MMA Insider had recently done an article on how Elite XC has a fair shot in becoming an upcoming league the UFC needs to look out for. While the optimism is nice, I just don't buy it as an upcoming league. There are many flaws in it's game plan right now and needs to be addressed. I will do so using Mr. Mohapatra's questions he had asked in his article and maybe add one or two of my own. Now, just to let you all know, I'm not anyway negative with MMA Insider. I'm an avid reader of the site and I hope many good things come it's way. What I am doing is offering the other side of the coin and hopefully spark up an honest debate.
1) Can The League Attract Top-Flight Fighters?
That's a bit of a trick question. Of course any league with deep enough pockets is going to attract top-flight fighters. It's inevitable. If none of you know by now, TATAME reports Murilo "Ninja" Rua has signed a three fight deal with EXC.
The question above shouldn't be "Can they attract top fighters?" The question should be "Can they maintain top fighters?" While it's awesome getting top fighters to fight in your league, you got to keep them in your league to have something to draw with as well as give your up and coming talent something to shoot for. Promotions need to be built on established names and established upstarts who haven't been tested on a professional stage yet. Out of EXC's main event card, I see at least....one to four people being on the next card if there ever is one and depending on who calls the shots. If we're talking about the whole event card, maybe one to six. I don't see Renzo sticking around due to being an IFL coach and I definitely do not see Shamrock sticking around due to STRIKEFORCE. Having four to six people carrying your league just doesn't look right. If there is ten people carrying over to the next two events, then I think it could call itself a league. It's all up in the air right now.
2) Can The League Attract Fans?
First of all, I got to ask. Mr. Mohapatra has said in his post...
"The other part of their approach is to hold the first event in the South. UFC hasn't ventured much to the East Coast or to the South in recent years and there are a lot of fans near the Atlantic Ocean eager to join in on the top-level fun that fans in Nevada and California have been enjoying for the last 18 months or so."
Didn't UFC have a couple events held in Florida? And isn't Florida in the east and the south?
Anyways, the question we're really supposed to be discussing is if EXC is doing anything to promote the league to fans. My answer to that is yes and no. Yes, it is promoting itself to fans. No, it's not promoting itself to all the fans. As up to this writing, I have not seen one ad about the event on at least basic cable. Not even Viacom owned stations which I think is a mistake. If you wanted as many eyeballs as possible, wouldn't you at least try to get one commercial on MTV, BET or even CBS? It seems that all it's promotions are either on Showtime and the internet. Now, don't get me wrong. I think the internet is a wonderful tool in promotion and advertising...just as long as you realize not everyone has the internet. And if they did, the preferable mode would still be dial up. Which brings me to the next point.
While promoting the fact that undercard matchups will be shown on the internet is an interesting idea that deserves to be explored, don't be expecting a tsunami of hits to be flying in. The medium is still to young to catch on to the public and to be honest, it would seem a bit silly to use two mediums to watch one event. Either simulcast next time or choose a medium and stick to it.
3) Does It Have Proper TV Coverage?
No. In fact, it has rather limited TV coverage. While being on Showtime is a rather big deal in the cable world, this means nothing to the common public. When the average person gets satellite/cable, they're going to aim for the cheapest premium package possible. That package almost always has HBO as it's main premium channel(s) (I say almost because I remember a time I had to pay for USA and TNT like they were "premium channels"). Anyone who has Showtime either has money to spend or knows someone in the cable/satellite biz. To expect large numbers to see this event is a bit silly.
4) Will Special Rules Attract Fans?
What attracted me to PRIDE and made me a fan wasn't the round limits, the penalty system or that you could stomp or kick a downed opponent. It was that these three things kept the fight smooth and naturally fluid. The EXC will be instituting a fifteen second "ground clock". If nothing of relevance is happening on the ground, the fight is stood back up. Can this rule work?
If it was in Japan, maybe. I don't see it working in America. With athletic commissions putting boxing judges in the judging and ref positions, this rule is going to hurt instead of help. Unless the ref knows what he's looking for in terms of grappling, I see a lot of stand ups happening. This is going to lose a good chunk of the hardcore base that your after. It doesn't help the rule either when it's given weight by a boxing promoter either.
As of right now, Elite XC looks like a one (possibly two) and done promotion in my eyes. There is very little mainstream promotion and the leagues foundations are shaky at best. While I understand Gary Shaw is trying new things, his reputation scares many a hardcore fan. This card needs and further actions from Shaw need to show that it is all about the sport and not all business. Until that time, we watch and wait for this Saturday.
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