Strong Rumor:

There are rumors circulating that KOTC owner Terry Trebilcock and a yet-to-be-named partner are no more than a week away from completing a deal to purchase EliteXC and it’s remaining assets. Some experienced names in MMA are said to be involved (thankfully, not the Shaws), and the word is that there will be a special press conference held after the sale is complete.

The big get here would be the TV contracts with CBS and Showtime as well the fighter’s contracts, which the legal team are working on transferring right now.

This news comes after it was reported that 3 groups were trying to bid for ProElite, with KOTC owner, Terry Trebilcock being the most outspoken.

FiveOuncesOfPain Reported:

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned through multiple sources - all speaking on the condition of anonymity - that ProElite’s current management team is hard at work towards completing the sale of the company. Indications are that ProElite believes it could have an agreement in place prior to the Christmas holiday.

According to sources, as many as three groups are believed to be vying for ProElite. Only the identity of one of the groups is certain, with multiple sources stating that a group led by King of the Cage promoter Terry Trebilcock has made a bid.

However, Trebilcock’s group is not considered the leading contender at this date. Sources will only go so far as to describe the top contender as a company with over a billion dollars in annual gross revenue that also is a recognizable name.

One group that is not considered to be a leading contender is the publicly traded Art of War promotional fight company. In response to a Nov. 26 report by this website, a source said that while the company was interested in submitting a bid on ProElite early in the sale process, that Art of War is no longer considered to a legitimate suitor at this time.

Whether there is a legitimate third contender for ProElite is not entirely certain, as only one source indicated the involvement of a third unnamed group in the bidding process.

It is believed that upon the completion of the sale, the leading contender hopes to inherit ProElite’s television contracts with both CBS and SHOWTIME. While it is believed that the two television partners have no desire to work with ProElite’s current ownership, Five Ounces of Pain has learned that they would be open to working with a new ProElite management team. Sources have indicated that both CBS and SHOWTIME have every intention of televising MMA events in 2009 and that they are looking for a group that can promote a large number of events.

The likelihood of a ProElite sale to a new owner raises the possibility that fighters under contract to EliteXC will not be granted free agency. While select fighters are being allowed to fight outside of their current deals on a one-off basis, the bulk of their fights could potentially come with a new version of EliteXC in 2009.

Also, MMAJunkie.com reports:

The future of ProElite should be decided by the end of December.

While the struggling promotion has not commented publicly beyond its government filings since shuttering fight operations at the end of October, recent industry speculation suggests that ProElite’s assets could be purchased within the next few weeks.

During a recent appearance on TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), agent Ken Pavia said he’s learned that there are “three legitimate bids for ProElite,” and that the next iteration of the promotion would begin staging fights in the first quarter of 2009. Those bouts would be made with many of the 80 fighters still under ProElite contracts.

King of the Cage founder Terry Trebilcock is one of the names that has surfaced as a potential buyer, with backing from venture capitalists. Trebilcock has the business pedigree from his success with KOTC to convince VCs with deep pockets that a repackaged ProElite would work.

Regardless of what transpires with ProElite, MMA is still very much in the programming plans of both ProElite television partners, CBS and Showtime.

“Showtime and CBS have grandiose visions of what’s going to happen in ‘09 in terms of the number of fights, number of events, and they’ve been looking for an established organization,” said Pavia.

That organization could be the second edition of ProElite or, perhaps, Strikeforce, if the San Jose, Calif.-based promotion is unable to consummate a deal with NBC for live fights.

Meanwhile, fighters under contract to ProElite remain, for the most part, on the sidelines. While the agreements fighters have with ProElite are largely nonexclusive, the athletes must seek permission from ProElite to fight elsewhere. The company has granted exceptions – Scott Smith recently fought for Strikeforce, for example – but it’s in ProElite’s best interest to keep its top talent under wraps until the future of the company is decided.