EliteXC CEO Speaks With MMAWeekly
October 2, 2008
EliteXC CEO Chuck Champion recently sat down wit MMAWeekly for an in-depth talk about his financial moves at the helm of ProElite.
Champion was able to give a little more detail on the nature of the most recent funding efforts that were detailed in their recent SEC filings:
In a candid conversation with MMAWeekly.com, the CEO said that the $2.5 million dollar shortfall came when two major investors in the company, The Hunter Fund and Absolute Fund, elected not to make a scheduled loan.
“Them not having been able to consummate those, for reasons that are better illuminated by them than me, put us in a situation where we had to rely on our commercial partners, CBS and Showtime, to help us get through that bridge. They were terrific enough to be able to advance us license fees in order to be able to put on the rest of the shows for the remainder of the year, the last one being Nov. 8.”
The tightening of credit markets are a likely culprit. EliteXC has attempted additional major capital raises, approaching various entities already, but it will be a tough road in the current environment. A rumored increased stake by TV partner Showtime may be a bit more plausible.
Champion also detailed the high burn rate EliteXC had with cash and the cost cutting efforts that have taken place since he has taken over. That passage really underscores the lack of financial foresight that is being used with the start-ups in the MMA field. Folks like Champion and Jay Larkin with the IFL are brought to instill fiscal sanity once original management has felt the hangover from their cash-drunk adventures.
Larkin is castigated by some in the MMA field because he wasn’t a died in the wool MMA fan, but in the role of CEO having good financial sense trumps knowing a keylock from a kimura. Sure it would be nice if you have both, but booking and the nuts and bolts of the sporting side can be better served by having a strong number two man to handle those areas.
