Elite Xtreme Combat

Elite Xtreme Combat
Type Public (Pink Sheets: PELE.PK)
Founded 2006
Founder(s) Showtime Networks, ProElite
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, United States
Key people William Kelly President & Chief Operating Officer, Chairman, Paul Feller, Glenn Golenberg, Douglas De Luca
Parent ProElite

Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a U.S.-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, California.

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 rising star Charles Bennett.

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.

Contents

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 have debuted on the Showtime cable network or CBS.

No. Event Date Venue Location
22 EliteXC: A Night of Champions November 8, 2008 Reno Events Center Reno, Nevada
21 ShoXC 9 October 10, 2008 Horseshoe Casino Hammond, Indiana
20 EliteXC: Heat October 4, 2008 BankAtlantic Center Sunrise, Florida
19 ShoXC 8 September 26, 2008 Chumash Casino Santa Ynez, California
18 ShoXC 7 August 15, 2008 Table Mountain Casino Friant, California
17 EliteXC: Unfinished Business July 26, 2008 Stockton Arena Stockton, California
16 EliteXC: Return of the King June 14, 2008 Neal S. Blaisdell Arena Oahu, Hawaii
15 EliteXC: Primetime May 31, 2008 Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey
14 ShoXC 6 April 5, 2008 Table Mountain Casino Friant, California
13 Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le March 29, 2008 HP Pavilion San Jose, California
12 ShoXC 5 March 21, 2008 Chumash Casino Santa Ynez, California
11 EliteXC presents Cage Rage 25 March 8, 2008 Wembley Arena London, England, United Kingdom
10 EliteXC: Street Certified February 16, 2008 BankUnited Center Miami, Florida
9 ShoXC 4 January 25, 2008 Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City, New Jersey
8 EliteXC: Renegade November 10, 2007 American Bank Center Corpus Christi, Texas
7 ShoXC 3 October 26, 2007 Chumash Casino Santa Ynez, California
6 EliteXC: Uprising September 15, 2007 Neal S. Blaisdell Arena Oahu, Hawaii
5 ShoXC 2 August 25, 2007 Vicksburg Convention Center Vicksburg, Mississippi
4 ShoXC 1 July 27, 2007 Chumash Casino Santa Ynez, California
3 Strikeforce Shamrock vs. Baroni June 22, 2007 HP Pavilion San Jose, California
2 Dynamite!! USA June 2, 2007 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, California
1 EliteXC Destiny February 10, 2007 DeSoto Civic Center Southaven, Mississippi

ShoXC

On July 11, 2007, it was announced that Proelite.com and Showtime would produce a new series titled ShoXC.[4] The monthly shows will highlight 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. Gary Shaw stated that there will be 4 ShoXC events in 2007 and 8 in 2008.

For more information on these events, see the article ShoXC.

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

Bantamweight Championship

Up to 140lb (64 kg)
Name: Date: Location: Defenses:
Wilson Reis
(def. Abel Cullum)
September 26, 2008
(ShoXC 8)
Santa Ynez, California

Lightweight Championship

160 lb (73 kg)
Name: Date: Location: Defenses:
KJ Noons
(def. Nick Diaz)
November 10, 2007
(EliteXC: Renegade)
Corpus Christi, Texas
Noons was stripped of the title on September 19, 2008 by EliteXC

Welterweight Championship

170 lb (77 kg)
Name: Date: Location: Defenses:
Jake Shields
(def. Nick Thompson)
July 26, 2008
(EliteXC: Unfinished Business)
Stockton, California

Middleweight Championship

171 to 185 lb (77 to 84 kg)
Name: Date: Location: Defenses:
Murilo Rua
(def. Joey Villasenor)
June 22, 2007
(Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni)
San Jose, California
Robbie Lawler
September 15, 2007
(EliteXC: Uprising)
Honolulu, Hawaii

Heavyweight Championship

Up to 265 lb (120 kg)
Name: Date: Location: Defenses:
Antonio Silva
(def. Justin Eilers)
July 26, 2008
(EliteXC: Unfinished Business)
Stockton, California

Women's division

See also

Footnotes

External links