Seth Petruzelli may have delivered a blow to EliteXC’s golden boy with his knockout victory over Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson at the last EliteXC on CBS event, but the comments he made to a radio station in the days that followed the fight have delivered the final knockout to the company itself.
The promotion, which currently carries a 60 million dollar debt accrued over two years, has notified fighters they currently have under contract that the company is going out of business. The final nail in the coffin was CBS pulling out of a deal to buy EXC, which would have saved them from debt and given them at least a few months to turn things around.
Petruzelli’s comments about being paid to stand with Slice changed everything. The comments sparked an outrage among MMA fans and media, and an investigation was begun to discover if EXC officials did, in fact, try to influence the outcome of the Petruzelli/Slice fight. Regardless of what the investigation would ultimately turn up, it was clear that the EXC brand was permanently tarnished because of the story, and CBS cut ties with them.
We’ll have more on this story tomorrow.
