ProElite Announces Signing of Two Heavyweight Fighters Arlovski and Ellis

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ProElite, Inc. PELE 0.00% , a subsidiary of Stratus Media Group Inc. SMDI +9.09% , today announces the signing of former UFC Champion, Andrei "the Pitbull" Arlovski, and 2009 NCAA Division 1 Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, Mark "Blue Chip" Ellis.

Paul Feller, Chairman and CEO of Stratus and Chairman of ProElite, said, "We share the excitement for Arlovski and Ellis with MMA fight fans around the world. The signing of these world renowned MMA athletes underscores ProElite's commitment to the development of world class live entertainment for our action sports MMA growth."

"Andre and Mark are a promoter's dream," said T.Jay Thompson, VP, ProElite Fight Operations. "Five or six fights down the line we could see these two in the cage at the same time."

Andrei Arlovski, one of the most popular MMA athletes of all time, most recently competed under the Strikeforce banner. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion is the first marquee MMA fighter signed by ProElite this year.

"Andrei is a world class athlete and still has a ton of heart left in him to fight his way back to a championship," added Thompson.

Mark Ellis, standing at 6'5", 255lb, and 2009 NCAA Division 1 Heavyweight Champion at the University of Missouri, is a highly sought after rookie fighter. Recently, Ellis began training alongside UFC Champion Cain Valesquez at famed AKA Gym in San Jose, California.

"Mark has all the makings of a World Champion," said Bob Cook, AKA Head Trainer. "He is an MMA newcomer and is already competing head to head with our other athletes like Cain and Olympian Daniel Cormier. Mark has the capacity to compete and beat the best in the business."

Arlovski and Ellis will make their 2011 ProElite debut at the recently announced August 27 fight at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, HI.

ABOUT PROELITE

Based in Los Angeles, California, ProElite is a major stakeholder in Spirit MC in South Korea and owns the U.K. based Cage Rage MMA Organization. Founded in 2006, ProElite still holds the record for highest ratings for a major network telecast of an MMA event and showcases live international MMA fight events where leading and promising up-and-coming MMA Fighters compete in the cage.

ABOUT STRATUS MEDIA GROUP

Headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, with offices in Los Angeles, California; New York City, NY; Geneva, Switzerland; and Perugia, Italy, Stratus Media Group, Inc. (SMDI) is an owner, operator, developer, producer, and marketer of live entertainment events. In addition, the company owns Stratus Rewards Visa White Card, an ultra-exclusive consumer rewards marketing and redemption program, providing premium redemption benefits to members in the form of VIP event access, luxury trips, private jet travel, luxury automobiles, high-end merchandise and other rewards.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/proelite-announces-signing-of-two-heavyweight-fighters-2011-07-14?reflink=MW_news_stmp

Well, Im glad to read that everything will be headed up by a completely different marketing group. One that sounds fairly good at what they do to top it off. Im not gonna set my expectations too high, but they had better change alot of the format if they want to make it a better org than what it was. Ditch the dancers, ditch the glitz and glamor BS and just show me some good fights! If they do that, and have the $$ to get some good fighters on board they might be able to stick around for a bit.

Arlovski..... I don't even know what to say anymore about that guy's career. I almost feel bad for him.

Yep.

It's beyond hard to watch at this point.
It sucks because I was really drinking the kool-aid big time when he first started busting heads in the UFC.

Totally, Arlovski was a destroyer man everyone drank the Kool Aid. UFC 61 was the first PPV I bought when I started getting back into MMA. He was aggressive and well rounded. Sylvia ruined him.

Just another reason to hate Tim Sylvia...

I actually think Fedor ruined him.
Arlovski had a couple of good showings after the 3rd Sylvia fight (Jake O'Brien, Big Country, Rothwell), but he hasn't been the same since Fedor knocked off a piece of his soul.