Losers at EliteXC: Kimbo vs. Some Guy

While every card in every organization has its share of winners and losers, the bizarre circumstances and shocking conclusion to the EliteXC event last night has resulted in far more losers than usual.  Lets take a look at the big losers from last night, and where they go from here:

Kimbo:  Last night's loss badly damaged his image, and his hopes of a huge payday after EliteXC are basically gone.  While he may continue his MMA career, especially if EliteXC actively attempts to rebuild him on the backs of cans, he might be better served to move into movies and other entertainment forms.  Pro Wrestling would play into his vicious appearance while covering up his lack of skill.

EliteXC: The promotion will have all sorts of hell coming back from this.  They were basically walking a tightrope anyway, and Kimbo's loss sounds suspiciously like fraying and snapping.  They may not be able to put together the funding to make it beyond November.  If they do, some kind of boxing/MMA crosspromotion with Affliction on CBS could be their last gasp to stave off doom.

MMA's media presence:  Remember how ESPN pulled back with singed fingers after Rampage knocked out Liddell?  There may be a similar pullback after this, as disgusted potential fans write off MMA as a joke sport, and news outlets return to ignoring the sport completely.  The UFC will continue to slowly develop its presence on the news, but for MMA as a whole the result is not good.

Aaron Rosa:  Your opponent lucks into a pot of gold and you're out of a fight?  Talk about a bum deal.

Women's MMA:  For better or worse, EliteXC is the best shot for women's MMA to develop a consistent national presence in the US.  If EliteXC goes down, women's MMA will be put back to the drawing board until Zuffa finally decides to start its own divisions.  Carano would probably move on from EliteXC to more lucrative entertainment paydays, which would push back Zuffa's move into women's MMA.

Tito Ortiz:  Tito craves a big payday, and his best shot at it is if EliteXC can survive well enough to have a realistic shot at profitability, while needing a huge PPV star to get there.  With EliteXC running on fumes, they may never get to the point where Tito is a viable option.  Tito may be best served by taking the best deal the UFC will offer, as at this point they may still be willing to overpay, just to get him off the market and send a message to their competitors.  If EliteXC folds he'll probably be forced to ask for whatever the UFC will offer.

Affliction: EliteXC's long term survival is a good thing for Affliction, because using EliteXC's network presence is Affliction's best shot at developing their own PPV buys.  If EliteXC fails, Affliction will be forced to return to the sticks and leaves method of marketing that resulted in a huge money loser for their first show and a cancelled second show.