rage 23.[5]
Partnership with DREAM
On May 10, 2008 EliteXC announced a working partnership with Japanese promotion Dream. The two groups intended to share fighters (Eddie Alvarez, Jason Miller and Nick Diaz have already participated in Dream events) and eventually co-promote shows.[6]
Co-promoting with Affliction
On September 24, 2008 EliteXC announced a working partnership with rival US promotion Affliction. Affliction offered Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson for the EliteXC: Heat card on CBS.[7] In addition, Affliction heavily promoted their line through commercials on the show. It was hoped that the two companies would survive a rocky financial situation long enough to co-promote fights again in the future.
Troubles and Failure
On October 4, 2008, prominent EliteXC fighter Kimbo Slice lost via early knockout to late replacement fighter Seth Petruzelli. The unexpected outcome of this fight drew a great deal of attention, and subsequent comments by Petruzelli that he was offered a monetary bonus to employ certain techniques during the fight (comments he later recanted and obfuscated), raised the question of undue influence by EliteXC representatives in fights. Significant debt incurred by parent company Pro Elite with no investors or buyers showing interest[8] caused the subsequent cancellation of the November 8, 2008 event. Combined with the Florida State Athletic Commission launching an investigation into the Slice/Petruzelli fight, Pro Elite announced on October 20, 2008 that they would cease operations.
EliteXC Champions
Heavyweight Championship
- Weight limit: Unlimited
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  def. Justin Eilers |
EliteXC: Unfinished Business Stockton, California, US |
July 26, 2008 |
Middleweight Championship
- Weight limit: 210 lb (95.3 kg; 15.0 st)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | def. Joey Villasenor |
Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni San Jose, California, US |
June 22, 2007 | |
| 2 |  |
EliteXC: Uprising Honolulu, Hawaii, US |
September 15, 2007 |
NC vs. Scott Smith at EliteXC: Primetime on May 31, 2008 in Newark, New Jersey, US |
Welterweight Championship
- Weight limit: 185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | def. Nick Thompson |
EliteXC: Unfinished Business Stockton, California, US |
July 26, 2008 |
1. def. Paul Daley at EliteXC: Heat on Oct 4, 2008 in Sunrise, Florida, US |
Lightweight Championship
- Weight limit: 160 lb (72.6 kg; 11.4 st)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | def. Nick Diaz |
EliteXC: Renegade Corpus Christi, Texas, US |
November 10, 2007 |
1. def. Yves Edwards at EliteXC: Return of the King on Jun 14, 2008 in Honolulu, Hawaii, US |
| Noons was stripped of the title on September 19, 2008 by EliteXC | ||||
Bantamweight Championship
- Weight limit: 135 lb (61.2 kg; 9.6 st)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | def. Abel Cullum |
ShoXC 8 Santa Ynez, California, US |
September 26, 2008 |
Women's division
- Shayna Baszler
- Gina Carano
- Marloes Coenen
- Tonya Evinger
- Takayo Hashi
- Sarah Kaufman
- Debi Purcell
- Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos
- Kaitlin Young
See also
- Mixed Martial Arts
Footnotes
- Press Release, Pro Elite launches Elite Xtreme combat on showtime, EliteXC. [Last retrieved January 7, 2007]
- Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine SHOWTIME to Televise MMA, Sherdog.com. [Last retrieved January 7, 2007
- "EliteXC expected to announce deal with CBS". MMA Junkie. 2008-02-27. Archived from the original on 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- The Fight Network :: All fights all the time :: Get it on!
- "MMA Weekly – Your #1 Source for Daily MMA News, Interviews, Multimedia, and More: – Pro Elite acquires Cage Rage Championships". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
- "Pro Elite & Dram announce partnership". MMAWeekly. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- "Andrei Arlovski vs Roy Nelson at Elite XC on CBS". MMAWeekly. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
- Reports: EliteXC tells employees, fighters it's out of business
External links
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