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UnderGround Forum >> many fighters lose out...
| 10/20/08 11:23 PM | |
PatrickFreitas
Member Since: 10/2/07 Posts: 5002 |
As Icon's ex-promoter, I've had fighters calling me all day about the Elitexc situation. I Just wanted to say that as everyone here is dancing on the Elitexc's grave, I think its important to remember that a shitload of good fighters (and great people) just saw their contracts disappear into the ether. I mostly dealt with the Hawaii talent, so Icon champs like Kala Kolohe and Mark Oshiro, as well as up-and-comers Poai Suganuma (BJ Penn's LHW), Koa Ramos, Kaleo Kwan - to name a few - just lost big time. 20x this many mainland guys are going thru the same thing. Really sucks for all of them.
Not all of them are UFC material, but the EliteXC model allowed them to earn much better paychecks than living in the local shows. Its too bad that most of them have to go back to the tiny paychecks of the local shows.
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| 10/20/08 11:24 PM | |
EvilMaster
Member Since: 5/4/06 Posts: 29247 |
Agreed. Shitty deal. :(
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| 10/20/08 11:25 PM | |
Crooklyn
Member Since: 8/11/07 Posts: 20257 TapouT Radio, Host |
Patrick, I just wanna say, that you are a classy man, and a great promoter. Too bad they didn't have you running shit over there. They might still be around.
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| 10/20/08 11:26 PM | |
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Birdman3015
Member Since: 12/27/06 Posts: 5615 |
Damn that sucks. But hopefully they got enough exsposure for Affliction, Cage Rage, Dream and etc come calling. There are going to be a lot of peeps getting snagged up in just mere hours. I pray for those small guys to get picked up.
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| 10/20/08 11:30 PM | |
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albo2020
Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 183 Costa Rica Fights, President |
It was great while it lasted. MMA on free network TV. What station will step up and try and fill that void? o
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| 10/20/08 11:31 PM | |
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Birdman3015
Member Since: 12/27/06 Posts: 5618 |
epwar - Yeah, this really sucks for a lot of talented fighters out there. I hope BJ can put in a good word for Pa'oi. Who would be stupid not to listen to BJ Penn
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| 10/20/08 11:32 PM | |
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RyannVonDoom
Member Since: 11/30/07 Posts: 1393 |
PatrickFreitas - As Icon's ex-promoter, I've had fighters calling me all day about the Elitexc situation. I Just wanted to say that as everyone here is dancing on the Elitexc's grave, I think its important to remember that a shitload of good fighters (and great people) just saw their contracts disappear into the ether. I mostly dealt with the Hawaii talent, so Icon champs like Kala Kolohe and Mark Oshiro, as well as up-and-comers Poai Suganuma (BJ Penn's LHW), Koa Ramos, Kaleo Kwan - to name a few - just lost big time. 20x this many mainland guys are going thru the same thing. Really sucks for all of them. That's exactly what I was thinking and saying. People keep talking shit about the shaws, but what about the fighters that are displaced now? Dana likes to hold grudges and a lot of them wont be taken in by the UFC. Sucks for a lot of fighters.
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| 10/20/08 11:34 PM | |
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Dead Again
Member Since: 7/15/06 Posts: 21330 |
WhatIsMMA - Finally someone with some common sense chimes in. Sorry to all those who lost their jobs, RIP to a great promotion. I agree with everything except the part about a "great promotion".
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| 10/20/08 11:36 PM | |
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Birdman3015
Member Since: 12/27/06 Posts: 5619 |
Hey Dana swallow your pride and just snag the best thats out there. regardless of your grudges...
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| 10/20/08 11:37 PM | |
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TimsLeftNut
Member Since: 6/28/07 Posts: 4150 |
I feel bad for the fighters but I can't see how anybody would be surprised.
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| 10/20/08 11:39 PM | |
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kaitlinrosie
Member Since: 12/11/07 Posts: 488 |
Thanks Patrick. I am so bummed :-(
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| 10/20/08 11:39 PM | |
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Dane Oss
Member Since: 1/6/08 Posts: 79 |
I honestly can't see how anyone is happy for the demise of EliteXC
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| 10/20/08 11:42 PM | |
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Birdman3015
Member Since: 12/27/06 Posts: 5621 |
Well we were happy but now after the excitement and the relization of the fact that there are peeps who are now out of the job its not so exciting any more
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| 10/20/08 11:47 PM | |
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dunchurrn
Member Since: 8/14/07 Posts: 1431 |
OmegaPoon - Truth. Although maybe this debacle will force the next Pro Elite to be less shady. The next ProElite isn't coming for a long time, the economy is all fucked up and nobody is dumb enough to step up and fill the void, and the only people that really could do it would be if Zuffa massively expanded or CBS pump money into another promotion. This is a really, really shitty situation for the fighters. Birdman3015 - Hey Dana swallow your pride and just snag the best thats out there. regardless of your grudges... I'm always shocked how much footing the "Dana holds grudges" thing gets. It's pro-wrestling bluster to obfuscate real business issues. Josh Barnett isn't in Sengoku because Dana White is a big meanie, it's because he has a big price tag and it's easier to digest the abrasive spokesman being a hardass than it is the world leader in the sport not having all the world leading athletes because they won't pay for it.
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| 10/20/08 11:49 PM | |
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PatrickFreitas
Member Since: 10/2/07 Posts: 5003 |
Crooklyn - Patrick, I just wanna say, that you are a classy man, and a great promoter. Too bad they didn't have you running shit over there. They might still be around. Big mahaloz for that. Its safe to say that Elite and I rarely saw eye-to-eye on marketing. We did things a lot differently than them at Icon. I was frequently outvoted in the committee process, but I just thought that was part of the deal of going from the 2-man admin of Icon to the corporate structure of ProElite. I brought Mousasi, Aoki, Hunt, and a number of other legit guys (all at a fair market price) to the matchmaking team back Oct/Nov 2007, but my talent selections didn't match their agenda. No disrespect to them cuz they are all nice guys and gals...we just saw things differently. Guys like Lawler, Diaz, Shields, Bigfoot, Feijao, and Herman will all land on their feet when the dust clears, but many others will suffer. I hope everything turns out okay for the rest, including nearly all of the staff at Elite.
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| 10/20/08 11:59 PM | |
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Crooklyn
Member Since: 8/11/07 Posts: 20259 TapouT Radio, Host |
PatrickFreitas -Crooklyn - Patrick, I just wanna say, that you are a classy man, and a great promoter. Too bad they didn't have you running shit over there. They might still be around. I had heard about you wanting to bring Mousasi in, and EXC putting the bricks to that idea. Check your messages in 2 minutes please.
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| 10/21/08 12:03 AM | |
Kirik
Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 32885 Mixed Martial Arts LLC, President |
Thank you for making a very necessary post.
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| 10/21/08 12:05 AM | |
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caposa
Member Since: 10/8/07 Posts: 729 |
great post i dont understand the celebration either
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| 10/21/08 12:11 AM | |
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DannyOcean
Member Since: 5/5/07 Posts: 2222 |
I think people are celebrating because of the shady nature of the entire organization and the 'freakshow' nature of their marketing and broadcasting. While every point you make is a good one, MMA as a whole will be better in the long run with EXC gone. ProElite in general was not as bad, but EXC was the flagship and the flagship stunk as bad as you can stink. It stinks that for the sake of MMA keeping a good reputation good fighters and people are losing their jobs. Here's to hoping they land on their feet quickly.
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| 10/21/08 12:15 AM | |
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DravenTyler
Member Since: 1/14/06 Posts: 3689 |
*hugs for Kaitlin* Hopefully you guys get some offers.
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| 10/21/08 12:15 AM | |
CRE
Member Since: 1/23/06 Posts: 31882 |
It sucks ass man
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| 10/21/08 12:16 AM | |
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tumn
Member Since: 9/11/07 Posts: 331 |
I feel bad for all the fighters.
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| 10/21/08 12:17 AM | |
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BigSleep
Member Since: 5/26/06 Posts: 1569 |
DannyOcean - I think people are celebrating because of the shady nature of the entire organization and the 'freakshow' nature of their marketing and broadcasting. this post i agree with. MMA is much better off in the long run. EXC was bound to fail and hopefully a real organization will rise up in it's place.
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| 10/21/08 12:47 AM | |
BigMike77
Member Since: 1/27/03 Posts: 1816 H2H Combat Challenge LLC, Owner |
but the question is who will fill that viod? we need many big name mma orginations to meet the demand for the speed of which this new sport is growing. The Mcdojo's across the state opening and more and more states making pro/amateur mma legal and sanctioned by the state....this is a good thing. People we have a new sport. We created it....the fans. WE buy the tickets, WE buy the paperview, and all the tapout shirts we can fit in our dressers,,,my point is......shit what is my point? oh ya! Like my father used to say " Everthing happens for a reason" this reason is hard to find right now but in the end, it will work it self out. The fans and the fighters will not let that happen. It's like a dance two steps forward, one step back. We took our one step back, now lets move forward. cha cha cha
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| 10/21/08 2:25 AM | |
JimmersonzGlove
Member Since: 6/5/05 Posts: 13377 |
Great post Patrick.
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