"EliteXC: Heat," which airs live Oct. 4 on CBS from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., got a major dose of a starpower today with the addition of an Andrei Arlovski (13-5) vs. Roy Nelson (13-2) heavyweight fight.With the recent postponement of its Oct. 11 "Day of Reckoning" card, Affliction Entertainment agreed to loan the fighters to EliteXC for the nationally televised event.
EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the marquee match-up further proves that EliteXC is going after the mainstream audiences and its biggest competitor, the UFC.
"Oct. 4 is a huge event for mixed martial arts," Shaw said. "With this card and this line-up, we hit the mainstream, we hit the hardcore (fans), and we hit (UFC President) Dana White hard."
In addition to Arlovski (a former UFC heavyweight champion) vs. Nelson (the reigning IFL title-holder), the "EliteXC: Heat" televised main card features Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson vs. Ken Shamrock, an EliteXC welterweight title fight between champ Jake Shields and Paul Daley, top female fighter Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold-Gavin, and Benji Radach vs. Murilo "Ninja" Rua.
Shaw said no fights were dropped from the broadcast to make room for the Arlovski-Nelson bout.
Additionally, he said the idea to add the Affliction fight came less than two weeks ago.
"We're always talking to everybody," Shaw said. "About 10 days ago, [the Arlovski-Nelson fight] became something that we thought was real and that could be done. It was the right place at the right time.
"We're always looking to put the best fights on. It continues with the motto of what EliteXC has always said; we will let our fighters fight anywhere in the world, and we will work with anybody in the world. We've worked with FEG (DREAM), we've worked with Strikeforce, and now we will successfully work with Affliction."
(Coincidentally, in his Monday "Fight Biz" column, MMAjunkie.com's Steve Sievert argued that a merger between EliteXC and Affliction would be the best bet for the future of both organizations.)
Arlovski, formerly one of the UFC's most popular fighters, left the organization earlier this year after failing to reach a new deal with the promotion. He then extended his win streak to four straight with a third-round knockout of a tough Ben Rothwell at Affliction's debut show in July. He was then slated to fight Fedor Emelianenko at the Oct. 11 Affliction event. However, after a hand injury forced him out of the fight, Emelianenko was replaced by Josh Barnett.
With a recently formed partnership with Golden Boy Productions, Affliction then decided to postpone the event until January.
Nelson, meanwhile, is also signed to Affliction and was scheduled to fight Paul Buentello at that recently postponed event. During his current five-fight win streak, "Big Country" defeated Antonio Jaoude for the IFL heavyweight title and made two successful title defenses before the IFL's eventual demise earlier this year.
He'll now face arguably the toughest test of his career.
Shaw said that the fight announcement is bound to shock MMA fans. But, that's all part of the plan to garner the event some last-minute publicity.
"People said, 'Where are we? Why are we not being promoted?'" Shaw said. "I hope people are shocked by what they hear today because they need to understand that EliteXC, we're here and aren't going anywhere. We are here for the fans."
For the full "EliteXC: Heat" fight card, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
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