Elite Xtreme Combat

Evening News and Notes: May 16, 2008

EliteXC heavyweight sensation Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson will serve as one of the presenters at Sunday night’s Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas according to Josh Gross of Sports Illustrated. The event will air on CBS from 8-11 PM ET. Slice’s appearance will likely have him make some kind of mention of EliteXC’s debut on the network next Saturday night.

Report: Moreno to Face Haselrig at EliteXC on CBS

New Jersey-based heavyweight Carlos Moreno will step in to face former NFL All-Pro offensive lineman and NCAA wrestling champion Carlton Haselrig at Elite Xtreme Combat’s upcoming “Primetime” event on May 31st according to Sherdog.com.

Moreno has won two out of his last three fights. He most recently fell to Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Kevin Jordan at a Battle Cage Xtreme event last October. Haselrig was originally slated to take on Fightfest veteran Joe McCall, who will be unable to compete at the event due to family obligations.

Kelly Perdew Resigns as CEO of ProElite.com

EliteXC parent company ProElite announced today that Kelly Perdew, the winner of the second season of NBC’s “The Apprentice”, has resigned as President and CEO of the organization’s official website through the company’s SEC filing.

Perdew filed his resignation on May 9th and it will go into effect next week. According to MMA Junkie, Perdew will now move on to rotohog.com to serve as the fantasy sports company’s CEO. A successor for Perdew has not yet been named.

Donruss to Create Cung Le Trading Card

Popular trading card company Donruss has announced it’s intention to create a trading card featuring the likeness of newly crowned Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le, who defeated former UFC middleweight champion Frank Shamrock in March to claim the title.

“We’re excited to be able to include Cung in our program,” said Scott Prusha, Marketing Director for Donruss, said in a press release sent out to the media today. “Cung is an extremely exciting fighter and winning the Strikeforce championship was really a big thing.”

Penn, Sherk Continue War of Words

The war of words between UFC lightweight kings B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk raged on yesterday, a little over a week until their highly anticipated showdown that will decide the organization’s true lightweight champion in Las Vegas.

Even before the bout was officially signed, Penn has been adamant about blasting Sherk with every chance he gets concerning Sherk’s failed steroids test last year under the watch of the California State Athletic Commission, a ruling that the Minnesota native still feels is wrong to this day.

“It’s hard for me, being a guy that’s never used performance enhancing drugs,” Penn said on yesterday’s pre-fight conference call for UFC 84: Ill Will. “You wake up every day after training tired and in pain and it kind of gets to you when you learn that someone is taking those kind of things. I’m a purist and I love this sport more than anythning. When someone goes ahead and perverts a sport as pure as this, I can’t take it.”

Even though the two both agreed that the conclusion of the fight would most likely result in the end of the bad blood and hard-feelings, Penn continued to push Sherk’s button as the call went on, even going as far as asking the former champion himself about his alleged use of performance enhancing drugs, prompting Sherk to strike back.

“I know what I did and I know what I didn’t do,” Sherk said. “I went above and beyond what I had to do in order to try and prove that I was innocent. Anyone that has followed the case and what I’ve had gone through will know that I didn’t do what they said I did.”

“I have fans who stand by me and who believe that I didn’t take steroids,” continued Sherk. “Then there are those who will think a certain way because of the way I look. I’ve looked the same for the past 10 years. Shit, I’ve apparently been doing steroids and I’ve been able to drop down to 155 lbs. Amazing, isn’t it?”

Moderating the banter was UFC President Dana White. While White was hesitant to give a definite opinion on the situation involving Sherk, he also stated that he can’t complain about the amount of animosity between the two.

“I’ve known Sean Sherk for a long time. I respect him as an athlete and as a man,” White said. “B.J. has his opinions of Sean and he’s going to let you know what they are. This happens sometimes. One of the cool things about this sport is the sportsmanship and everything else. But you know sometimes guys just rub each other the wrong way and it happens. Everything I just said about the two best fighters in the world facing each other in their prime, it doesn’t suck when they hate each other either.”

Additional conference call notes from yesterday are after the jump.

Continue reading "Penn, Sherk Continue War of Words"

Shaw Interested in Bringing Ortiz to EliteXC

With his days as a featured fighter with the Ultimate Fighting Championship coming to an end, Tito Ortiz, the one-time face of the organization, has mentioned that he’d like to take his services elsewhere following his upcoming fight against Lyoto Machida on May 24th.

One of the organizations in which Ortiz has expressed interest in Elite Xtreme Combat, headed by former boxing promoter Gary Shaw. Brash and out-spoken, Shaw is no stranger to giving his opinion when asked by the media and didn’t shy away earlier today when the potential of Ortiz shifting his career to EliteXC was brought up.

“In all my years in the fight game, I can see, touch, feel a superstar,” Shaw said this afternoon on a conference call promoting EliteXC’s network television debut on CBS later this month. “Everytime I see Tito Ortiz, he reeks of stardom. I think when his days in the UFC are over, that I can reincarnate him. Could you imagine Tito and Kimbo Slice in the cage together? I hope when his contract with the UFC is up that he will not be sitting across the table with me, but sitting with me at that table.”

“Please tell Tito that our door is wide open for him,” Shaw continued. “When his deal with the UFC is up, I’d love to talk with him and figure things out.”

Ortiz’s falling out with the UFC stems from his rocky relationship with the promotion’s figurehead, Dana White. The two have been at each other’s throats for years but things took a major turn for the worst after a proposed exhibition boxing match between the two fell apart and White opted to begin his verbal bashing of Ortiz in the media.

Ortiz has since stated multiple times that his fight against Machida will be his last with the UFC. (His current contract with the promotion ends this summer) Reasons for his departure circulate solely around White and his negative treatment of Ortiz as well as other contracted fighters on the organization’s roster.

Shaw mentioned that Ortiz wouldn’t have to worry about any kind of lack of respect from himself or others in the organization if he decided to sign with EliteXC.

“All of our fighters can attest to this, but we here at EliteXC put the fighters first,” Shaw said. “Our fighters are of the utmost importance to us. They come before the organization. The spotlight should be put on them. We treat everyone with respect and like they are a champion, regardless of who they are. Tito wouldn’t have to worry about that sort of thing if he decided to take his services to our camp.”

Additional conference call notes from today are after the jump.

Continue reading "Shaw Interested in Bringing Ortiz to EliteXC"

Serious Crush: E:60 Profiles Gina Carano

Above is the segment that aired on last night’s episode of ESPN’s E:60 profiling EliteXC women’s star Gina Carano. The six-minute piece features comments from Carano’s mother and father, Shayna Bazler, and Tara LaRosa among others and also chronicles her entrance into the sport after competing in Muay-Thai competitions.

After the jump is the discussion that takes place after the profile piece. It’s ten-minutes long and basically rehashes the same points over and over. Jeremy Schaap talks until the last three minutes or so. The talk starts out well. Some valid questions are brought up and some legit issues discussed but eventually it just degenerates into the lame comparison of MMA to professional wrestling. Watch if you wish.

Continue reading "Serious Crush: E:60 Profiles Gina Carano"

Haselrig-McCall Off of “Primetime” Undercard (Updated)

Update 7:18 PM: Just one day after it was first reported that a heavyweight bout between Carlton Haselrig and Joe McCall would complete the undercard for Elite Xtreme Combat’s upcoming “Primetime” event on May 31st, Five Ounces of Pain has learned that McCall will be unable to compete at the event due to family obligations.

The undercard for Elite Xtreme Combat’s upcoming “Primetime” event on May 31st seems to be complete courtesy of a recently signed bout between former NFL All-Pro offensive lineman Carlton Haselrig and Fightfest veteran Joe McCall.

The news comes from our friends at Five Ounces of Pain, who have been fortunate enough to have the first word on just about all of the scheduled preliminary bouts slated to take place at the event.

Haselrig was originally rumored to be taking on IFL veteran Bryan Vetell at the event but Vetell reportedly backed out of the fight due to financial concerns. Haselrig was victorious in his MMA debut last month, stopping former IFL heavyweight title contender Shane Ott with strikes in the first round.

McCall remains undefeated thus far in his professional mixed martial arts career. He most recently scored a TKO win over Dominic Quarzzo at a North American Amateur Fight Series event last November.

Heavyweight sensation Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson is slated to headline the main card against PRIDE veteran James Thompson. EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler will also put his belt on the line against Scott Smith in a bout that will likely be a sure-fire war on the feet.

The current card for the event is as follows:

Main Card:

Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith - EliteXC Middleweight Title
Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young
Phil Baroni vs. Joe Villasenor
Jon Murphy vs. Brett Rogers

Preliminary Bouts:

Nick Serra vs. Matt Makowski
Chris Liguori vs. Jim Bova
Wilson Reis vs. Justin Robbins
James Jones vs. Calvin Kattar
Carlton Haselrig vs. Joe McCall
Zach Makovsky vs. Andre Soares
Mike Groves vs. Joe Sampieri

EliteXC Planning to Expand Women’s Division

EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw announced his organization’s plans to expand their promotion of women’s mixed martial arts with the potential of the addition of a women’s championship and a strictly female fight card at some point next year.

“We’re talking about doing two things,” Shaw stated earlier today during a conference call with the media. “We’re talking about doing a women’s title and we’re also talking about an all-women’s show where we feature one night of all women’s fights. “That’s something that I’d like to present to the public, a night of women’s fights. I think that would be a major milestone.”

Shaw stated that the first women’s title, at 140 lbs, could possibly be decided as early as this fall, with the winner of the scheduled bout between Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young on May 31st possibly being able to be part of the historic bout. Additional titles could be added in the future depending on the amount of divisions the organization decides to incorporate.

The all-female show, which are rare these days save the events put on by California-based Fatal Femmes Fighting, would be the first to be televised on national television. (Showtime) Shaw also stated that while many of the other major organizations have refused to put on female fights, his promotion will continue to do so without hesitation.

“We’ll continue putting women on Showtime and on CBS and we’ll continue putting them on the ShoXC cards as well,” Shaw said. “If no one else wants to do it, it’s all the better for us.”

HT: MMA Junkie

Report: Hose-Bumstead to Top EliteXC Hawaii Undercard

Newly-crowned ICON Sport middleweight champion Kala Kolohe Hose will reportedly return to action against Geoff Bumstead on the undercard of Elite Xtreme Combat’s upcoming return to Hawaii on June 14th.

The news comes from Sherdog.com, which reports that the bout will headline a number of preliminary matches at the event, which will take place at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.

Hose, who is currently riding a six-fight winning streak, picked up the biggest win of his young career in March with a fifth-round stoppage of veteran Phil Baroni to claim the vacant ICON Sport middleweight belt. Hose remains undefeated inside the confines of EliteXC.

Bumstead, a former hockey enforcer turned mixed martial artist, made his EliteXC debut last November, submitting Robert Ruiz with a rear naked choke in the first round. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native split his previous two professional bouts last year.

The event is slated to be headlined by an EliteXC lightweight title bout between champion K.J. Noons and top contender Yves Edwards. An additional lightweight fight between Nick Diaz and Muhsin Corbbrey has also been signed to take place.

ProElite, DREAM Agree to Partnership

Elite Xtreme Combat parent company ProElite and Fight Entertainment Group’s DREAM yesterday announced a working partnership between the two promotions that will help bridge the once-distant gap between Japanese and American mixed martial arts.

The two sides made the official announcement yesterday at a pre-fight press conference for DREAM.3, which took place late last night in Japan. DREAM officials Keiichi Sasahara and Sadaharu Tanikawa were on hand to discuss details about the agreement along with ProElite’s William Kelly and ICON Sport promoter T. Jay Thompson.

“Last year’s Dynamite USA at the Los Angeles Coliseum was the largest attended mixed martial arts event ever in the USA,” Kelly said at the conference. “ProElite is delighted that we will be building on that by sharing fighters and referees and doing co-promotions in Japan and the US, and potentially the UK and Korea also. Japan is important to ProElite, and we have great US television partners, so we can bring DREAM to the American public.”

It’s expected that ProElite will also attempt to put at least one of the co-promoted shows on network television in the form of CBS.

According to MMA Weekly, ProElite contracted fighters that were mentioned as potential DREAM participants in the future at the press conference included Kimbo Slice, Jake Shields, and Robbie Lawler.

EliteXC fighters Nick Diaz, Jason Miller, and Eddie Alvarez all competed at DREAM’s third show yesterday in Japan, unofficially beginning the sharing of assets between the two organizations.

EliteXC on CBS Undercard Coming Together

The undercard for Elite Xtreme Combat’s upcoming “Primetime” event on May 31st seems to be nearly complete courtesy of a recently signed lightweight clash between BodogFight veteran James “Binky” Jones and Calvin Kattar, who will be making his EliteXC debut at the show.

The news comes from our friends at Five Ounces of Pain, who have been fortunate enough to have the first word on just about all of the scheduled preliminary bouts slated to take place at the event.

Along with the Jones-Kattar fight, a total of six other dark matches are expected to take place. Heavyweight sensation Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson is slated to headline the main card against PRIDE veteran James Thompson. EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler will also put his belt on the line against Scott Smith in a bout that will likely be a sure-fire war on the feet.

The current card for the event is as follows:

Main Card:

Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith - EliteXC Middleweight Title
Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young
Phil Baroni vs. Joe Villasenor
Jon Murphy vs. Brett Rogers

Preliminary Bouts:

Nick Serra vs. Matt Makowski
Chris Liguori vs. Jim Bova
Wilson Reis vs. Justin Robbins
James Jones vs. Calvin Kattar
Carlton Haselrig vs. Bryan Vetell
Zach Makovsky vs. Andre Soares
Mike Groves vs. Joe Sampieri

Nick Diaz Back on the DREAM 3 Card (UPDATED)

UPDATED:  Nick Diaz’s trainer, Cesar Gracie, is now reporting that Diaz was given the go ahead to fight this weekend. While the weight cut was going to be an issue, he’s scheduled to board a plane Thursday morning bound for Tokyo.

In the ever changing fight career of Nick Diaz, the fight against Katsuya Inoue that we reported last week, has now been called off at the request of EliteXC.  Apparently, there was once again a miscommunication within EliteXC’s management and president Gary Shaw was never informed of Nick’s participation in the Dream event this coming weekend.  Josh Gross, formerly of Sherdog and now with Sports Illustrated, reports that Shaw just found out about the fight this past weekend and called Diaz’s management Tuesday morning to call off the fight.  Shaw was concerned that the fight within the confines of Dream would jeopardize Diaz’s participation in the EliteXC event scheduled for June 14th.

Gary Shaw phoned Diaz’s manager Cesar Gracie early Tuesday with the news that the league was killing the fighter’s appearance on the May 11 Dream card.  Diaz will make his next scheduled contest versus Muhsin Corbbrey at 160 pounds June 14 on the Showtime-televised EliteXC card from Honolulu, Hawaii.

GracieFighter, the website of Diaz’s fight team, confirmed the news.  There’s no telling whether this could hurt relationships between EliteXC and the Dream promotion.  They already are sharing the services of Eddie Alvarez and EliteXC could certainly have used some of the talent in the Dream promotion to sure up its thin roster.

Will the Nick Diaz saga ever end?  Stay tuned…