Can KOTC rise above EliteXC’s demise?

Lately, it’s been all doom and gloom for ProElite, Inc. Sacked by bad debt, nearly every interest under the company’s umbrella has been pounding at its door in recent weeks, looking for answers about the future when few exist.

Terri Trebilcock, president of King of the Cage, a longstanding promotion acquired by ProElite in September of 2007, has been in communication with EliteXC CEO Chuck Champion and thinks reports of the company’s demise are premature.

“My gut feeling is that all the talk out there will turn into things that never ended up happening,” Trebilcock said.

On Oct. 21, Trebilcock released a statement vowing to continue his promotion shortly after ProElite declared it was ceasing fight operations. Since then, he and his legal team have worked to ensure KOTC’s five remaining shows in 2008 will go off without a hitch. The promotion held its last show on Friday in Michigan.

In a notice of public sale released last week by Showtime, King of the Cage was listed as one of the assets on the auctioning block.

Speculation from multiple sources MMAWeekly.com has spoken to say the company faces two primary options: to fight Showtime’s auction in court, or file for bankruptcy. Trebilcock says bankruptcy is still a very real option, but feels confident the auction will not take place.

“There’s several ways for us to block what CBS is doing,” he said. “Public company-wise, I can’t really get into them, but there’s zero chance of them pulling off anything on the 17th with King of the Cage.

“I prepared for this from the day I put the deal together. Our deal was ten times more complex than anybody else’s deal, but the difference is that most people were paid in full for what they were owed and I was not.”

Despite all appearances to the contrary, Trebilcock says ProElite, CBS, and Showtime are talking on a daily basis and want to continue their working relationship. It’s a fragile situation, but all sides agree that a protracted court battle is not the best option. According to Trebilcock, Champion’s leadership has pulled Showtime and CBS back from all-out war with ProElite.

“There were a lot of mistakes that were made,” Trebilcock said. “You get in a business like this because you feel like you’re being involved because of your knowledge. There’s only a couple guys making money doing it. Everybody else is just spending money to be there, and eventually, expensive hobbies go away. They understand that the right guy is there now.”

Though he won’t go into details, Trebilcock hints his promotion may fill the void left by EliteXC.

“My guess would be (ProElite) is not going to have to declare bankruptcy to stop (the auction),” he said. “My strongest gut feeling at this point is that King of the Cage, ProElite, and CBS will be working together next year.”