Earlier this week in an article published in the Long-Beach Press-Telegram, Dana White had this to say about Kimbo Slice:

"You know what would happen if he fought in the UFC?" White said to the newspaper. "I'd put him in against B.J. Penn, and (Slice) would get annihilated. The guy he is fighting, James Thompson, might get knocked out before he gets into the cage. Kimbo has no credibility at all in MMA. ... I am telling you, B.J. Penn would beat him."

While this may seem like an idiotic statement to make, it’s partially true. Would B.J be able to defeat Kimbo? It’s hard saying, however, it isn’t that far out of the realm of possibility. B.J. has fought at light-heavyweight and was able to hold his own against Lyoto Machida, but that’s another debate for another day.

The fact of the matter is that Kimbo is an unknown commodity. He has an intriguing personality, but he’s always going to take slack from hardcore MMA fans and veterans of this sport. I think it’s mostly due to people being jealous of his stardom in the sport. They’ve seen the veterans of this sport, the Chuck Liddell’s, the Randy Couture’s, the Tito Ortiz’s, put in their hard work and help grow this sport to what it has become today. Kimbo has burst onto the scene because of backyard fights on the Internet. Does that represent him as a person? No. Does that make the criticism of him valid? Maybe.

Kimbo is being brought along slowly. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. He hasn’t been training that long and has done nothing to draw the negative comments that have been directed at him. He’s simply done what he’s been asked to do, and that’s go out there and put on an exciting show and win fights.

EliteXC has also been matching him up with advantageous style matchups that suit his brawling and avoid having him being taken down repeatedly.  I think James Thompson might try to take him down, however; he’s going to have to get close to take him down. The closer he gets, the better chance Kimbo has of exploiting Thompson’s famous glass jaw. Thompson’s wrestling also isn’t that great, so it could be a quick night for Kimbo once again.

Gary Shaw had this to say when asked about Dana’s comments:

"Dana White is a jerkoff," Shaw said. "That's what Dana White is -- a [expletive] idiot -- and you can quote me on that. If he cared about mixed martial arts and the sport instead of caring about his big ass swimming pool and his own personal gains, he'd understand that statements like that make someone a jerk. First of all, I love B.J. Penn, and he is a friend of mine. Kimbo Slice, with one shot, would knock B.J. Penn out. But they are never going to fight. It is an idiotic statement from a complete idiot."

Woah, woah, woah there, Mr. Shaw. Are you implying that you really care about MMA and don’t care about the money? Get the [expletive] out of town.

This is the thing that really irks me about Gary Shaw. I love how all of the sudden he has come out and said that he is all about MMA and that he’s doing this all for the love of the sport. Wrong. He’s doing it for money, and I think he has ulterior motives. To me, he’s still “the boxing promoter” Gary Shaw.

As much as everyone criticizes Dana White, I really believe he loves the sport of MMA. Does he let his personal feelings get involved sometimes? Sure, but I think that just shows that he really loves the sport. He has been here through the thick and the thin, and I think it’s highly hypocritical of Gary Shaw to come out and say that Dana White doesn’t love the sport of MMA. I think he’s probably the biggest fan we have. He’s an impulse acting kind of guy, and that sometimes hurts his persona, but if you ask Dana White a question, you’re going to get a truthful answer.

Things are starting to heat up between the organizations and as the clock winds down to EliteXC’s debut on network television; I think the war of words between Dana and Gary will continue to worsen.

Leave some comments below and let me know what you think about each organizations front man. Is Dana wrong to call out Kimbo and his lack of experience? Is Shaw still the same sleazy boxing promoter some fans see him as? Can EliteXC ultimately compete with the UFC? Let me know, I’ll be sure to respond.

ProElite's quarterly report was released today, and the outlook is not good. It was reported that the struggling umbrella to MMA promotions EliteXC, Cage Rage, Icon, and King of the Cage is claiming a loss of $5.6 million dollars in only the first quarter of 2008. While the actual promotion revenue was in the black at around $213k, the operating expenses added up to over $5.8 million dollars.

At this rate, ProElite could very well lose over $20 million dollars over the entire year unless the company ends up folding or is infused with some type of capital. It has become apparent that the CBS deal is the vital beating heart that the company needs in order to move into the black for the year.

If ProElite can manage to push a solid show on May 31st, they will at least has some chances at gaining some solid blue chip sponsors and likely provide their fighters with more sponsorship money from MMA-related sponsors. This, in turn, will lure some fighters toward the promotion and allow EliteXC to gain some bigger names for their events. Blue chip sponsors will obviously shell out some substantial dollars to have their name plastered all over your television, and if the event is wildly successful, advertising spots during the event should grab some nice revenue.

It'll be a tough proposition for ProElite to fulfill. The UFC will be running shows during the event's timeslot on SpikeTV to pull fans away from the CBS show, but EliteXC has a live event with some larger than life characters to draw fans. Kimbo Slice could very well be the answer, but EliteXC will also been using Gina Carano's new popularity with the male demographic to grab viewers as well. It's a great move from the promotion. Add in the potential for Lawler-Smith to be a slugfest of excitement, we could potentially see more stars surface to a new casual fanbase.

Waiting in the shadows will be the UFC. If ProElite doesn't grab the viewers it needs (reportedly around 3 million viewers), it's likely that CBS will cut the promotion's shows from the primetime lineup and from the network. All those Kimbo Slice rumors about the UFC potentially using him in their promotion could come true. As much as Dana White states the obvious that Kimbo doesn't have the experience, it's hard to doubt his pull with the casual fan and even the fan that rarely watches MMA at all.

The most interesting part about that proposition is what will happen to Gina Carano. Will she fade into Hollywood to pursue other interests that have come from her American Gladiators fame or will she seek out more MMA fights? Will the UFC try to build a women's division around her? Nobody knows, but for the sake of MMA fans everywhere, let's hope EliteXC can make a solid effort and hopefully become a hit. Sure, Kimbo Slice may not be the man you want headlining a card, but I believe he has legitimately made the effort to become a complete fighter. The exposure can only help our sport that we love so much.

The perception that EliteXC's event on CBS is being pushed by the popularity of Kimbo Slice is a bit inaccurate when we look at the bigger picture. Interestingly enough, many of the other promotions in the business are being critical of ProElite for using the image that Kimbo Slice to promote the event. In reality however, Gina Carano is the push behind what could potentially sell the event as a success on CBS.

According to Yahoo! Buzz, Gina Carano's upcoming bout with Kaitlin Young has produced more searches for the American Gladiator in the last couple of weeks. In fact, her searches soared %6,000 and put her into the top 200 searches on the web. Yahoo! Has these small notes in comparison of other top searches: 

• Nearly 19 times higher than what MMA icon Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell got for his fight with Quinton Jackson
• 10% higher than Paris Hilton last week
• 25 times higher than John Edwards after his endorsement of Barack Obama

Most of the searches are from males (89%), and those males have pummeled the search boxes for sexy pictures of Gina Carano at her weigh-ins, in Maxim, on MySpace, and in a red dress. The searches and percentages are astounding considering some of the search words she beat out for the week are weekly staples for many search engines. Google's trends are a bit more back to Earth:

The disaster blow would be a Carano defeat though, and a surprise Kimbo loss as well. EliteXC has a lot riding on this one.

A few months back, fans were arguing over what the UFC should do with the Middleweight division's talent pool and how they could give Anderson Silva a challenge. Robbie Lawler happened to be a name that was popping up in the minds of fans everywhere, and unfortunately for those fans wanting to see a return of Lawler to the UFC's middleweight division, they'll have to wait a bit longer. Lawler, along with Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano, were all signed to long-term, multi-fight contracts with EliteXC that was announced in a press release Monday evening.

Lawler will take on Scott Smith in one of the higher quality matchups during the May 31st CBS/EliteXC card while Kimbo Slice will take on James “Glass Joe” Thompson in the main event. Gina Carano is scheduled to battle Hook N' Shoot champion Kaitlin Young, and judging by the looks of Young, EliteXC is trying to build up a battle between young and sexy female fighters to attract some viewers. In any case, all three signings are essential for EliteXC to continue on the course they are currently traveling on.

That course is taking EliteXC to new heights, heights that have solidified its standing at the #2 promotion in the North American market. Kimbo Slice has the most star power behind him at the moment. He has a strong connection to the casual fanbase through his already established Internet fame as well as having a fighting style that appeals to many of the casual fans in the 18-34 demographic. Lawler has a similar style, and he is one of the best fighters out there who tends to avoid the ground and go for the knockout.

Carano's star appeal can't be denied, and it's only been added to by her appearance on American Gladiators. EliteXC could not have been more happy when signing a network deal while having one of their stars on another network primetime show.

EliteXC has a bright future if the CBS shows can produce some good ratings. Carano, Slice, and Lawler will all be big pieces of the puzzle for the next year. Look for all three to be featured extensively.

I won’t be as critical of Kevin Iole at Yahoo! Sports as many other writers have been in the past, but I’ve wholeheartedly agreed with nearly every single posting I’ve seen on Iole from time to time. He’s been blamed for being a troll in the UFC’s hype machine, a “nuthugger”, and teacher’s pet to Dana White, and for the most part, his writing on the UFC would definitely lead me to believe those claims. People also state he isn’t a real MMA fan or historian, and the list goes on at the number of insults I’ve heard in regular conversation with hardcore MMA fans. I don’t mind his writing, and I’m by far not the best writer in the blogosphere or in any sphere, but I can critique one opinion that he mentions in his mailbag regarding the CBS/EliteXC fight in May:

Question: I feel EliteXC is doing MMA a huge disservice by putting Kimbo Slice as the main event on such an important card. I am a huge Kimbo fan but, lets face it, he is still more of a spectacle at this point in his MMA career. Why not legitimize our sport by featuring a championship bout between two thriving middleweights, Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith? Both men have appeared on UFC cards in the past, both are legitimate MMA fighters, and both appear to be just as marketable to the general public as Kimbo. What’s your take?

Iole: I don’t have a problem putting Kimbo on the card, but I find it horrible he’s in the main event against James Thompson. How CBS would accept Thompson as the opponent in a main event is beyond me. The guy has lost two in a row and six of his last eight. It’s a disgrace that a guy with a record like that would be put into a main event of such a significant card in the sport’s history.

I find it unbelievably ignorant that Iole can’t see why James Thompson is fighting Kimbo Slice as the main event on this card. Yeah, it’s a crap fight to have as a main event when you think of it in terms of quality, but in terms of entertainment, Kimbo Slice is guaranteed to “tee off” on James Thompson’s world famous weak chin. Even if we look at the opposite outcome, James Thompson isn’t going in the cage to submit Kimbo via heel hook or gogoplata. He’ll also be looking for the big knockout. Thompson is also known for his exciting opening round charges that have grabbed the attention of fans everywhere.

Sure, Smith vs. Lawler is the quality matchup we as hardcore fans all want to see, but there is one concept here that many writers are ignorant when analyzing the fanbase. The fanbase isn’t you. If you are writing about MMA on a daily basis, the majority of fans out there have nowhere near the knowledge that you have when talking about these fights. Do you want to see the fanbase that EliteXC is trying to pull in?

Go to a bar on a Friday night in a college town. Sure, fans will watch the fights and likely see a great fight between Smith and Lawler, but if Kimbo flatlines Thompson in the opening :30 seconds of the fight, those same fans sitting at that bar will be talking about that fight the next day and maybe even the next month.

Entertainment will grab viewers’ attention, and a fantastic knockout by Kimbo Slice will only up his drawing power and captivate casual fans to want to see him again. I’m not sure how people don’t “get it”.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune and Adam Swift at MMAPayout.com, KJ Noons reportedly turned down an offer that would have gave him a fight on one of the CBS/EliteXC shows, and also locked him in for an additional three fights with the promotion. Mark Dion, Brandon Vera’s infamous agent, was behind the news, and I think it’s safe to say that this could possibly be one of the worst moves I’ve seen in recent memory when it comes to the business side of a fighter’s potential selling abilities.

Mulling over the pros and cons of this situation led me to one story of a college band that I once saw frequently and became very good friends with while I was into the bar scene. They were young, in high demand, and very good at producing jam band type music early in their careers, but made a run at creating high quality radio friendly popular rock music as they matured through the years. In fact, they were offered record deals three different times and even as recently as last year as they near their mid-30’s.

Unfortunately for their band, the idea of getting the perfect deal was their crutch. As we’ve all heard through the years, record deals aren’t exactly the friendliest contracts in business. They usually lock bands into creating records that contain songs from their catalog of writers, or they lock bands into lengthy five to six album deals with crappy kickbacks to the band. Of course, this all depends on the success of the band as well. The more successful, the better the money is coming in for the band members to fund their lavish lifestyles.

There’s one thing that they forgot along the way. Getting your foot in the door could have led to much bigger successes down the road. Instead of waiting and waiting, they could have taken a deal early in their career and been exposed by the media machine behind a record company, but instead elected to hold out. Now, they are on the verge of being disbanded and moving on with their lives.

In my mind, KJ Noons is in a similar situation except he’s locking himself into a much shorter contract that say a lengthy five to six album record deal that could span a decade. He’s being offered a chance to have national exposure in the United States on a national network, being paid for it, and only having to take on an additional three fights? It doesn’t make sense, especially considering Noons could potentially fight three more times this year.

Another problem with the situation is that Noons is being offered this chance early in his career. He’s a converted boxer who does have some weaknesses in his game. Specifically, his ground game hasn’t been tested extensively, and his chin isn’t exactly the strongest in the promotion in his weight class. Beating Nick Diaz may have been a great victory, but being crushed by Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett couldn’t have felt great. Take the deal while you can, Noons… get your foot in the door and win those big fights on a national stage. It’ll give you more opportunities down the road.

News from the forefront of negotiations between Fedor Emelianenko and the number of suitors in the sweepstakes to obtain the PRIDE Heavyweight champion has been limited to this update from Adam Swift at MMAPayout.com:

The never ending story that is the Fedor Emelianenko sweepstakes continues after the collapse of M-1 Global with no end in sight. EliteXC reportedly made a four fight, seven figure offer, however, the sides appear to be far a part on terms with Gary Shaw's statement that Fedor wants $2 million per fight. The UFC is also reportedly interested, but the two sides remained far apart last year despite prolong negotiations.

The deal between Fedor and EliteXC was reportedly between $350,000 - $500,000 per fight with an added pay-per-view bonus that was likely based on buys according to MMAjunkie.com. Fedor was said to have been wanting at least $2 million dollars per fight, which sparked a lot of criticism throughout the MMA community as to who could actually afford such a high salary for a fighter who is an unproven PPV draw. Both sides are believed to still be talking, but I'm very hesitant to think that ProElite can pull this off.

First and foremost, Fedor's pay-per-view potential is minimal at best right now. The only thing that ProElite will be able to offer is a fight on network television with the CBS deal to get Fedor media exposure. If he can garner a casual following and have an impressive win, could he see big PPV numbers? Doubtful. Fighters like Liddell and Couture have created huge numbers due to their long withstanding exposure to the fanbase over time and having a track record of great battles over their careers.  Hardcore fans may see Fedor as having those qualities, but not in front of the much larger American casual fanbase.

Secondly, two million dollars per fight is steep for any promotion in the business and drastically hurts the bottom line once an event has taken place. The UFC is really the only promotion out there that could take such a hit from their revenues and still come out on top. ProElite would literally sink their event into the red by giving Fedor that much cash per fight.

Will we see Fedor in the States anytime soon? Unless he sees some drastic changes in the offers he is getting, I'm very pessimistic in his chances of coming to a U.S. Based MMA promotion. The biggest problem is that Fedor and his management don't realize that he can only be paid what promotions are willing to give him. I imagine they may be playing the whole “offer and counter offer” game right now to see where that level is. If that's the case, it could very well be a matter of time before we see Fedor in the UFC or EliteXC.

The big question for tomorrow will revolve around the former UFC Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. Sylvia, who stated in the past that he was displeased with the amount of money that Brock Lesnar was getting from the UFC, will make an official announcement tomorrow according to his blog post, and the news will be featured on tomorrow night's Inside MMA show on HDNet. With the news coming, the rumors are flying around as to where Tim Sylvia may end up after Friday's announcement. Let's go through the list:

1. EliteXC:  I'm more inclined to believe that Sylvia is moving to the promotion that can give him more exposure to a national audience. Sure, Sylvia has been a boring fighter in the UFC, but that was against top competition in the world. Against EliteXC's potentially lackluster talent pool, Sylvia could be a big problem for their list of heavyweights. He could also line himself up with a shot at Fedor if EliteXC can manage to actually sign him.

Since Tim Sylvia wants more money, EliteXC could be the way to go if they happen to have the finances to move forward. Most fans believe that EliteXC is banking everything on the CBS deal, but the fact is that one successful event could lead to huge things. A big name sponsor could step in, and fighters will receive more money for their own sponsors. That's exactly where Sylvia can make his money.

2. Golden Boy: I've grown tired of hearing what Golden Boy could supposedly do for the sport. There isn't enough talent out there right now for the promotion to make a splash in the sport. I don't see Sylvia going there, and there are even doubts as to whether the promotion will even take off now.

3. M-1 Global (American Division): MMAonTap seems to think that this may be a possibility, and some fans have emailed me regarding the probability of Sylvia going with his agent, Monte Cox. To be perfectly honest, Sylvia should only consider this if M-1 Global plans to still work with events such as EliteXC, Strikeforce, and other promotions. He can maintain a working contract in M-1 Global for the events that they are still planning, and then move to fighting some big name battles on CBS in EliteXC under the M-1 Global name.

4. UFC: The UFC is always in the running, and it could be that the UFC has simply given him the contract that he desired. According to the Fight Network, that isn't the case, and he will be moving away from the UFC.

5. DREAM/WVR: Highly doubtful. His drawing power remains in the American market, so I imagine he'll look for the higher payouts here.

Where will Tim Sylvia end up? I imagine he will either sign with EliteXC outright or move to sign with M-1 Global's new American promotion with Monte as a non-exclusive fighter. Either way, he's going to probably going to be making an appearance on CBS, and he could be more exciting while fighter the lesser competition in those promotions. Will Tim Sylvia make a big mistake in signing with a promotion like M-1 Global that may end up going under by the end of the year, or will EliteXC's recent rise to network television convince Sylvia to sign with ProElite? Both promotions could ultimately die out, and where would Sylvia be then? It's a huge decision that we'll find out tomorrow.

As I was browsing through the rumor mill this afternoon, I couldn’t help but notice another possible acquisition by what is now becoming one of the biggest mixed martial arts promotions in the world. According to a report at MMAonTap.com, Canada’s Hardcore Fighting Championships is potentially on the verge of being bought out by an unnamed suitor. Of course, it looks like the news was spoiled as to who that unnamed suitor was in a quote by HCF’s CEO Keith Crawford:

“This announcement is the culmination of 10 years of hard work in combative sports, and I couldn’t be more excited,” Crawford said in the report. “What it’s going to do, I feel, is to put us right at number two with everybody else. Obviously the UFC is number one, and I believe that Elite XC, Strikeforce and ourselves are going to be number two when we make the announcement as to who has purchased us.”

John Chandler over at MMAonTap.com stated that he thought it was likely to be ProElite after the quote from Crawford. I couldn’t agree more. It definitely sounds like HCF will be under the ProElite umbrella of mixed martial arts promotions. This undertaking by ProElite raised some serious thoughts about the state of mixed martial arts in general from a fan’s perspective, even without the purchase of Hardcore Fighting Championships.

Unlike other promotions that have entered the market, ProElite’s concept was much different. Their aim wasn’t to create a structure from the ground up, but to purchase promotions that were already operating in different parts of the world. Cage Rage, ICON Sport, and King of the Cage have all been bought by ProElite, and Hardcore Fighting Championships looks to be the new addition. They have a presence in England, Hawaii, and in smaller shows throughout the United States along with a new addition in Canada if the HCF deal goes through. In a much smaller capacity, they have moved into the same areas as the UFC with an added bonus of having personnel in those promotions that know how to market the area, work with area fighters, and sell the events. It seems to be working rather well.

Fans should love ProElite’s progress

Personally, ProElite has filled my weekends with MMA action that would otherwise be tough to see. From EliteXC and ShoXC to Cage Rage in England to Icon Sport in Hawaii to the occasional Brazilian action such as Fury Fighting Championships and even the ADCC Grappling Championships, ProElite has provided the hardcore fans and the casual fanbase who is looking to see more action on the Internet with more and more events that we normally would never be privy to seeing on such a regular basis.

I have to tip my hat to them for their efforts. Sure, we have to deal with some poor production values and some terribly mismatched battles from time to time, but that’s the deal with every promotion in this sport. Money is to be made, and as a fan along for the ride, you have to love the fact that our intake of MMA action has increased dramatically because of ProElite.

Nokaut.com is reporting today that EliteXC has offered Fedor Emelianenko a four-fight deal over 18 months that could see the PRIDE Heavyweight champion moving to the U.S. promotion to be featured on CBS in their upcoming broadcasts.

According to Nokaut, Fedor's first two bouts would be exclusively featured on CBS, and the last two fights would be pushed to pay-per-view, a first in EliteXC's existence. It's undetermined whether pay-per-view means on Showtime, or if EliteXC will be using an actual PPV provider, but it does make for some interesting theories as to who EliteXC will throw at "The Last Emperor" in his last two bouts.

The big question here is whether or not this is a good move for Fedor Emelianenko. Is he actually looking to up his stake in the American market? Some would say that it really doesn't matter considering the purses he is likely collecting in Japan for fighting freak shows. Others would say that Fedor wants to prove himself in the States, and what better way to gain fame with the massive exposure that CBS can provide.

I would love to think that Fedor wants to eventually just throw money aside and fight mixed martial arts to really prove that he is the best in the world, but I don't believe that's the case. The UFC has the best talent right now, but it also stands to lose a lot of talent this year. Arlovski, Sylvia, and Couture could all potentially be gone by the end of the year. Where will they go? EliteXC may have the dollars to begin a massive undertaking in populating their Heavyweight division with these big names. Add in some great ratings, and we suddenly have a promotion with recognizable fighters on a national TV network. It could also provide Fedor with a proving ground to all his critics that isn't in the UFC's controlling contract structure.

Could this be a good move for Fedor? Yes, it definitely could work out for everyone. Fedor has likely received a lucrative offer from EliteXC that also has the added incentive of huge exposure in the American market on CBS. The pay-per-views will likely gain buys from the exposure, and I'm sure Fedor's deal will work in a cut in revenues. Fedor's cash flow increases, his exposure to the American market increases, and the outlook for EliteXC's heavyweight division increases with his presence. Couture will likely want to pursue a fight with Fedor, and we could see other heavyweights make the exodus from the UFC to a newly empowered EliteXC on network television.

Keep an eye on this story, it could get very interesting.