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Big news day for Pro Elite: Kimbo gets his bread and celebrity MMA TV
By Jeff Comstock | October 11, 2007
Breaking News from the Fight Network: COUTURE QUITS UFC
Back to the title story:
ProElite.com has confirmed that legendary street fighter Kimbo Slice has signed a long term deal with Elite XC. This announcement follows the news that Nick Diaz has signed a 2 year extension with the company.
Sam Caplan’s Five Ounces Of Pain blog reveals that Kimbo’s Elite XC debut for the promotion, will take place on a November 10th card in Corpus Christi, Texas. Nick Diaz is expected to fight on that card as well, along with a rumored bout between Jake Shields vs. Mike Pyle.
If that’s not enough Pro Elite news, there are finally some details on exactly what Pro Elite’s reality TV series will be.
Forbes.com published a Business Wire press release about the Mark Burnett produced, celebrity MMA, reality television show with Pro Elite.
The currently untitled initial series centers on former football and baseball stars, Herschel Walker and Jose Canseco, respectively, who together with a group of other former pros, train as a team to cross over into the sport of mixed martial arts. These athletes will fight with select EliteXC fighters in each episode with the series finale featuring a famous celebrity athlete match up. Additionally, episode highlights and interactive features for the shows produced will reside on ProElite.com. The show is co-created by Herschel Walker and Prem Akkaraju, who will also serve as a co-executive producer.
Overall I’d say that the future is looking bright for Pro Elite. In Kimbo and Diaz they’ve secured two fighters who will generate interest for their shows. Nick Diaz is one of the most exciting fighters in MMA history and in Kimbo Slice they have a potential star in the making.
The reality TV show sounds like it will appeal to the casual sports fan and hopefully draw in new MMA fans with the curiosity factor of seeing former football and baseball stars throwing down in the cage. With that said, if images of Johnny Morton are not flashing through your head, you have not seen that train wreck from the Pro Elite/K-1 Dynamite show.
Topics: Jeff Comstock, Press Releases, Pro Elite | 79 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
That reality show idea is genius — it’s Dancing with the Stars, only with more concussions to Jose Canseco!
I’m glad you brought up the Johnnie Morton incident.
I really don’t have any desire to see ex-pro athletes, with no background, training or otherwise trying their hand at “the next hot thing”. To me it cheapens the sport b/c it just makes it look like a fad that ex-pros desperate for the limelight are trying to sponge on to get another 15-minutes of fame. Not to mention it sends the wrong message that it takes weeks of “blitz” training rather than years of dedication and sacrifice to make it to the top. People would throw a shit fit if some “celebrity” got to play an NFL game based on the fact that they were on a reality show and “trained” for 2 months.
Couture news is a great cap on the craziest fucking year in MMA history. What do the months ahead hold? I’d like to be a fly on the wall in Dana’s office right now. I imagine he is in a bad state.
Whaaaaaat? What is going on here? This makes no sense.
Curse you Fedor!
I guess if another org signs Fedor vs. Couture and promotes the hell out of it this year will have come full circle.
This has to be like…the worst week ever for the UFC. HBO, Fedor and now Couture.
http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/headlines/default.asp?aID=20972
WO confirms/elaborates.
Jesuit Preist!
What a fucked up day this is turning out to be.
I just can NOT believe that news about Couture. If it were anywhere near April 1st I’d call shenanigans.
Obviously it’s very true what they say about those in power, once you’re at the pinnacle, the crown rests uneasily. Or they have to sleep lightly. or is it with one eye open? Shit, who knows. I’m still in too much shock to think clearly.
Dana must have shit himself.
Unless there’s been some serious dissention behind closed doors over at UFC headquarters that we were never made privy to, then this had to have shocked him into a near coronary!
Regarding Couture:
He is retiring and will not be heading to Russia to fight Fedor..at least for now.
His contract had two more fights on it so I am sure it will be a while before that contract officially expires.
So I imagine Randy’s contract prevents him from going to M1 and fighting Fedor?
I wonder if the contract with UFC extends to Russia or Japan? I’m assuming they were a little brighter than that to not consider those possibilities…
So, what does Dana do?
Take the next several days & basically beg Randy to consider?
Or stand strong in his belief that it’s the brand & not the fighter, say toodle-loo to Couture & make next week’s Vera vs Sylvia for the vacated Heavyweight Title?
Anyone else think this is just a preemptive strike by Couture to get a massive guaranteed contract from the UFC?
Makes perfect sense.
Couture’s the only major UFC star left untarnished. Liddell has lost in uninspiring fashion twice in a row. Rich Franklin got his face rearranged by a Brazilian. GSP got mauled by a midget. Sherk got nailed for steroids.
This is the time to do it, before the UFC creates new PPV stars to replace the old guard.
The line about Randy being tired of “swimming upstream with UFC management” was interesting. It could be interpreted different ways. Swimming with them upstream or against them?
“It could be interpreted different ways. Swimming with them upstream or against them?”
What’s not to understand? Swimming upstream = Spitting in the wind = Running in place, I guess he was getting no where with them.
“Fedor was able to get the UFC to offer him more money than anyone ever, walked away and took Randy with him. He really isn’t human.”
“What’s not to understand? Swimming upstream = Spitting in the wind = Running in place, I guess he was getting no where with them.”
You can be swimming upstream together with the UFC management in trying to get Fedor to the UFC, or you can be swimming upstream against the UFC management trying to get them to sign Fedor to a UFC contract. His relationship with the UFC seemed pretty good, so it surprises me if the latter meaning is what he intended.
Now that’s what i call a shocker.
But it’s funny how everyone’s (at least on Sherdog) coming to the conclusion that Randy will be going to M-1 now to fight Fedor. Randy’s not going anywhere, just like Ivan said. He had 2 fights left on his contract, and given how often Randy has fought in the past it’s valid at least a year (by which time Randy would be 46 if i’m not mistaken). And i seriously doubt that he’d be able to come back from yet another year long layoff.
He’ll most probably try to concentrate on his acting career for the few years that he has left (in acting that is). Let’s face it, he’ll never be a character actor, and he’s not exactly the type of guy producers are looking for in a leading man (in the action genre). So i’d say he has about 6-8 years left, in which he can try to carve out a niche for himself (perhaps something like Captain Dale Dye, playing square-jawed military figures).
I hope Randy isnt doing this to pursue acting, cuz a straight to video Mummy ripoff aint gonna do it! The Rock he aint and The Rock has been LUCKY. Something just doesnt add up here, who cares about Fedor, what about Big Nog? That fight ISNT challanging enough for him?
Dana sign Mark Hunt NOW!
jim allcorn Says:
“Unless there’s been some serious dissention behind closed doors over at UFC headquarters that we were never made privy to, then this had to have shocked him into a near coronary!”
There has been serious dissention going on behind closed doors and it was reported. Unfortunatly none of the bigger mma news sites picked the story up. http://www.mmapayout.com/2007/10/trouble-in-paradise-are-ufc-natives.html
DAMN but how quickly things can change …
I mean, just a week ago, Dana & his money men were the undisputed KINGS of the MMA world. Everyone else seemed to be in an almost hopeless chase to just catch up enough to eat some dust, must less ever surpass the UFC.
Then came the dissolution of the ( according to Dana for months now ) supposed “done deal” with HBO, then came the failure to land Fedor & now, on the heels of that & indeed, as a result of that failure, their most beloved, highly regarded fighter & champion is walking out on them.
Sounds to me like perhaps a certain Mr. White had become too complacent in his position as the “undisputed leader of MMA” & was FAR too sure of himself, with the result being this week from hell for him & the UFC.
Well, there IS money in straight-to-dvd action movies. Just ask Seagal, Van Damme or Snipes. They’re still getting between 5 and 10 mio u$ for the dreck they’re doing nowadays, simply due to the fact that they bring in more cash than many films that go to the theaters. Van Damme’s “The Hard Corps” for example made something like 50 Mio on DVD! But Randy’s nowhere near their level of recognition, and to be honest, i don’t think he’ll ever will. Bas and Chuck tried also their hand in the business, and have failed miserably.
Like i said, i can see him getting bit-parts as millitary personnel (like the role he had in “The Unit”), mostly standing around looking, well, like milliary, but that’s that. The new Scorpion King spin-off will certainly not make him a bonafide-star. And that’s why i can’t understand that he not simply retired (again) from the fight game, but also from his job as a commentator. This position would’ve kept him in the spotlight, in the public’s eye, and the extra exposure would’ve been great for his future endeavors…
I can’t wait til we get to see Randy & Hogan co-star in Surf Ninjas Must Die part 7.
I am waiting to read Kevin Iole to find out what Dana thinks of all this.
Randy as a russian druglord in “The Hard Corps 2”, “The Foreigner 3” and “The Art of War 2” looks more likely 😉
I would rather Randy came out and said, “Im too old for this shit”…oh wait thats been said…
Imagine if Randy and/or his management team is the American investor who put in the big money, along with a smart business partner, to buy out M-1 and become his own promoter of big-money fights. It’s not as far-fetched as that might sound. We know he’s friends with Fedor, and the biggest living draw in American MMA. A Randy vs Fedor fight is guaranteed big money worldwide, unlike any fight any other promoter can put together.
Think about it — as it stands, US stars are only big in the US since the UFC has very little exposure in other markets. Similarly, the PRIDE stars are big internationally, but generally not major draws in the US until they cross over to the UFC. Putting Fedor and Randy together guarantees big money, and could be sold to organizations (and viewers) all over the world. Imagine doing the fight in Japan, with K-1 co-promoting with M-1? They could do it in Japan and air it in PPV in the US (although the time difference would be rough). Or go to Hawaii and have it at Aloha Stadium.
Either way, it’s almost a certainty now that Randy either retires for good or signs with M-1 for one fight against Fedor, then retires. Amazing day for MMA. (Hey, that rhymes!)
From Sherdog:
Are they suggesting Randy was only making $250,000 INCLUDING PPV bonuses? There’s no way that can be correct. Hell, Cro Cop’s downside guarantee is 350k. That makes no sense.
It was only a matter of time before something like this happened, and it’s a mixed bag as far as how it’ll turn out. Everyone wants the fighters to get their fair share, but I’d hate to see MMA devolve into a boxing-style sea of useless promoters, each signing up big name fighters and having awful cards with one good fight on them. That would be a disaster. Either way, Randy just showed the UFC who was wearing the pants. Think about the guys in UFC contract limbo — Arlovski, Couture, Ortiz, Fedor, Barnett. Think that couldn’t get a fledgling M-1 organization started out strong?
In the back of my mind, I’m now expecting to see that Randy is somehow involved in the M-1 buyout. Either that, or it’s Vince McMahon and the WWE pulling the wool over the UFC’s eyes.
(What can I say, this has me hoping for some great MMA-business drama. Could you imagine if it was WWE that put in the money to get M-1? God, Vince would be insufferable after dealing a blow like that to Dana and the UFC.)
Well, I imagine Randy will have to ‘sit out’ the remaining time on his UFC contract before he will be able to fight Fedor as he still had 2 fights left on it and I doubt it was an at-will contract where he can step away with no strings attached even if he was given more leeway than most.
Yup, he’s got 9 months. It’s in the Sherdog article. As per UFC custom, he signed a 3 fight deal when he got the title fight against Sylvia, and a 3-fight deal when he signed to fight Gonzaga. 9 months to a Fedor/Randy fight is not all that long to wait.
http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=9455
Couture Talks UFC Resignation
…” ‘I think the final straw for me was meeting with Dana and Lorenzo (Fertitta) where they claimed I was the No. 2 paid athlete in the organization, which I know is a bold-faced lie,’ Couture said. Polling other athletes, said Couture, he learned that his compensation — some $250,000 a fight with pay-per-view bonuses, according to the Couture camp — was nowhere near what other top UFC fighters were making. “…
—
So, will the UFC re-sign Randy with a better contract, or will he go to M-1 to fight Fedor and get his final big payday?
It’s also amazing to see everyone stirring into action so quickly to get information about this. Days like this make me wish I had the time to keep my own MMA website going — I feel like I could write about this for hours.
http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=8236
Dana’s response.
It almost sounds like Dana thinks he’ll still be under contract when/if he comes out of retirement.
That’s not the way this works, is it? He should be free after 9 months…
…then again, Dana might (hah!) be talking out his ass again.
I dont see WWE having anything to do with a russian MMA promotion, if and when Mcmahon goes into MMA it will be on his terms and more likely with his own promotion.
Dana: “So when he is ready to come out of retirement again, he is still under contract with me, and I’m ready to promote him.”
That settles that.
Isnt his contract for 3 fights, where does 9 months come into it? I doubt we will see Couture fight for another promotion, he will be tied up in legal red tape for months if he even tries to sign a contract with anyone but the UFC.
The 9 months comes from the Sherdog article.
I thought UFC deals were for number of fights not number of months.
They specify both. It’s “x number of fights or x number of months/years — whichever comes first.” They can’t just keep someone signed into perpetuity.
“Dana: “So when he is ready to come out of retirement again, he is still under contract with me, and I’m ready to promote him.”
That settles that.”
Uhh…no it doesn’t. IF Couture comes back in 9 months then yes he is, if he waits then he’s free to go wherever he wants and from the sounds of it at a large pay increase.
I just talked to Josh (Gross) — the 9 months came from Randy directly. If the Man says it, it must be true.
Surely the UFC has legal recourse here though. They are owed 3 fights by Randy, if they dont get them they can sue I would have thought, though it may be better if they focus on thier promotion and wish him well.
Blocker, that’s not how it works. Randy can sit out the duration of a contract if he so chooses. Anyone in the UFC could if they wanted. If Randy is “retired” (by that I mean he has no fights) for the duration of his contract, and the contract expires, he’s a free agent.
“Surely the UFC has legal recourse here though. They are owed 3 fights by Randy, if they dont get them they can sue I would have thought, though it may be better if they focus on thier promotion and wish him well.”
The contract is 9 months OR 3 fights, according to many sources, Sherdog not being the least.
If he chooses to fight outside of the UFC, he’ll have to wait 9 months. After that, the UFC has no legal recourse.
“Surely the UFC has legal recourse here though. They are owed 3 fights by Randy, if they dont get them they can sue I would have thought, though it may be better if they focus on thier promotion and wish him well.”
You can’t force someone to fight. You can control where they fight.
I think it was 3 fights or 1 year from the day he signed it, actually.
Right…just 9 months from now…thanks for clarifying my point. 🙂