New Kids on the Block: Can Anyone Challenge the UFC?

As any hardcore MMA fan remembers, one of the most popular topics of debate in Internet forums was the UFC vs. Pride debate.

Who had better rules? Who had the best fighters? Who put on the best events?

As Pride Fighting Championships approached the date of its American debut, Pride 32 – The Real Deal, on Oct. 21, 2006, questions were raised as to whether Pride could contest the Ultimate Fighting Championships in North America.

The event was a moderate success with an attendance of over 11,000 and 8,000 paid tickets.

Pride then followed up with Pride 33 – The second coming on Feb. 24, 2007, which was, again, only a moderate success with similar ticket sale numbers (although, in my opinion Pride 33 was the most exciting event in the history of MMA).

Shortly after the Second Coming, Pride was purchased by the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, for a paltry (rumored) $70 million.

Pride FC was stripped of its fighters and summarily disbanded, leaving the world with only one major MMA power, the UFC.

The UFC retained its stranglehold on the MMA industry for the better part of 2007, but in recent months new competitors have risen and some are showing promise while others are not.

This series of articles will examine the other big players in the MMA industry, discerning who are the contenders, the pretenders, and even the dark horses.

Elite Xtreme Combat

Elite XC and its parent company, ProElite, recently made a huge splash by signing the first ever network TV, broadcast agreement (http://theondeckcircle.net/2008/02/28/mma-coming-to-network-tv/).

The three-year deal will bring professional MMA to prime-time network TV and give Elite XC huge amounts of exposure to the North American TV audience.

The big question is whether it can turn this extra exposure into sponsorship deals, fans, and dollars.

Elite was established in December 2006 in conjunction with Showtime Network Inc. (a subsidiary of CBS), 13 years after the Ultimate Fighting Championships’ inaugural event.

Despite its youth, Elite XC quickly made a name for itself in the mixed martial arts industry by not only acquiring strong fighters, but also by acquiring entire promotions such at King of the Cage, Icon Sports, and Cage Rage.

Elite has also established working relationships to co-promote events with K-1, Strikeforce, and Rumble on the Rock. One of Elite’s strongest partners is the California-based Strikeforce promotion.

Strikeforce set a North American attendance record for mixed martial arts with its first show at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, Calif. (A record which was broken by UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio and will be again pushed by UFC 83 in Montreal, Quebec).

Strikeforce has a huge amount of support in the California MMA community and it uses a great deal of local fighters like Frank Shamrock, Cung Le, Gilbert Melendez, Paul Buentello, and Josh Thomson.

One of the strengths of Elite XC is its strong management team consisting of ex-TV and live events producer, Doug DeLuca who acts as ProElite’s CEO and boxing promoter/tycoon, Elite XC’s Director and President of Live Events Eric Shaw.

Elite may not have the talent-level of the UFC, but its management team knows how to promote an event and sell tickets as evidenced by their recent event “Street Certified,” which was very appropriately headlined by a showdown between David “Tank” Abbott and Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson.

(http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/kimbo%2Btank/video/x4j8xu_kimbo-slice-vs-tank-abbott_sport)

Kimbo Slice will now headline their primetime CBS premier against an unnamed opponent.

If Elite can continue to sign quality fighters and put together compelling events, they could soon garner a great deal of attention and visibility with its CBS TV deal, making the promotion a contender to battle with the UFC.

Status: Contender