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ProElite returning to action on August 27, former ICON Sport head Thompson and former Strikeforce matchmaker Chou on as executives
Jun 29, 2011 - 9:25:24 AM ProElite returning to action on August 27, former ICON Sport head Thompson and former Strikeforce matchmaker Chou on as executives

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

ProElite is making a return this summer.

The former parent promotion for EliteXC along with a number of other smaller fight promotions has been out of the fight business since a disastrous collapse at the end of 2008. Strikeforce purchased a number of their fighter contracts and inherited their television deals with Showtime and CBS, and the company has been all but dead since.

However, after recently being purchased by Stratus Media Group, they are gearing up for a return to the MMA landscape. MMAWeekly.com recently reported that former head of ICON Sport T. Jay Thompson and former Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou have been brought in as executives for ProElite to essentially run the show.

Now, with the connections both Thompson and Chou have in Hawaii, they are making their return at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Waikiki on August 27. Thompson's ICON Sport was based in Hawaii, and Chou has ties to the Rumble on the Rock promotion, which ran on the islands as well.

"The timing could not be better!" said Thompson in a press release announcing the event. "MMA continues to see solid growth and has achieved mainstream acceptance across all visual media platforms in the last few years. It still has plenty of time to mature in the sporting arena."

No fights or fighters have been announced for the event as of yet, but MMAWeekly's report stated heavyweight Andrei Arlovski has been in negotiations to take part in the card.

Penick's Analysis: ProElite burned through so much cash in such a short time that it wasn't at all a surprise that they went under. However, if Stratus Media Group can work slowly with the promotion and try to build regionally first and then move up from there, they may be able to develop themselves into a viable option other than Bellator for fighters not under the Zuffa banner. I'll be interested to see what type of card they can put together for their return event.