Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a U.S.-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and was the second biggest of its kind in the world, the first being the UFC. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks Inc. and ProElite, Inc. and officially announced on December 14, 2006. It was headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
The partnership to form EliteXC was announced on November 13th, 2006. The first major event occurred February 10, 2007 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi. Fighters Frank Shamrock and Renzo Gracie fought in the main event.
On February 27, 2008, it was reported that EliteXC had reached an agreement with CBS to broadcast EliteXC shows on prime time. If successful, it is thought that CBS will broadcast EliteXC specials every other month on Saturday nights. CBS aired EliteXC: Primetime on May 31st, 2008 making EliteXC the first primetime MMA program on American network television.
ShoXC[]
On July 11, 2007, it was announced that Proelite.com and Showtime would produce a new series titled ShoXC. The monthly shows would highlight up-and-coming MMA talent, similar to Showtime's ShoBox boxing events. The first took place on July 27, 2007. The first event was co-promoted with King of the Cage and was also known as KOTC: Undisputed. Gary Shaw stated that there would be 4 ShoXC events in 2007 and 8 in 2008.
Partnership with Cage Rage[]
On September 7, 2007, ProElite, Inc. announced that they had officially accquired British MMA organization Cage Rage. EliteXC and Cage Rage Championships will begin numerous joint ventures together, beginning with Cage Rage 23. That event will be the first Cage Rage event to be presented under the new EliteXC banner and will air live on elitexc.com.
Partnership with DREAM[]
On May 10th, 2008 EliteXC announced a working partnership with Japanese promotion DREAM. The two groups intend to share fighters (Eddie Alvarez, Jason Miller and Nick Diaz have already participated in DREAM events) and eventually co-promote shows.
Co-promoting with Affliction[]
On September 24, 2008 EliteXC announced a working partnership with rival US promotion Affliction. Affliction offered Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson for the EliteXC card on CBS. In addition, Affliction heavily promoted their line through commercials on the show. It was hoped that the two companies would survive a rocky financial situation long enough to co-promote fights again in the future.
Demise[]
On October 4, 2008, prominent EliteXC fighter Kimbo Slice lost via early knockout to late replacement fighter Seth Petruzelli. The unexpected outcome of this fight drew a great deal of attention, and subsequent comments by Petruzelli that he was offered a monetary bonus to employ certain techniques during the fight (comments he later recanted and obfuscated), raised the question of undue influence by EliteXC representatives in fights. Significant debt incurred by parent company Pro Elite with no investors or buyers showing interest caused the subsequent cancellation of the November 8, 2008 event. Combined with the Florida State Athletic Commission launching an investigation into the Slice/Petruzelli fight, Pro Elite announced on October 20, 2008 that they would cease operations.[1]
Around a year and a half later, on February 23, 2010, Stratus Media Group bought a controlling intrest in ProElite and is planning to hold more events in the future.[2]
EliteXC events[]
The first event took place in February 2007. The list includes three events that EliteXC co-promoted (Dynamite!! USA, Strikeforce Shamrock vs. Baroni, and Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le) with other MMA organizations. Two events were shown initially on pay-per-view, while the others have debuted on the Showtime cable network.
| # | Event | Date | Venue | Location |
| 19 | EliteXC: Heat | October 4, 2008 | BankAtlantic Center | Sunrise, Florida |
| 18 | ShoXC 8 | September 26, 2008 | Chumash Casino | Santa Ynez, California |
| 17 | ShoXC 7 | August 15, 2008 | Table Mountain Casino | Friant |
| 16 | EliteXC: Unfinished Business | July 26, 2008 | Stockton Arena | Stockton, California |
| 15 | EliteXC: Return of the King | June 14, 2008 | Neal S. Blaisdell Arena | Oahu, Hawaii |
| 14 | EliteXC: Primetime | May 31, 2008 | Prudential Center | Newark, New Jersey |
| 13 | ShoXC 6 | April 5, 2008 | Table Mountain Casino | Friant, California |
| 12 | Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le | March 29, 2008 | HP Pavilion | San Jose, California |
| 11 | ShoXC 5 | March 21, 2008 | Chumash Casino | Santa Ynez, California |
| 10 | EliteXC: Street Certified | February 16, 2008 | BankUnited Center | Miami, Florida |
| 9 | ShoXC 4 | January 25, 2008 | Trump Taj Mahal | Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| 8 | EliteXC: Renegade | November 10, 2007 | American Bank Center | Corpus Christi, Texas |
| 7 | ShoXC 3 | October 26, 2007 | Chumash Casino | Santa Ynez, California |
| 6 | EliteXC: Uprising | September 15, 2007 | Neal S. Blaisdell Arena | Oahu, Hawaii |
| 5 | ShoXC 2 | August 25, 2007 | Vicksburg Convention Center | Vicksburg, Mississippi |
| 4 | ShoXC 1 | July 27, 2007 | Chumash Casino | Santa Ynez, California |
| 3 | Strikeforce Shamrock vs. Baroni | June 2, 2007 | HP Pavilion | San Jose, California |
| 2 | Dynamite!! USA | June 2, 2007 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Los Angeles, California |
| 1 | EliteXC Destiny | February 10, 2007 | DeSoto Civic Center | Southaven, Mississippi |
EliteXC Champions[]
Lightweight championship[]
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| KJ Noons | November 10, 2007 |
Welterweight championship[]
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Jake Shields | July 26, 2008 |
Middleweight championship[]
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Murilo Rua | June 2, 2007 |
| Robbie Lawler | September 15, 2007 |
Heavyweight (MMA)[]
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Antonio Silva | July 26 2008 |
Women's Division[]
- Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos
- Debi Purcell
- Gina Carano
- Kaitlin Young
- Shayna Baszler
- Tonya Evinger
Notable personalities (non-fighters)[]
- David Marshall - Chairman (2006-Present)
- Douglas DeLuca - Chief Executive Officer (2006-Present)
- Kelly Perdew - President of ProElite.com (2006-Present)
- Gary Shaw - Director and President of Live Events (2006-Present)
- Mauro Ranallo - Play-by-Play Commentator (2007-Present) formerly of Pride Fighting Championships
- Stephen Quadros - Color Commentator (2007-Present) formerly of Pride Fighting Championships
- Jay Glazer - Commentator (2007-Present), formerly of Pride Fighting Championships
- Bill Goldberg - Color Commentator (2007-Present)
- Karyn Bryant - Roving Reporter (2008-Present)
- Stephanie Stokes - Undercard Announcer