EliteXC Limbo: 77 Days and Counting
by Michael Rome on Jan 5, 2009 7:42 PM EST
in News
58 comments
77 days ago, EliteXC closed shop after CBS pulled out of a deal to buy the company. Within a week numerous fighters were talking about where they'd fight in the future, but over two months later they are still in limbo with no end in sight.
There have been numerous reports of a sale of Pro Elite, but it's been a while since we heard anything about the deal. Pro Elite is a public company, it would be nearly impossible to keep the closing of a deal a secret. Of course, when troubled companies try to sell, the deals often fall apart at the last minute as a result of due diligence and company representations. It would not surprise me if that happened here. Pro Elite is saddled with numerous public debts that nobody wants to take on, which is undoubtedly the biggest obstacle to a sale.
The real victims here, as usual, are the fighters. They have now gone almost 3 months without the promise of any income, and the UFC won't touch them because of their uncertain contractual status. There are a lot of villains in this situation, but fighter management has been shown yet again to be almost completely useless. It's hard to imagine agents in any other field letting this happen to their clients. Monte Cox, Ken Pavia, and whoever else manages these fighters need to come together and file a joint action for declaratory relief in California. It will force Pro Elite to either put up or shut up about their future as a company instead of stringing these fighters along with false promises in order to maintain their only valuable asset for a potential sale.
In the best case scenario, Pro Elite's management is striving to complete deals and the fighters just need to wait a little bit to be rewarded with more CBS exposure. In the worst case scenario, Pro Elite is stringing along fighters with false promises of sales while it attempts to find ways to drop debt and restructure to free itself of any long term obligations. Given this company's short history, I find the latter more plausible, but hope the former is the case.
0 recs |
58 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
Im frustrated with this stupid situation, I cant imagine how the fighters feel. Let them fight on one fight contracts elsewhere until Pro Elite can figure how to pull their heads out of their behinds.
by ANance on Jan 5, 2009 7:55 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
one fight contracts pay nothing and there a huge risk… as if the fighter loses then back to the drawing board.
by mmalogic on Jan 5, 2009 7:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
True that.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
by misterjonez on Jan 6, 2009 1:43 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Did Sylvia really sign a 1 fight contract? i thought it was 3 for some reason.
by Phildo on Jan 5, 2009 9:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah it was, Affliction I assume just doesnt need to use him again coz he costs too freakin much and no one really wants to see him.
by SamCupitt on Jan 5, 2009 9:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It was a sort of round robin contract… Monty thought he learned a thing or 2 from Finky and guessed he could pull the same shit that finky pulls with Fedor.
by mmalogic on Jan 6, 2009 8:02 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It was a round robin deal… Monty was hanging around Finky too much and thought he could pull the same shit with his own fighters as finky does with fedor.
by mmalogic on Jan 6, 2009 9:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The deals fail mostly in the last minute because not everything is known until the last minute.
Initially I said there was no value to this deal… if there was even a shred Zuffa would have continued some more due diligence and possibly made an offer.
The fighter contracts cant be transferred so basically you have to re-sign everybody.
Even the TV deal is useless as it expires and pro-elite has already defaulted so showtime can cancel at any time (there’s a feeling that showtime just wants to get there money back and there trying to get some sucker to bite) .
I have said the only thing they have is the video library and even that they dont have!
All these shows like cage rage, king of the cage, etc… were never fully paid so proelite doesnt have clear ownership of these assets.
So now all you have left is the elitexc library. practically worthless.
So basically all proelite has to sell is elitexc’s video library and a meeting with CBS and showtime execs.
by mmalogic on Jan 5, 2009 8:08 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
I'm confused...
I thought Pro-Elite also owned King of The Cage, but they have a PPV coming up Friday; were is the money coming from?
by EnsignFrog on Jan 5, 2009 8:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Apparently Pro Elite never finished paying for King of the Cage and it transfered back to the original owners.
by who me on Jan 5, 2009 8:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Correct and King of the Cage’s Terry Trebilcock was rumored to be one of the front runners to buy Pro Elite’s assets. This “Sale” was a hot story for a short period of time then all of a sudden I have heard or seen nothing else about it for weeks. I would hope this situation is resolved before some of these fighters are out of action for six,or seven months, even a year who knows.
by tylerdurden1 on Jan 5, 2009 10:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Agreed...
regardless of if that means EXC is resurrected or they are just allowed to fight elsewhere I don’t care. It’s just a horrible situation for the fighters.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 5, 2009 10:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It’s getting there for some people.
When was Robbie Lawler originally scheduled to have his last fight? People forget that the “november” card that was canceled after all the bankruptcy talk started had already been postponed once.
I also wonder what happened to all that “pending sale” talk. I had a feeling it was just going to lead to this thing dragging out even further.
It really would have been better for the fighters if they just waved the white flag and let everyone go, this sucks for everyone.
by Phildo on Jan 5, 2009 11:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Odds of Resurection are slim
Any buyer is going to need credit to purchase and rebuild the organization. No one is lending money and why would anyone lend money to an already once defunct MMA promotion in an industry without much success outside one promotion?
At least they could have allowed their fighters to sign one fight deal contracts with other promotions to keep them employed. Instead they are taking the fighters down with them.
by bignerd on Jan 5, 2009 8:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
After all the reports of EliteXC being sold last month it’s hard to understand why nothing at all has been said on that front in weeks. All these sources have mysteriously dried up and the story has gone from big news any day now to stone cold and forgotten about.
by who me on Jan 5, 2009 9:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I believe these stories or “leaks” were nothing more than trying to get parties to up their bids and other parties who pulled out to come back to the table.
by mmalogic on Jan 6, 2009 8:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I doubt that anybody in the management of EliteXC can ever work in MMA again (outside Trebilcock). They’ve done everything they can to do away with any and all goodwill. No element of this story has even suggested that they are remotely concerned with the fighters that they promoted.
by Rundownloser on Jan 5, 2009 9:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
It’s hard for me to see ProElite executives successfully reorganizing anything. However, it snowed like twice in Las Vegas over the span of one week. Maybe, that’s is a signal that the seemingly impossible could be possible, but I doubt it in this case.
by Cannon Jacques on Jan 5, 2009 10:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
i just hate how they keep on hanging on to the fighters as their bargaining chips.. i could care less if they return or not. Just let the fighters fight already. Imagine robbie lawler vs wand at 185. fitch/kos vs shields.. Kimbo vs an anime character in japan.. Gina vs cyborg anywhere.. Or better yet, Kimbo vs Bob Sapp
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Jan 5, 2009 10:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I believe Cyborg is fighting with another promotion in Feb. It’s just not against Gina. No doubt it’s a bad situation. I’d rather the fighters be set free than have ProElite reemerge in some form.
by Cannon Jacques on Jan 6, 2009 12:02 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
i guess cyborg need to pay the bills.. she could be risking a big money fight with gina down the road..
And, are the fighters allowed to get 1 fight contracts only? Cant they sign for several fights with a company like strikeforce or something? They’d still be nonexclusive and they could still fight for which ever company proelite could resurrect up to..
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Jan 6, 2009 4:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
From what I understand fighters with ProElite are allowed to fight for other promotions if the fight doesn’t interfere with upcoming ProElite bouts. Now, I don’t know if all the contracts are the same or what the specific restrictions might be. This is just my understanding of the basic mechanics.
by Cannon Jacques on Jan 6, 2009 11:23 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
She’s fighting for XMMA in Montreal. I don’t know how she could not take the “risk” at this point, though. There is NO major organization in the Americas promoting women’s MMA, and the Japanese women’s scene is at least 50% in the “pretty girls who throw their fists around” camp (Jewels). At this point, I would expect any female fighter without a consistent outside revenue stream to sign with whoever puts up an offer. A person could easily starve to death by refusing to eat the goose until it lays a golden egg (especially when it’s never lain one before).
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
by AJB on Jan 6, 2009 4:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
These fighters are getting screwed. They aren’t part of the big 3 sports with big money contracts that can afford time off… Such a shame that they r being used as leverage and/or as property assets.
"You can teach em' to type, but you can't teach em' to grow tits" - Charlie Wilson
by Legless on Jan 6, 2009 12:03 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
In a way this works for the UFC as well, these fighters are locked up under contract, but the UFC has probably had negotiations with some of the fighters about their interest for the UFC.
Since they probably can not discuss contract numbers, by the time this entire mess is over with a lot of the fighters will probably be pretty desperate/eager to get into the fight game and will accept a lower paying contract.
On the other side, it gives them time to scout out other organizations as well.
A lot of the fighters will have no trouble rebounding into better/equal organizations, but there is an equal amount that will likely be set back or have to give up some training etc.
by DirtyML on Jan 6, 2009 12:40 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yeah why haven’t we heard from Pav lately? The guy that just compared himself to Darth Vader in surpassing Monte’s agent abilities. I’m pretty curious as to why there hasn’t been a lawsuit filed. The further away the Shaws are from MMA the better.
Good article Michael.
by ChillMike on Jan 6, 2009 1:12 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I hope you guys realize that probably nothing has been said for the past few weeks because people are on holiday vacation. They are just now getting back to their work.
The Strikeforce owner took a vacation for the holidays, so it was obvious the deal was not going to be done until afterwords.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Jan 6, 2009 4:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
This is, of course, outrageous.
In the law firm and transaction world, big deals do not go on holiday breaks. You pound them out and get them done. Hopefully the Elite executives enjoyed their holidays while fighters that can’t make any money tried to figure out how to pay their next bills.
by Michael Rome on Jan 6, 2009 4:39 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
LOL if terry or coker was even close to buying this they would be in the boardroom 24hrs per day getting this done…
You think these guys are buying lollipops here?
by mmalogic on Jan 6, 2009 8:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Yup, I’m sure whoever is involved in this wanted to make sure they had a great christmas and got really
drunk on new year’s instead of finishing this deal and whatever the tax implications are gong to be.
Excuse the pun, but taxes for people that have them money to be involved in this, are in line for some “change,” if this was as close to being done as people were saying, it probably would have been done before the end of the year.
by Phildo on Jan 6, 2009 8:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Right, because I am making it up and not taking it from a report done on Dec. 20th from FiveOuncesOfPain…LOL.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Jan 6, 2009 3:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Read the article you are referring to. The idea that people involved in a major acquisition would all go on a extended Christmas vacation right in the middle of the deal is what people are rolling their eyes at and you refereed to an article that basically says the same thing.
Coker has told friends that he is on vacation, making it unlikely that he is in the midst of closing a major acquisition
by who me on Jan 6, 2009 3:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
silly spellchecker changed referred to refereed for some reason.
by who me on Jan 6, 2009 3:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Not okay.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Jan 6, 2009 4:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I didn’t realize that the business world worked on the same schedule as public schools. I guess they figured, what the hell lets just take the whole month of December off, and while we are at it we won’t bother with this for the first week of January either.
by who me on Jan 6, 2009 1:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Additional sources now claim that Strikeforce officials had resumed communications with ProElite earlier this week but that they were informed they were $1 million short of the highest bid received. The identity of the high bidder was not revealed and it’s uncertain whether it was a ploy to get Strikeforce to increase its bid.
However, a source informed Five Ounces of Pain on Friday night that Coker has told friends that he is on vacation, making it unlikely that he is in the midst of closing a major acquisition unless he is not being forthright.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Jan 6, 2009 3:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
That was two and a half weeks ago, and no one has stood up and said they had bought the company, more importantly no information at all has leaked out and no SEC paperwork has been filed for a sale. If it the bid was successful on the 20th(which is what that acticle says) then something should of leaked out by now.
If Coker went on vacation then that was a pretty sure sign that he wasn’t trying to buy the company not that everyone involved went on a two week vacation. Heck read the article you quoted, even they say that going on a vacation isn’t what happens right before closing a major acquisition. The idea that nothing went on because everyone involved went on vacation is just silly.
by who me on Jan 6, 2009 3:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Exactly my point. Nothing went on because everyone is playing chicken.
My point wasn’t that NOTHING went on because they all went on vacation. My point was that because they went on vacation, it was a for sure sign that nothing was going to happen until after the holidays. I believe that CBS likes Coker as a buyer, so I would think it would be HIGHLY unlikely that a deal would be made without trying to get Coker to buy it.
What I hear is that these companies are tired of hearing about this “mystery high bidder”, since they believe it is a ploy to raise the bids. So, they stop dealing until ProElite runs out of money and either has to file for bankruptcy or finally accept one of these bids.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Jan 6, 2009 3:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
So if everyone is playing chicken, the stories of the imminent sale were all bullshit, and the end result is ProElite screwing over fighters even longer.
by Phildo on Jan 6, 2009 4:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The stories on the internet were never confirmed.
What are you talking about? They were just leaks and rumors from Caplan.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Jan 6, 2009 4:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Caplan said there was a winning bid and it’s pretty obvious that wasn’t the case but that draws into qestion all the other things these “sources” had been telling him too.
by who me on Jan 6, 2009 4:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
In the meanwhile, ProElite is letting their fighters fight in other orgs while they sort this mess out. They can’t screw over the fighters for much longer since they will run out of money probably by this month and they would have to file for bankruptcy.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Jan 6, 2009 4:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Oh good grief. What people are saying is silly is that anyone would go on vacation in the middle of a big business deal, it’s not a chicken or egg situation as to why. Getting sick of ProElite’s mystery bidder crap and dropping out negotiations is completly different than going on Christmas vacation. Hell CBS corp was on the verge of auctioning everything off two months ago, somehow I doubt they are happy about this pushing into a new year and they damn sure didn’t put off any potential deal so they could take a couple of weeks off for Christmas.
by who me on Jan 6, 2009 4:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The point of that quote is that Coker wouldn’t go on vacation in the middle of doing a deal this big, especially because of the huge financial implications for everyone involved depending on whether it gets done before or after Dec 31.
It’s very unlikely that someone in the middle of a deal of this magnitude would go on vacation in the middle of it. Especially around this time of year. New Year’s may be a day of drunkenness for many people, but there tax implications that could mean a lot depending on whether things get done before or after the end of the year.
So basically, that quote means Coker isn’t the guy. If there was an actual person bidding 1 million dollars more than strikeforce, they would have gotten the deal done by now. But since they didn’t, it seems like ProElite was full of shit (shocking, I know).
by Phildo on Jan 6, 2009 3:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Which didn’t address the the tax implications of this crap stretching into the new year which was his big point.
by who me on Jan 6, 2009 4:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Just pointing out that the ProElite websites were down during the holidays as well, and are now back up an running.
by MMASuPreMaCy on Jan 6, 2009 3:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/01/05/dana-white-confirms-interest-in-elitexc-fighters/
"These guys are wasting their time by going to these fly by night companies," White said. "That’s the worst thing an athlete can do – waste time. Fighters are crazy to waste their time."
"We are interested in a few people like Robbie Lawler, Jake Shields, and Gina Carano," said White.
by Nick Thomas on Jan 6, 2009 9:32 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Wasn’t Caplan the one breaking the news of a pending sale a couple of weeks ago?
by who me on Jan 6, 2009 1:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Dana White
as I recall wasn’t outspoken about “guys wasting their time” not fighting because their contracts were tied up when Zuffa purchased Pride and several fighters were on the shelf for awhile. He didn’t seem to mind then that “Fighters are crazy to waste their time”.
by tylerdurden1 on Jan 6, 2009 4:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Well they did try and sign a lot of guys into the UFC to keep them fighting, a lot of guys didn’t want to sign and decided to wait out their Pride contracts. There is a difference between not wanting to fight in the UFC and not fighting at all.
by who me on Jan 6, 2009 4:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
