Not only are EliteXC officials considering the creation of championship belts for its growing stable of female fighters, but they're also planning to host a women's-only show that could take place next year.
EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw reaffirmed his company's dedication to female MMA during today's media conference call with Gina Carano (5-0) and Kaitlin Young (4-1), who fight May 31 during the debut EliteXC-CBS event.
In fact, the first women's belt will likely be at 140 lbs., and the winner of the the upcoming Carano vs. Young bout could earn the right to fight for the title in the fall.
"We'll continue putting [women] on Showtime and on CBS, and we'll continue putting them on the ShoXC cards, as well," Shaw said. "The fight team and (EliteXC matchmaker) Jeremy Lapen are working hard on additions for the female divisions."
Many major organizations, most notably the UFC, have expressed little to no interest in adding women's MMA to their fights cards. In 2007 UFC President Dana White said that he simply doesn't like the thought of women fighting each other, but recently, he's stated that there just aren't enough talented fighters to stock a female division.
"If no one else wants to do it, it's all the better for us," Shaw said.
In addition to Carano and Young, EliteXC has under contract female fighters such as Julie Kedzie (9-7), Tonya Evinger (6-3), Debi Purcell (4-1) and Carina Damm (9-3).
With even more on the way, Shaw said the organization is working on a show that will feature only female fighters. Although all-female shows have been done before, such as in California with the Fatal Femmes Fighting organization, they've never been as high-profile as an EliteXC show could be.
Shaw said the event will likely take place in 2009. He didn't mention any show details, but the event would likely air on Showtime. Both Carano and Young expressed excitement about the possibility.
As far as other events, Shaw said he'll continue to use female fighters on all the organization's cards, especially those on CBS. In fact, when Shaw worked with CBS executives to put together the May 31 card, they were thrilled.
"Absolutely no resistance -- zero," Shaw said. "In fact they were thrilled to have Gina on the card."
Carano and Young meet on the televised portion of "EliteXC: PRIMETIME," which takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. It'll be the first-ever mixed-martial-arts event -- and the first-ever female bout -- to air live on major U.S. network television.
