The future of women's mixed martial arts is very bright, according to EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw.

The outspoken boxing promoter-come-MMA mainstay announced Tuesday the Los Angeles-based company's intentions to expand its stable of female competitors for future EliteXC events, as well as add a 140-pound title as early as September.

Shaw also mentioned the possibility of an all-female event while he expounded on EliteXC's plans during a teleconference call for the May 31 "Primetime" event on CBS.

The call focused primarily on undefeated star Gina Carano (Pictures), who faces Kaitlin Young (Pictures) on the first MMA card in broadcast television's primetime. The bout is one of five scheduled for the historic event, which could bring the sport into millions of homes for the first time.

The winner of Carano-Young will be in line for a shot at the 140-pound title. More women's divisions will be added, said Shaw, if suitable athletes can be found to fill them.

"We're going to feature women's fighting," Shaw said. "If nobody else wants to do it, it's not better for the women, but it's certainly better for EliteXC."

UFC President Dana White has previously stated that his promotion has no intentions to promote a female bout in the future, though the UFC did make inquiries into a women's matchup in 2004. As a handful of promotions jockey for position in the fight world behind the UFC, EliteXC's aggressive approach with the softer sex could pull it away from the pack.

It's worked so far with Carano. The mainstream press has embraced the photogenic 26-year-old, and she was featured Tuesday on ESPN's "E:60" series. Carano has also garnered considerable attention for her stint as "Crush" on "American Gladiators," which debuted last night in primetime on NBC.

Carano's moonlighting has boosted both EliteXC's and her own profile, though it remains to be seen how her hectic schedule ("AG" just finished shooting last week) will affect her performance against Young on May 31. Young has had her own distractions while studying for finals as a full-time kinesiology major at the University of Minnesota, but she hit the cage nearly nine weeks out when rumors began to circulate of the matchup.

In comparison, Carano has juggled six-day-a-week shoots for the popular TV show and has tried to squeeze her fight regimen in away from her Xtreme Couture team in Las Vegas.

"I wish I would have had nine weeks to completely focus on it like Kaitlin, but there's not going to be any excuses," Carano said. "I chose to do ‘American Gladiators' and take my time away from it."

While Carano admitted that her choice to seize both opportunities will have an affect on May 31's outcome, she has attempted to reel in her duties. In the last three weeks, she didn't attend a press junket in New York City, telling NBC representatives she needed to stay home to concentrate on her preparation. Carano said she has even minimized her interviews for the fight to get her head on straight.

"I feel more mentally clear than I've ever felt in my life, so I think that, going in there, is going to help me out leaps and bound," she said. "I know who I am a little bit more than I ever have. I'm at the cusp of grasping a hold of who I am. I'm confident and have the next two weeks to sharpen everything up."

It might not be her mental game that fans are concerned with. Carano's fluctuating weight has been a focus since she stepped in front of the cameras. Her role with "American Gladiators" has required she bulk up to 155-165 pounds or higher.

Carano has never officially missed weight for any of her bouts, though she seemed to teeter on the edge at the weigh-ins for her last bout against Tonya Evinger (Pictures) at EliteXC "Uprising" in September.

"Never has a fight not happened because of me not making weight, and unless one does, then I don't have anything to be ashamed of," Carano said. "I cut weight. I'm not too good dehydrated, so I walk into these weigh-ins not looking so hot sometimes. It's not going to be a problem for May 31."

Carano estimated she will have only five to six pounds to cut once she arrives in Newark, N.J., for the bout.

Also of note from Tuesday's teleconference:

• Shaw addressed recent rumblings that Pro Elite has spent much more than it could ever recoup and is in danger of going under. A publicly traded company, Pro Elite has posted losses of $31.3 million through 2007. "Are we losing money? Yes, we're losing money," Shaw said. "Are we going to be here long term? Yes, we're going to be here long term. We're the only company out there that has a Showtime-type deal and a CBS deal. Nobody else has that to offer any athlete.

We're number two behind the UFC. We're Pepsi to Coke. We're Avis to Hertz. But that's not always a bad place to be. We were far away from them 16 months ago … but they better look in their rearview mirror, because we're on their right bumper."

• Burger King and Rockstar energy drink are among the main sponsors of EliteXC's foray into broadcast television on May 31. Both have sponsored UFC events in the past.

• On EliteXC's move into the pay-per-view market, Shaw said the company was not in a hurry. I do pay-per-views when they're worthy of pay-per-views and I'm not embarrassed to ask the fans for their money. I don't think you should be asking the fans for their money every single month: ‘Pay me to see my fighters.' I don't believe in that. We'll do a pay-per-view when we feel we have a fight that's worthy of pay-per-view, but not until then.

"There's a big misnomer out there about pay-per-view, that if you become a pay-per-view fighter, you've really arrived. A good pay-per-view today does a good 200 to 300,000 buys. This fight on May 31, has the ability to draw 100 million eyeballs. Live TV is the place to be. That's where the notoriety comes from, not pay-per-view. The pay-per-view model is for when you have the two right fighters and they can increase both the revenue for both the company and the fighters."

• On the recent announcement to exchange talent with the Japanese promotion Dream: "We loaned them Nick Diaz (Pictures) this past week," Shaw said. "They want to do more with us. They're starting to realize that we have athletes that can really fight. We're one of the few organizations that's willing to go out there and work with other organizations. I am hoping that they will allow us to bring to them some of our greatest women fighters."

• Shaw verified that fighters in EliteXC events will not be allowed to wear Affliction-branded clothing due to the clothing giant's decision to promote its own rival event on July 19. "I think they're gonna find out that they're better off in the clothing business," Shaw said. "Stick with what you know, stick with what you do best and don't try and be somewhere that maybe you shouldn't be. Maybe they'll do one or two fights. My prediction will be that they'll be back in the clothing business."

If Affliction leaves the promotional realm, Shaw said EliteXC fighters would be cleared to wear the popular sponsor's garb once again.

• While Affliction's July 19 event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., will tout a deep lineup of notable names in the industry, including a formidable main event between former Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) and UFC counterpart Tim Sylvia (Pictures), Shaw remains unconvinced. "Names don't make the fights," he commented. "The fighters make the fights, not the names of the fighters."