The UFC is not about to be upended by anyone. But there certainly is jockeying for second place.

Foremost among contenders, at least among North American mixed martial arts organizations, is EliteXC.

Aside from horrendous expenditures that have put the fledgling fight club in the hole for a cool $31.3 million through 2007, the Pro Elite-branded package of MMA is headed in the right direction. The company boasts deals with Showtime and CBS, has several key fighters under contract and is open to working with rival organizations. Also, outspoken EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw has wisely avoided making immediate plans for pay-per-view events.

The company gives the impression that it is thinking outside the box, but its modus operandi may nevertheless cause problems.

For starters, EliteXC is, in my opinion, marketing to the wrong audience. I have no problem with Kimbo Slice, but the jury is still out on the former Floridian street fighter. He's being marketed as an "Internet Sensation" and a "Legendary Street Fighter," but is that what MMA is all about?

If MMA grabs the attention of someone who wants to delve a little deeper into the sport, what if that individual comes across Kimbo Slice first? Is Slice the essence of elite MMA competition?

No.

Furthermore, EliteXC doesn't appear to have a backup plan should Slice become nothing more than another fraud. In addition to Slice, two ancient fighters -- Ken Shamrock (Pictures) and Tank Abbott -- have starred in the promotion's last few major events.

However, Shaw's plans to extend EliteXC's female roster is a welcome breath of fresh air. That is, of course, if the masses gather around their televisions to watch women fighting.

I have no problem with the notion of the ladies -- whether drop-dead gorgeous or barrel-like truck drivers -- locking horns and seeing who is tougher. The problem is, boxing showed that virtually no fans care about women's fighting.

Even when Christy Martin was knocking out opponents with single punches, the only reason she was briefly a household name is because Don King had added her, more or less as a sideshow, to the undercards of the ultimate circus attraction: Mike Tyson.

When "The Coal Miner's Daughter" was peeled away from the Tyson cards, she drew little more than a few hundred spectators and TV viewership was dismal at best.

The trend continued with the overhyped but grossly undersold Laila Ali and the invisible Lucia Rijker. And let's not even talk about the WNBA, collegiate softball aired to a handful of viewers on ESPN2 or Team USA soccer even after the squad captured Olympic gold.

Before my inbox becomes flooded with hate mail accusing me of being sexist, read this: I fully support women's athletics and have covered dozens upon dozens of female fight cards. On local circuit events, the women's fight is often the highlight of the night. I enjoy a good fight regardless of the participants and women in the fight game deserve just as much praise and support as the men.

But the fact of the matter is: the vast majority of people who tune in to watch fights couldn't care less about women putting on the gloves. You'd be amazed at how many ignorant, condescending remarks are launched into the ring from the too-numerous male chauvinist pigs in the audience.

EliteXC is doing a wonderful thing by expanding on its female stable, and the attractive, tough Gina Carano (Pictures) will obviously lead the charge. But I issue this warning to Shaw and his cohorts at EliteXC: Understand the lack of interest from ignorant fight fans in female combat sports.

Shaw and his team at Pro Elite might be selling themselves a bit short if they overspend and focus too much on the wrong things -- like an unproven heavyweight who might be a mirage and a slew of deserving female fighters that will probably be ignored by average fans.

The IFL's Woes Continue

To be honest, I'm quite befuddled that the International Fight League still exists. Not that I don't like the organization or the fights it puts together. I'm simply blown away that the team-based battles, which was borderline buffoonery, didn't cripple the company from the outset.

Hemorrhaging money, management changes and a lack of big-time fighters have forced the organization to reshuffle and rethink its gamelan.

Now it seems that the grim reaper is finally walking up the driveway and about to knock on the front door. Jay Larkin's statement during a conference call that the IFL is for sale is the raven on the windowsill of the company's headquarters. Couple that with the IFL's plans to change from the larger-than-standard boxing ring to a dopey hexagonal ring and what you have is the ultimate death knell.

While the initial idea and marketing was unconventional, it was a bit too outlandish for the fight fan demographic at large and never truly caught on. My prediction is that the IFL won't see the light of day in 2009.

Misc. Debris

I'm wondering when one of the larger MMA players will scoop up Roy Nelson (Pictures) and make him exclusive. He simply destroyed Brad Imes (Pictures) over the weekend and continues to be the best heavyweight that nobody has heard of. Eventually he'll land on the roster of EliteXC or the UFC, and the "mainstream" audience will realize how good this underappreciated fighter is. …

Deep and ZST are teaming up, the IFL wants to partner with another organization and Pro Elite seems to team with other companies on a weekly basis. Eventually some sort of conglomerate of fight clubs will become powerful and popular enough to go head-to-head with Zuffa. It won't happen tomorrow, but once every promoter aside from Dana White understands the importance of cross-pollination, that's when the true mega fights will happen. People need to look no further than boxing to understand how crippling the one-way road of promotion is. …

It hasn't started to my knowledge, but let me say this before the blogging and forum banter gets out of hand: Let Roger Gracie (Pictures) get about 10 fights under his belt before he is labeled the greatest of the fighting family. …

Oh, and when the May 31 EliteXC card airs live on CBS, that will be genuinely free MMA on TV. Remember Generation TUF: Spike TV is not free. CBS is.

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