Transcript from 7/22 EliteXC Conference Call
Doug DeLuca Speaks, from Tuesday’s Confernece Call:
QUESTION: Doug, can you comment on any potential deals with Fox Sports and EliteXC?
Doug DeLuca: We’re not prepared to really talk about anything in detail, but we certainly are talking. You’ll probably see something soon.
QUESTION: Doug, could you comment on Eddie Alvarez’s phenomenal performance over the weekend, despite the unfortunate injury. What are your hopes for him and EliteXC hopefully for the end of this year?
Doug DeLuca: Eddie is an amazing fighter. We knew when we let him go fight in DREAM — we often let our fighters fight in other promotions when it’s good for them, the sport and, obviously, for both promotions — he was going to do well over there. We hold really high hopes for Eddie.
He’s a great fighter and I think he speaks to that new breed of MMA fighter, a guy well‑rounded in all aspects of MMA and all disciplines of the sport. And you’re going to start seeing that super athlete emerge more and more. I think Eddie is (one of) the poster child for that. We’re really happy to have him. He’s an exciting fighter and great guy. We’re looking forward to getting him on an EliteXC card soon.
QUESTION: Eddie Alvarez, in the ring after the Dream card ended both he and Joaquin Hansen indicated that they thought they would fight each other next. Is there anything with Eddie contract that would prevent that from happening?
Doug DeLuca: The way his contract works, and the way we work with most of our fighters, is when a fight arises that they really want to take or will help their career, they come and talk to us. We sit down and we see if it’s the right move for everyone.
So, I mean, it’s a potential, but it has not been brought up yet and it’s nothing that we’ve discussed. So I can’t really comment on it specifically. Certainly we’ll entertain all thoughts and all comments.
QUESTION: Doug, there’s been talk that it’s going to be difficult for Saturday’s event to draw the type of ratings that the first EliteXC event did — just because there was so much marketing for that event. What do you expect in terms of ratings and what would it take for you to deem it a success?
Doug DeLuca: We certainly are managing all of our expectations. It is summer. And we did have a number of good PR items going for us on the first event. It was the first event on primetime network television. That alone drummed up a huge amount of press for the event and a lot of people were interested in seeing.
But, look, I’m confident in our fight card. I’m confident in mixed martial arts and I’m confident at what we can do at EliteXC in terms of producing events and our PR team is second to none. So we’ve got a lot of press for this event as well.
We understand the numbers might not be as big as the first time, but (still) we’re all expecting to do some good numbers. I really couldn’t tell you what a success is, or what a success isn’t. I’m just looking forward to putting on the best event possible and getting as many people out to watch it as we can get.
QUESTION: Last week you mentioned the possibility of a swing bout being added to the card. Have you guys gone through with that?
Doug DeLuca: We’re definitely adding a swing bout to the card. We’re still working on it. In a bout that we thought we might do, one of the fighters got hurt. We should have something in the next day or so.
QUESTION: Doug, how big is the Stockton Arena and how many tickets are sold so far?
Doug DeLuca: The Stockton Arena fits 10,000 fully built out. I think we have it scaled for either 7500 or 8,000. And we’re definitely well up over half sold already and that was as of the weekend. I know we picked up a full head of steam on Monday. I’m not sure where the exact ticket sales are, but we’re fully expecting it to be completely full.
QUESTION: Doug, one of the interesting things about the first show is how (the number) of people from start to finish gained — your start number was decent but your finish number was tremendous. What do you attribute that to and do you think it’s possible to duplicate that? Do you think it was because of the mystic of Kimbo or do you think that’s because of MMA or a combo?
Doug DeLuca: I think first and foremost speaks to MMA. I mean, it’s something I’ve said a lot: Anyone who gives this sport a chance and watches it with an open mind will be drawn in and will become a fan. So I think a lot of what happened is you have a lot of people that were interested on the periphery that came in, watched, and then the next thing is they just see one great fight after great fight after great fight. What are you going to do? Are you going to turn away when it gets better and better? So, first and foremost, it had to do with the sport just being a great sport that draws people in. Secondly, it had to do with the fights; the fights kept getting better and better, and it will be the same case with this fight card.
But, you (know) some people were interested to see what Kimbo would do. Those people tuned in as well. If you watch the viewing patterns, people came and the momentum just kept building and building and building and nobody left. So I think it speaks volumes to the fighters; it speaks volumes to the sport.
QUESTION: Is KJ Noons going to be in the arena and is there going to be any kind of footage shown of what happened in Hawaii with KJ and Diaz as part of the package of the Diaz fight?
Doug DeLuca: What happened in the cage in Hawaii is not something that ProElite or EliteXC is proud of. That’s not what the sport’s about. I mean, the one thing that impresses me on a daily basis, and I never cease to be impressed, is the sportsmanship of these athletes. Just the respect and discipline of these guys the way they care for each other. This is a community here and it’s not something that we’re looking to underline what happened there. That was an unfortunate circumstance.
There was a little bad blood, and I’m sure those two are going to get a chance to work that out in the cage down the road. I don’t know if KJ is coming, but (you won’t be) seeing the melee in the cage in Hawaii.
QUESTION: After this show, what dates does EliteXC have coming up on the schedule so far?
Doug DeLuca: There’s an Aug. 15 fight card on SHOWTIME, a ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series event from the Table Mountain Casino (at Friant, Calif.).
(Here’s) a bit of a tip. You’ll see an EliteXC show in September. We’ll announce that fully I believe on Saturday. And, then, you’re probably going to see another CBS show down the road.
MMAPayout.com: Doug, most of the businesses use the Pay‑Per‑View business model. Do you see the network deal with CBS as a jumping‑off point to Pay‑Per‑View to monetize the promotion? And, if so, what kind of time frame did you have?
Doug DeLuca: Absolutely, the Pay‑Per‑View model is the goal for most people in this sport. So, yes, it’s our goal, too. The exact plan is broadcast television drives the Pay‑Per‑View. It builds stars. SHOWTIME to CBS. CBS to Pay‑Per‑View. Build stars, build the interest in the stars, let people know even more that these fighters – the guys and gals — are people and they have real stories and make people care about them and drive the Pay‑Per‑View. So that’s absolutely the goal. As far as timing goes, you’ll probably see a Pay‑Per‑View from us early in ‘09.
MMAPayout.com: Are there any negotiations or conversations with other parties about doing a co‑promotion?
Doug DeLuca: You know, we speak to everybody probably except one competitor in the sport. We speak to everybody. We’re friendly with all the other promotions. We’ve all talked about doing co‑promotions.
We’ve done two co‑promotions with Strikeforce. We will definitely do more. Like I said, we talk to everyone. There’s nothing definitive in the works. We’ve talked to DREAM about doing a co‑promote in Japan. We’ve co‑promoted with FEG when we did that fight card at the (Los Angeles) Coliseum last year.
So we’re no stranger to good promoting and it’s something we really like to do. I think it’s good for the sport. It brings all the organizations together as a community and it gives the fans an opportunity, hopefully, to see the world’s best fights and the world’s best fighters. So we’re up for it.
MMAPayout.com: Doug, would you agree that it seems like you had an excellent piece of real estate as far as the network deal.
Doug DeLuca: We’re really very happy with our partners at CBS and SHOWTIME and they’re supportive of it and it couldn’t be a better thing for the sport than to get big eyeballs, a lot of eyeballs, watching and learning about it and caring about it.
