There is a school of thought that any publicity is good. I’m not so sure that the folks at EliteXC feel that way at the moment, but they’re handling it in stride. It seems as if everyone is lining up to take a shot at them recently, reminding me of a friend who when told politely that his zipper was down calmly responded, “It pays to advertise.”
EliteXC is the MMA bunch that chewed up $30 million in their first two years building up the business while featured regularly on Showtime, and then landed a contract for some periodic prime time network exposure on CBS. The initial ratings were impressive and their apparent marketing plan of developing and promoting stars compared to the UFC’s “brand first, fighter second” strategy appeared to be making some inroads on the established competition.
And now, their two major stars, Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice are smack in the middle of recent controversies.
Let’s first address Carano, beginning with the fact that she is every bit as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, and that’s really saying something because she is white hot. But seriously, I’ve interviewed her a couple of times and she is shy, down to earth, and well grounded. She would be the last to complain at any perceived slight.
So why take advantage of her? She’s “The Face of Women’s Boxing,” she’s “Crush” on “American Gladiators,” she’s personable, charismatic, and camera friendly. I always say when I think of her, “Coming Soon to a Theater Near You.”
She’s a star and doesn’t need MMA to succeed. But MMA may need her.
So it was of some interest when Kim Couture, the wife of former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and a fighter herself was quoted as saying that Carano was mistreated and underpaid by EliteXC. Couture said that Gina was the biggest draw at EliteXC, yet earned a measly $25,000.
Couture then addressed the Carano weigh in prior to the October 4 card on CBS. Carano, who struggles to make weight at 140, had to resort to getting on the scale in her birthday suit, covered only by towels held up by men. Couture pointed out, quite correctly, that the promoters and the Florida State Boxing Commission could easily have had Carano weigh in privately in front of a female rather than in front of a hooting male crowd.
I saw the weigh in on You Tube. It appeared that the gentlemen holding the towels either had their eyes locked on Gina or were straining their neck to make it look as if they were looking elsewhere.
Couture even named names, accusing EliteXC executive Jared Shaw of trying to look over the towels to see Carano naked.
“I think they could have handled it differently,” Couture said in an understatement. “She would rather have had me up there than Jared Shaw- Skala- in the background trying to take a peek over the towel. I thought it was pretty low. Yeah, he’s got a little bit of an obsession with Gina Carano as most men do. He was trying to sneak a peek. It was ridiculous.”
In Shaw’s defense, I doubt that many of us would have had the strength to look away. The villains here are the men from the Florida commission that failed to move Gina to a private location. Maybe they were hoping to get towel duty.
Still, it’s hard to believe that no one from EliteXC was looking out for her interests and protect her from the lechery of the assemblage. No, it’s worse–it’s happened before.
And if Gina is getting $25,000 while Kimbo Slice earned a reported $500,000, the organization has a long way to go to get their priorities straight.
As for Slice, AKA Kevin Ferguson, the internet sensation who became an overnight star in MMA and the man whose name likely sold the package to CBS, he was slated to face MMA legend Ken Shamrock in a matchup of big names that was deceiving. Shamrock was “retired” from 1996 to 2000 and since his return he has three victories in 11 fights and has been KO’d seven times.
But he’s been a good soldier and has done some commentary work for EliteXC. Shamrock pulled out of the Slice fight at the last minute, allegedly due to a cut, only to watch his unheralded replacement, Seth Petruzelli, knock Slice/Ferguson out in 14 seconds.
Shamrock says he still wants to fight Kimbo, but now who cares?
Petruzelli, unheard of before he exposed the Kimbo Slice masquerade, now can’t stop talking. He claimed that EliteXC promoters offered him a bonus to keep the fight with Kimbo standing up. Then he charged that Kimbo was scared. Finally he alleges that after he beat Kimbo, Slice’s entourage made a number of taunts and threats toward his wife.
On a radio show in Orlando, Petruzelli said, “The promoters kind of hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him. They didn’t want me to take him down, let’s just put it that way. It was worth my while to try to stand up and punch with him.”
Petruzelli later retracted that statement. I wonder why.
UFC President Dana White got into the act, saying that although the matter was currently being investigated by the Florida Athletic Commission, he hoped for an FBI investigation on it.
With sharks swirling in the waters saying that EliteXC was no better than pro wrestling, ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said on Pardon the Interruption that he believed that Kimbo’s loss to Petruzelli was fixed.
“That was more phantom punch than Ali had to knock out Liston in 1965,” Wilbon said. “Kimbo Slice, your boy, is a fraud.”
After a commercial he added, “I don’t know what Kimbo’s ties are. Kimbo still could have taken a dive while others are trying to prop him up. He could have gotten paid.”
EliteXC Head of Fight Operations Jeremy Lappen said that he welcomes the probe, reminding me of my aforementioned friend.
“To me there is no controversy,” Lappen said. “There’s no story. And it’s frustrating because the media is blowing it up when Seth Petruzelli said that nothing happened.”
Lappen preferred to discuss how EliteXC beat college football and Major League Baseball playoffs in the key demographics than the Florida probe.
“It didn’t happen,” Lappen said of any perceived improprieties. “Let’s focus on the real stories of the night.”
Lappen also had to deal with contradictory statements that he had allegedly made regarding submission bonuses and knockout bonuses. He claims that both stories misquoted him.
I believe that October 4 will be remembered as a tough night for EliteXC. I just can’t believe that the publicity that they are receiving is the type the CBS expected. That they fared well in the ratings somehow seems inconsequential to the potential felonies involved here.
Moreover they managed to subject their underpaid female star to unnecessary humiliation, have their highly touted male star exposed as a fraud of one kind or another, and now they’re compared to the WWF.
That’s not the way to win over networks and it’s not the way to build a fan base. Those viewers who were buying into EliteXC as a viable competitor to the UFC won’t be as easy to sell in the future. And as we are all so painfully aware nowadays, a loss of consumer confidence can result in sinking even the biggest companies.
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