The Mix Martial Arts industry was dealt a heavy blow with news of the latest casualty of the economic meltdown. There will be no more EliteXC. A Night of Champions has become a night of nothing as the company plans to close its doors for good. Numerous sources have confirmed that EliteXC and the parent company Pro Elite will file for bankruptcy this week.
The news comes in the wake of Kimbo Slice’s 14 second ass wooping by Seth Petruzelli. The bout was overcasted by Petruzelli’s claim that he was offered money to avoid a ground fight. Kimbo Slice was the companies biggest star and his downfall is one of the reasons, along with mismanagement for EliteXC’s failure, according to T. Jay Thompson, a consulting executive for the company.
Mismanagement, it was mismanaged by people that didn’t know MMA, that didn’t have the proper years of experience,” said Thompson of the company’s cease of operations Monday after only 22 months in business. “It’s not an exact science. There’s not a book that you can write to learn how to promote shows.
Number one, they picked the wrong opponent,” said Thompson, who confirmed that light heavyweights Aaron Rosa and Petruzelli were considered for the opening. “Do I want my star getting his ass kicked by the unknown guy that’s a dropout from the UFC, or do I want his ass kicked by a guy that I can call Tito Ortiz’s number one student protégé and the next big thing in MMA?