The recent purchases by Zuffa along with the information that just came out of the new Showtime MMA promotion has been so significant it waranted an extensive double post.
One of the biggest issues the hardcore MMA community has with the sport is the issues that have surfaced resulting from the two biggest organizations, Pride and UFC, not coming to an agreement that would enable the best fighters in the world to face each other. Depending on what camp your in the fault lies with either Zuffa or DSE when in reality fault has to be placed with both.
However, recent actions by Dana White indicate that perhaps UFC is more interested in providing the best possible fights for the fans than people initially thought. Recently, Zuffa purchased the flailing WFA promotion as well as the more successful WEC promotion. The WFA purchase looks to have essentially amounted to the acquisition of fighter contracts. Most notably, UFC now has Quinton Jackson on their roster. What's interesting about this is that UFC was heavily critisized for not signing Jackson immediately after his Pride contract ended. As it turns out their may have been some interference by Quinton's management that prevented UFC offers from getting through to the light heavyweight standout. Regardless, Dana White finally gets the opportunity to put together the Jackson vs. Liddell rematch that will promise to be another huge money maker for the company.
The purchase of the WEC brings different prospects to Zuffa. This will likely prove to be what amounts to a farm system for UFC. Look to see young fighters getting developed at WEC shows and veteran fighters sent down to help bounce back from injuries and losing streaks. A fighter like Mikey Burnett will be the perfect candidate for WEC events. He'll soon be coming of major neck surgery and should work his way back into the game slowly. Meanwhile, the prospect of seeing him fight on television is interesting to fans. This expanded content is going to further bolster the sport into the mainstream. In addition, with other organizations trying to get their start in the U.S., Dana White just captured some of the best young, developing talent in the sport. Anyone else ready to see Uriah Faber in the UFC?
This esentially leaves the IFL as the biggest competitor to UFC dominence in North America. Then again, the IFL concept essentially offsets the competition between the two organizations. The IFL has decided to localize its fanbase. UFC has promised to respond by booking shows in several new cities in 2007. Both organizations are also planning to go international next year as well which may make this race more interesting than initially thought.
While Zuffa has certainly proven to be an organization savvy in business and marketing, the powers involved in the new Showtime promotion are setting themselves up for disaster. The newly named Elite Xtreme Combat announced their first event and revealed more about what to expect from the organization. While the main event of their February 10th debut show; Frank Shamrock vs. Renzo Gracie looks promising, the way the sport will be presented to the fans is nightmarish at best.
Elite XC is run by Gary Shaw. Shaw is a boxing promoter who many thought would bring further legitimacy MMA. What is starting to become apparant however, is that Shaw wants to change the sport to more closely resemble what he knows. As reported at Sherdog.com it was announced in a press conference that Elite XC rules will limit time on the ground to 15 seconds. Whether or not this means that the fight will be brought to the feet automatically after 15 seconds of ground time, or 15 seconds of "inactivity" on the ground is unclear. Either way, this is a tragically poor desicion. MMA without a ground game is not MMA. These rules liken Elite XC more toward San-Shou than MMA. What's odd is that both Renzo Gracie and Frank Shamrock must have been aware of these rules when they signed to fight for the organization. How can a Gracie consider fighting with these types of limitations? And, assuming that 15 second limit applies only to inactivitiy on the ground, this will still result in crippling the ground game. Inactivity is a purely subjective observation. Every MMA fan has seen a fight wherein a stalemate on the ground should be reset. Likewise there are many situations where a fight is brought to the feet prematurely. Further, why would a fighter that has a strong ground game consider fighting for an organization that, by rule, will limit the effectiveness of their game? Will fighters like Matt Lindland or Tito Ortiz be remotely interested in this? Lastly, there is an inherent saftey issue to be considered. One reason MMA has proven to be safer than boxing is the options a fighter has to get out of trouble when dealing with a superior striker. By forcing the fighters to stand, Elite XC is putting fighters at risk of serious injury.
Executives at Showtime should take notice of what Elite XC is doing and take steps to ensure that unified rules are followed at these events. The first Elite XC event is in Mississippi. I'd be curious to see what other rules the group will employ that differ from NSAC rules. Overall this setup is going to prove disappointing.
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