The partnership between Showtime Networks Inc. and ProElite, Inc. that formed the EliteXC was officially announced in December of 2006 and the first major showing was on Feb. 10, 2007.
With hearts full of hope and minds open to the possibility of MMA becoming even bigger than the UFC had made it, fans and curiosity seekers alike tuned into the first free broadcast of EliteXC on CBS.
EliteXC Goes To CBS
Unfortunately, only three free broadcasts of the fights aired on CBS, the last being Oct. 4, 2008 where Chris Cyborg defeated Yoko Takahashi, Gina Carano defeated Kelly Kobold and Kimbo Slice was owned by Seth Petruzelli.
EliteXC’s fights and fighters have been surrounded by controversy. Many MMA fans, reporters and fighters believe the fighters are protected and the fights may even be fixed.
Ken Shamrock was expected to fight Kimbo Slice in the Oct. 24 event but for unknown reasons pulled out of the fight at the last minute. Many believe Kimbo did not want to lose and EliteXC was not keen on watching their “selling point” take a beating.
Ironically a few weeks after Shamrock backed out of the fight EliteXC files for bankruptcy and goes out of business leaving some of their fight fans scratching their heads and some of their fighters scrambling for new contacts.
American Fight League Has More To Prove
Tara Larosa is the AFL’s answer to Carano. The only difference is Larosa is a seasoned veteran with a 15-1 record.
Larosa has fought and beaten seasoned veterans as well from Shayna Baszler to Amanda Buckner to Julie Kedzie.
Larosa has proven her worth in many areas of MMA and has won matches by decision, submission and TKO.
Many MMA enthusiasts are awaiting the Carano-Larosa match-up but plenty believe EliteXC was protecting Carano from this fight.
Will all of the hype and subsequent disappointments and controversy surrounding the EliteXC the AFL has a lot to prove.
If any organization wants to stand with Dana White, the UFC and the WEC the fights have to be good. The fighters cannot be protected and the name has to live up to the hype.
Larosa is one of the few female fighters in the US that deserves the contract the AFL gave her and one of the few female fighters who can live up to the hype that has to surrounds her.
Larosa is a good fighter with good skill in many MMA areas and deserves the shot that Carano had handed to her.
Hopefully the Cyborg-Carano fight will still go down and hopefully Larosa will get the long awaited shot at Carano and Carano gets the wakeup call of her life.
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