K-1 HERO'S / ELITE XC: JUNE 2, 2007 Will team work pay off?

[Dominus]

So what do you think of this K-1/Elite XC PPV on June 2nd?

The card doesn't look too bad, it will be interesting to see how Lesner fairs in his first MMA fight. Also I wonder who Gracie will be fighting? I would think it would be some type of known fighter to make it a bigger draw.

I really want to see these joint ventures by more than one MMA company work out. By trading fighters and working togeather K-1 and Elite XC might have a good shot at making it in the MMA world, as long as it's done right. I see that Strike Force is working with EXC on a PPV as well on June 22nd.

UFC and Pride have the market, but I wonder how much ground EXC/K-1 can make up if they work as a team.



K-1 HERO'S / ELITE XC: JUNE 2, 2007 ON PPV & SHOWTIME
venue: L.A. Coliseum in Los Angeles, California

Will air on Showtime from 9:00 PM Eastern Time to 10:00 PM Eastern Time (free for Showtime subscribers):
-Jake Shields (#9 Welterweight in the World)* vs. TBA
-Gina Carano vs. TBA
-Antonio Silva vs. TBA

Will air on pay-per-view from 10:00 PM Eastern Time to 1:00 AM Eastern Time:
-Brock Lesnar vs. Hong-Man Choi
-Royce Gracie vs. TBA
-Johnnie Morton vs. TBA
-David "Tank" Abbott vs. Eric "Butterbean" Esch

United States pay-per-view suggested retail price for PPV portion of this event: $34.95

Note: This event will be a co-production of K-1 Hero's/FEG, EliteXC, and Showtime PPV

* Based on MMAWeekly Rankings

[The Sundance Kid]

I think it is a solid card for their venture into the US.

[Dominus]

Yeah, for sure it's a good card, and I like the fact that the undercards will air on TV before the PPV. If these guys can keep working togeather I can see them doing pretty well in the US.

Dana can laugh at all the new MMA feds, but they arn't doing too bad, and they have decent cards. May not have the top fighters in MMA but good fighters that make for exciting fights.

[neonatural45]

I really dont like k-1, but this card will appeal to the UFC fans. Personally i wont watch it but I beleive it will sell out easily. Royce, tank, Brock Lesner, and Butterbean all draw a crowd. So far the first card isnt much but I expect a few fights to be added to make it better

[Dominus]

Originally Posted by neonatural45

I really dont like k-1, but this card will appeal to the UFC fans. Personally i wont watch it but I beleive it will sell out easily. Royce, tank, Brock Lesner, and Butterbean all draw a crowd. So far the first card isnt much but I expect a few fights to be added to make it better

What don't you like about K-1?

[dagreat1]

It will sell in Japan as always and will sell well in the US as long as the marketing is strong.

Kid, JZ, Akiyama, Manoef and Saku will bring in additional viewers so hopefully some of them are added.

[neonatural45]

Originally Posted by Dominus

What don't you like about K-1?

They have great fighters but I feel they dont really give a shit about MMA and are more focused on kickboxing. This really affects how they seem to match up there top guys with people who arnet half as good as them. It was fine before Pride got sold but now they are the biggest threat to the Ferititas. I just dont want to see them get any bigger in mma

[Mac]

I think this will do fine in the U.S. as laong as they get Lesnar's name out there the hardcore wrasslin fans will come running. You add them to the mma fans that will already be watching and it could do quite well.

[Unreal]

gracie is fighting big silva ^_^

[Clint]

Short term this collaboration will work wonders but long term I don't see it holding up. When competitors get together in joint ventures, things almost always turn ugly at some point. Until then though this is a solid looking card.