CAGE RAGE: PRO ELITE NEW INVESTOR

Discussion in 'General MMA Discussion' started by Mitchell Kane, Jul 24, 2007.

  1. Mitchell Kane

    Mitchell Kane WBC Silver Diamond Emeritus Champ

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    CAGE RAGE: PRO ELITE NEW INVESTOR
    http://www.thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=4380

    By Stash Capar (stash@thefightnetwork.com)

    The UK’s premiere fight promotion Cage Rage is under renovation.

    Majority shareholder and multi-millionaire John Faraday has sold his stake in the organization, and a new investor, America’s Pro Elite, has stepped in, according to Cage Rage promoter Andy Geer.

    “Yes, John Faraday has left,â€￾ says Geer. “Pro Elite’s now with us, and they’re investing heavily in different areas.â€￾

    While an “allianceâ€￾ between Pro Elite, Cage Rage, Japan’s K-1, Korea’s Spirit MC, and pay premium cable channel Showtime was announced on March 28, the partnership between Cage Rage and Pro Elite is on a far more palpable level. With Pro Elite purportedly now owning a share of Cage Rage, Geer says fans should expect to see changes to the London-based promotion.

    “We [Andy Geer and Dave O’Donnell] are still running the show,â€￾ says Geer. “At present there is no finished deal, but one of our priorities will be working with their [Pro Elite’s] TV contacts to improve the quality of our broadcasts.â€￾

    Established in 2006, Pro Elite Inc. burst onto the international fight scene in 2007 with its first live event on Feb. 10 under its own EliteXC brand, broadcasted under an exclusive agreement with Showtime in the U.S. and on The Fight Network in Canada. Pro Elite teamed with thriving San Jose, Calif. promotion Strikeforce for another event June 22, and plans the first in a series of “ShoXCâ€￾ events with the cable channel July 27. Pro Elite has also reached various distribution deals with existing promotions, including Icon Sport and Cage Rage, streaming recent fight events for free on the Internet. In recent weeks, Pro Elite has been heavily rumoured in negotiations with Icon Sport and King of the Cage for potential acquisition.

    Earlier this year, Cage Rage signed a contract with Sky Sports, making the fight promotion the only British product on free live television, broadcasting events to millions of potential viewers.

    In addition to broadcast upgrades, the two organizations will participate in fighter exchanges as early as next year, says Geer.

    “All in all this partnership with Pro Elite will help our brand grow,â€￾ says O’Donnell. “It’ll help us become one of the world leaders in MMA - it’s a great time for Cage Rage and our sport in general.â€￾

    This purported merger comes at an opportune time for Cage Rage, with London quickly becoming the battle zone between the homegrown organization and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The world’s top MMA franchise has held two events in the UK this year already, with Sept. 8’s UFC 75 on route to breaking attendance records at the 23 thousand-seat O2 Arena in London.

    “I have no comment at all,â€￾ said Pro Elite spokesman and Elite XC President of Live Events Gary Shaw. “Cage Rage can say what they want, but I am the president of a publicly-traded company and thus can not comment at this time.â€￾

    Faraday refrained from comment as well.
     

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