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Not the Best of Days for EliteXC

Jul 29, 2008 7:44 PM John Chandler


Gary Shaw. Photo by Esther Lin/ProElite.

Things haven’t been going that well lately for EliteXC. After a predicted ratings bomb for their latest show on CBS this past weekend became a reality, the UFC and Spike TV, which ran a replay of UFC 84: Ill Will on Saturday night to counter-program the event, have decided to rub their success in a key demographic in EliteXC’s face through a press release sent out to the media earlier today.

As you can see, they didn’t hesitate to essentially pants EliteXC in front of everyone at the mall: (Yeah, that happened to me before, so what?)

Need proof the UFC is the preeminent mixed martial arts brand in the world? On Saturday, July 26, more men 18-34 watched a repeat…a repeat…of a UFC event on Spike TV than a LIVE telecast of a Pro EliteXC championship card on CBS. Despite being available in over 17 million more less (you can pay me for my editing skills later Dana) homes, Spike TV drew 27% more Men 18-34 for a re-broadcast of “UFC 84: Penn vs. Sherk” from (9:00-12:00am ET/PT) than CBS’s live show (9:00-11:00pm). Spike TV’s telecast tallied 433,000 Men 18-34 to CBS’s 341,000.

Oh snap! Talk about a press release with an attitude. Guess what? It gets even better:

Reminiscent of the XFL’s rating collapse years ago, the CBS telecast was 69% lower in Men 18-34 and 57% lower with Men 18-49 than its initial broadcast on CBS in May featuring the “He Hate Me” of MMA, Kimbo Slice.

Uh oh! Comparing EliteXC to the XFL? That’s harsh man. Even worse was the dig at Slice though. You could score one for the cable guys or you could just do the math and make fun of the UFC and Spike, realizing that sending out this release doesn’t make much sense, considering they really didn’t beat EliteXC in terms of ratings, kinda. That and Spike and CBS are both owned by Viacom.

While EliteXC has yet to respond to the release, they did announce something else today in the form of the respective resignations of Gary Shaw and Doug DeLuca via a filing with the SEC that our friend Sam found.

While they did indeed step down from their positions, they will still be involved with the company as consultants. Shaw’s demise with ProElite was rumored for a while now. DeLuca temporarily became the public face of the promotion while Shaw went back to concentrating on boxing but it seemed that Jeremy Lappen at taken over for DeLuca in recent weeks. In any event, DeLuca will be replaced as Chairman and CEO by Charles Champion, a former online betting website creator.

General • Media • Pro Elite • Spike TV • Personalities • Douglas Deluca • Gary Shaw • Kimbo Slice • Elite Xtreme Combat • UFC

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1. craig o
Jul 30, 2008 1:20 AM

damn dana how are u gonna insult the XFL like that!!!??!! how.. and he hate me, he actually made it to the pro’s… so he just insulted “he hate me” Rod Smart… who played in a superbowl and stepped it up to play vs the best players.. unlike kimbo “the ducker n dodger” .. and that’s opponets not punches.

2. Anon
from USA
Jul 30, 2008 3:19 AM

As much as it might be easy to laugh at EliteXC, I actually think it kinda sucks. I was hoping they’d get their shit straightened out and do fairly successful. I wasn’t hoping for an overtaking of the UFC, but the fighters need these other organizations so they have somewhere to fight. Not everybody is elite. Here’s to hoping EliteXC survives.

3. John Chandler
from Philadelphia, PA
Jul 30, 2008 4:04 AM

When I was writing the piece, I completely forgot that “He Hate Me” was Rod Smart, who played in the NFL for almost five years and was a damn good special teams player at that. So if Smart succeeded in the NFL, doesn’t that mean that Kimbo will eventually find his way to the highest level of MMA in the UFC?

4. AdaMBomB
Jul 30, 2008 9:06 AM

In a few yrs maybe.. But not now. He def. needs a better ground game. Kimbo is a KO artist, thats about it for now. if he Gets him some take down defense, he’ll be on a roll for sure. But that stuff isnt an over night task.

5. David M Singer
from NY
Jul 30, 2008 9:20 AM

@Anon I think we’re all with you.  It’d be nice to see another legit organization.  EliteXC could very well become respectable, but there’s just been bump after bump in the road.  I hope they don’t give up, get more and more serious about it, and start putting on shows that get positive reactions.  Another respected organization is only good for fans.

6. John Chandler
from Philadelphia, PA
Jul 30, 2008 11:45 AM

Adam - I actually meant for that question to be in a joking fashion. I don’t think we’ll see Kimbo in the UFC for years if does indeed end of happening. Unless he goes on a serious run, becomes a legit heavyweight, and finds his way out of EliteXC all while giving Dana White the perception that he’s finally a “true” mixed martial artist, I don’t see it.

7. craig o
Jul 30, 2008 4:15 PM

not sure if more org’s are good or bad, i just looking at what happend to boxing and can only think more is bad….

8. craig o
Jul 30, 2008 4:32 PM

wow was reading the live gate number for elite, wow… sooo bad. yikes.

9. MMA Guy
from Pennsylvania
Aug 10, 2008 8:03 PM

Dana rules the mma world.  I would like to see a few more orgs in the picture but it seems like they all die out after a year or two. 
http://www.blogocrat.com

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