Strikeforce has officially singed a deal to purchase Elite XC’s parent company Pro Elite. Earlier this afternoon Strikeforce officials informed PRO MMA (http://promma.info) that an agreement to acquire certain fighter contracts, specific assets and the video library of Elite XC.
Strikeforce Founder and CEO had this to say about the San Jose, CA based promotion’s acquisition of Pro Elite.
“This is a tremendous development that will bolster the Strikeforce roster and allow us to produce even more competitive matchups between top fighters. Some of these athletes have been on the sidelines for a while now and are eagerly waiting to return to competition. We look forward to providing them with the opportunity to do so in the next few months.”
Yesterday’s reports stated that Strikeforce may be able to hold live events on both CBS and Showtime later this year according to the terms of the deal. This sale does provide light at the end of the tunnel for fighters like Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler and Gina Carano, who were forced to sit on the sidelines after Pro Elite closed its doors.
While the deal may be final, many questions regarding the transferring of fighter contracts over to Strikeforce still remain to be answered. For the time being, Strikeforce appears set to become the legitimate number two promotion behind the UFC.