As MMA continues to grow into a sport that could possibly become mainstream in the future, there will always be some growing pains that come along with a sport that is somewhat in its infancy when compared to many of the other professional sports out there. One of the growing pains that come with this sport right now is finding investors, a fanbase to support that investment, and providing entertainment to those fans. Unfortunately for many promotions, fans and entertainment don’t come cheap.

Canadian MMA promotion Hardcore Fighting Championships has confirmed as being out of business to Sherdog.com today. It was announced awhile back that it was possibly going to announce that it had been acquired by another promotion, but it seems that the rumors of such a transaction have faded away. While HCF had some top names fighters such as “Little Nog” Nogueira, “Babalu” Sobral, Gegard Mousasi, and David “The Crow” Loiseau all fighting in the promotion’s events, it’s evident that those fight purses likely surpassed what was brought in through the live gate and television revenues. Add in entertainment costs such as production, and you have a sinking ship from the beginning.

Who’s next on the chopping block? The IFL is certainly going to tank by the end of this year at the latest. The promotion is currently seeking investors and buyers once again to keep afloat, but the fact of the matter is that the IFL just doesn’t have the talent to maintain interest from the fanbase. I was a huge fan of their last show due to the great action that occurred on the card, but having one great show out of 10 lackluster events doesn’t help your stock with the fanbase.

Their team-based idea never took off, and I believe it was really too late to start adding in the camp vs. camp aspect to the entire promotion. Now, the IFL is implementing a HEX-ring in their next event which should prove to be as embarrassing as the YAMMA pit.

It should be noted to any aspiring MMA promotions out there that it takes some big money and brass balls to head into the MMA market. Big fights attract fans, and the UFC’s reality show put them on the map ahead of everyone. Television can help a great deal in your quest to find a fanbase, and it should be something that future promotions look for. That’s only the tip of the iceberg for the long term goals of a new promotion.

Great matchups, a solid stable of fighters, and emphasis on budgeting your money to provide some length to your promotion are all significant goals. It’s tough these days with the UFC possessing most of the top talent, so I imagine we’ll see a few more demises in the future as we continue to move through the year. Could EliteXC be on the chopping block come the fall? It’s possible if the CBS shows do poorly. It should be interesting to see how well they do.

As I was browsing through the rumor mill this afternoon, I couldn’t help but notice another possible acquisition by what is now becoming one of the biggest mixed martial arts promotions in the world. According to a report at MMAonTap.com, Canada’s Hardcore Fighting Championships is potentially on the verge of being bought out by an unnamed suitor. Of course, it looks like the news was spoiled as to who that unnamed suitor was in a quote by HCF’s CEO Keith Crawford:

“This announcement is the culmination of 10 years of hard work in combative sports, and I couldn’t be more excited,” Crawford said in the report. “What it’s going to do, I feel, is to put us right at number two with everybody else. Obviously the UFC is number one, and I believe that Elite XC, Strikeforce and ourselves are going to be number two when we make the announcement as to who has purchased us.”

John Chandler over at MMAonTap.com stated that he thought it was likely to be ProElite after the quote from Crawford. I couldn’t agree more. It definitely sounds like HCF will be under the ProElite umbrella of mixed martial arts promotions. This undertaking by ProElite raised some serious thoughts about the state of mixed martial arts in general from a fan’s perspective, even without the purchase of Hardcore Fighting Championships.

Unlike other promotions that have entered the market, ProElite’s concept was much different. Their aim wasn’t to create a structure from the ground up, but to purchase promotions that were already operating in different parts of the world. Cage Rage, ICON Sport, and King of the Cage have all been bought by ProElite, and Hardcore Fighting Championships looks to be the new addition. They have a presence in England, Hawaii, and in smaller shows throughout the United States along with a new addition in Canada if the HCF deal goes through. In a much smaller capacity, they have moved into the same areas as the UFC with an added bonus of having personnel in those promotions that know how to market the area, work with area fighters, and sell the events. It seems to be working rather well.

Fans should love ProElite’s progress

Personally, ProElite has filled my weekends with MMA action that would otherwise be tough to see. From EliteXC and ShoXC to Cage Rage in England to Icon Sport in Hawaii to the occasional Brazilian action such as Fury Fighting Championships and even the ADCC Grappling Championships, ProElite has provided the hardcore fans and the casual fanbase who is looking to see more action on the Internet with more and more events that we normally would never be privy to seeing on such a regular basis.

I have to tip my hat to them for their efforts. Sure, we have to deal with some poor production values and some terribly mismatched battles from time to time, but that’s the deal with every promotion in this sport. Money is to be made, and as a fan along for the ride, you have to love the fact that our intake of MMA action has increased dramatically because of ProElite.

Compliments of Youtube!