MMA Elitexc

The anniversary of EliteXC's final major show (Oct. 4, 2008) came and went last week with little fanfare. Perhaps that has to do with the fact that most of the organization's top employees and fighters have moved on to the UFC or Strikeforce, and the latter promotion has essentially picked up right where Pro Elite left off on Showtime and CBS.

But one former employee who has not found a new home in MMA is Jared Shaw. The former vice president of EliteXC had a tumultuous run in MMA, and now finds himself on the outside looking in. FanHouse spoke to Shaw late last week about why he isn't still involved with the sport and what it's like watching some of the stars he helped create find success with other organizations. The full video interview is below.

A year ago, Gary Shaw was promoting Kimbo Slice as the next big thing in mixed martial arts, while UFC President Dana White was mocking Kimbo as a street fighter with no athletic skill. What a difference a year makes.

Now White has given Kimbo a spot on The Ultimate Fighter, and Shaw told FanHouse Tuesday that he's shocked and disappointed, because Shaw was hoping to promote Kimbo as a boxer. But Shaw also said that he considers Kimbo a friend, and that he gives White credit for making a smart business move by hiring a fighter who, in Shaw's words, has the it factor. The full interview is below.

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Back when Kimbo Slice was the biggest star of EliteXC, which was once viewed as the Ultimate Fighting Championship's biggest competitor, UFC President Dana White was fond of saying that Kimbo wasn't even good enough to win the UFC's reality show for MMA beginners, The Ultimate Fighter.

Now Kimbo has been given a spot on the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which begins taping this week, and I believe White will be proven right: Kimbo won't make it out of the house and into the UFC.

In November 2007, Gary Shaw, then the president of EliteXC's live events division, said that he believed Kimbo Slice could become the first man to hold a major heavyweight boxing and MMA title simultaneously.

Slice, last seen losing to Seth Petruzelli in 14 seconds in the final EliteXC show last October, is reportedly set to make his boxing debut later this summer, however, don't expect him to be chasing an MMA strap any time soon.

Two days after telling the Miami Herald that a boxing career is in Slice's future, Shaw told FanHouse on Thursday that the former street-fighting star is no longer contractually tied to Strikeforce, the San Jose-based organization who purchased Slice's contract, along with 41 other EliteXC fighter contracts, earlier this year.

While watching the Antonio Tarver vs. Chad Dawson boxing match on HBO this weekend, I couldn't help but notice a very familiar logo smack-dab in the middle of ring: "Blood, Sweat & Bling," it read.

I knew I had seen this logo before, but it took me a while to actually figure out where. Then, as I noticed boxing promoter, Gary Shaw, pictured right, sitting ringside next to his son, Jared, who appeared to have been shouting instructions at Dawson every moment of the fight, I remembered why that logo looked so familiar.

She may not have a home in the MMA world right now, but Gina Carano is still blowing up in the mainstream media world, as she will be ranked inside the top 20 of Maxim's "Hot 100" list for 2009.

The news was passed along to FanHouse from Carano's agent, Matt Walker.

Strikeforce suffered a tough break when current light heavyweight champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral pulled out of his June 6 title defense against Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante earlier this week. Sobral's wife is scheduled to give birth at the end of May and he reportedly felt like the fight was too close to her due date.

Since the demise of EliteXC last October, Gina Carano has remained relatively quiet. The female mixed martial arts fighter is one of the biggest stars in the sport and it seems like every day someone's talking about her proposed super-fight with Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos.

Ten months ago, Brett "The Grim" Rogers was riding high. He had just knocked out another opponent to improve to 8-0 in his mixed martial arts career, a win that carried special significance because it was the first MMA fight ever carried live on network television.

But it hasn't been easy for Rogers since then. His promotion, EliteXC, folded, leaving him without a job. He went from being a professional athlete fighting in front of millions to working at Sam's Club, and he wondered if his MMA career would ever resume.

On Saturday it finally will, as Rogers will fight Ron "Abongo" Humphrey for Strikeforce on Showtime. I interviewed Rogers this week about his time off, his thoughts on the fight and his future plans. The full interview is below.

Gina Carano still hasn't signed a contract with Strikeforce, but in a new interview she sounds confident that she will, and that her next fight will be against Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos.

"It's gonna happen," Carano told MMA Weekly. "Actually, the only person I can think about right now. My focus is on her, and I don't really want to fight anybody else but her. Let's do it. Both of us want to make it happen, and it's probably going to happen this year."

But it can't happen until Carano signs on the dotted line, and so far, she hasn't. All indications are that Carano wants a significant raise from the $25,000 she made for her last fight. Strikeforce doesn't seem inclined to give her the kind of money she's seeking.