CBS/EliteXC Conf. Call Quotes: Gina Carano, Kaitlin Young, Gary Shaw

Question: So the winner between Gina and Kaitlin wouldn’t be fighting on the second CBS card in July, but some other time?

Shaw: Correct. I think that we’re looking to bring these girls back probably around September.

Question: You mentioned Rockstar and Burger King as sponsors. Are there going to be additional ones or are those the two main ones?

Shaw: There are additional ones but the main sponsors right now are Burger King and Rockstar. But there are other sponsors on board already.

Question: You were listed at 155 on “American Gladiators.” So is it a fair assumption you are working within a 15-pound range to cut this weight in the next couple weeks?

Carano: I’m thinking by the time I get to New Jersey it will probably be a five- or six pound weight cut.

Question: Gina, do you actually enjoy the weight cutting process?

Carano: Well, you hit a point of complete exhaustion and of complete emptiness. And you just don’t care and you kind of enter this like euphoric state I guess. It can kind of be a dangerously addicting thing.

Question: Gary, what are your expectations for this first show and for the company, in general, for its future.

Shaw: I thank you for the question. We’re not embarrassed about our numbers. We’re losing money. We’ll probably lose more money. But that’s what start‑ups do. There are very few companies that start from day one and make money. It’s about staying power. The UFC lost over $35 million before they (got a) push. We know we have the product. We know we have the fighters. Gina can speak for herself, but all the fighters that have come with us are happy they came with us. They didn’t jump ship. They don’t read the reports. They know at the end of the fight they get paid what we promise them. We’ve never breached a contract. And we’ve taken people like Gina Carano, who no one knew and we made her a huge star. And we’re doing that with Kimbo and Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields and Nick Diaz and other fighters that have fought for us. So are we losing money? Yes, we’re losing money. Are we going to be here long term? Yes, we’re going to be here long term. We’re the only company out there that has a SHOWTIME type deal and a CBS deal. Nobody else has that to offer to any athlete. And for the fighters that fight on May 31, the following day when they walk through an airport everybody will know them. Just like those reality shows, “Survivor” — shows like that, they’re going to be instantaneous stars. So we’re going be here for a long time. We’re number two behind the UFC, there’s no question. We’re Pepsi to Coke. We’re Avis to Hertz. But it’s not always a bad place to be. As I said, we’re far, far away from 16 months ago when we started. I don’t think anybody would have ever believed that we would have been on SHOWTIME, we would have been going on CBS, and we’d have the rosters that we have, the product that we have in 16 short months. So where we were a lap behind the UFC. I tell everybody that knows NASCAR, they better look out of their rearview mirror because we’re right on their bumper. And it’s not a bad place to be. I don’t know if that answers your question. I’m speaking to it. I’m not being protective of it because I think the future is so bright for our company and so bright for the fighters that fight for us. We treat all of our fighters like champions. And Gina can tell you how she is treated and the guys can tell you how they’re treated. I think, you know, we treat them like they’re all champions, belt or no belt.

Question: Gary, when do you think you will move to the pay‑per‑view realm? How close do you think your company is to that?

Shaw: My company is the same as my boxing career has been. I do pay‑per‑views when they’re worthy of pay‑per‑views and I’m not embarrassed to ask people for their money and the fans for their money. I don’t think you should be asking fans for their money every single month. Pay me to see my fighters — I don’t believe in that. I believe we have a great model with SHOWTIME. We put on great fights. It’s people television. And this is free television on CBS. You just need a plug, a screen and rabbit ears and you are in business. So we’ll do a pay‑per‑view when we have a fight that we believe is worthy of pay‑per‑view, but not until then. Look, we gave you (Frank) Shamrock and Cung Lee. That was a spectacular card, a great fight. We gave it free. I think asking fans to pay every single month, you are just ripping them off. And that’s wrong and I’m not going to be a party to that. And our company won’t be a party to that.

Question: Gary, (in terms of) social networking, this (ProElite.com) seems to open the door for people to talk about all MMA.

Shaw: Yes. We wanted to do a site that helped MMA. I am a believer that the stronger we make mixed martial arts, the better it will be for EliteXC and the better it will be for the fighters. I’ve always used this expression and I hope this answers your question: If you have one restaurant on the street, good or bad, it’s only a restaurant. If you have many restaurants on the street, then it becomes restaurant row. And the fans grow and people go to eat there because they says ‘let’s go to restaurant row, there’s this, this and that.’ So I’m not a believer, like the UFC and Dana White, of crushing everyone around you. I’m more of a believer of working with everybody around us, build the sport of mixed martial arts and educate the people that aren’t fans out there. Hopefully it will become an Olympic sport. The fighters know the discipline that’s required. They’re highly disciplined fighters. So we work with others. We loan Nick Diaz. So there are things out there that we believe in that will make the sport stronger. We’re all about mixed martial arts. It’s not just about EliteXC.

Question: The IFL is very interested in the notion of having unified champions, wherever it’s possible or practical. Would that be something you would want to get involved with?

Shaw: I’m all for it. I know Jay Larkin very well. I’d love to fight for an IFL belt. If they want to do women’s, we’ll fight for a women’s IFL belt. We’ll put our belt at risk as well. I believe in it. Women like jewelry. The more belts the better for them. They like accessories. So why not fight for an IFL belt or a DREAM belt. I’ve always said all along, we’ll put anybody on SHOWTIME or CBS. If they’re legitimate fighters, I don’t care if they fight for the UFC. What’s good for the sport is good for my athletes is good for our brand.

Question: Kaitlin, how have the finals (in school) been going?

Young: You know, I have two tomorrow morning, then two Friday morning. So studying is fine. But I haven’t actually taken them or gotten the results yet, so we’ll see.

Question: What’s it like working at the gym you are, especially (from a) grappling (standpoint) when you consider Sean Shirk and Brock Lesnar both train at the same gym. Do you feel that you’re getting a lot more wrestling training and lot more grappling training?

Young: Yeah. Obviously, Lesnar working with me would be hilarious just thinking of the physics of that. So I don’t ever do anything with him. But Sean has helped me a lot with takedown offense and that kind of thing. He’s been super helpful.

Question: Gary, what are your thoughts on live TV versus pay‑per‑view?

Shaw: We’ll do a pay‑per‑view when a fight warrants itself for pay‑per‑view. There’s a misnomer out there about pay‑per‑view; that if you become a pay‑per‑view fighter you have really arrived. Well, a good pay‑per‑view today does 200,000 or 300,000 buys. This fight on May 31 live on CBS has the ability to bring 100 million eyeballs. I mean the numbers are staggering. You could be on pay‑per‑view once a month and nobody will know who you are when you get to the train station. I am telling you live TV is the real place to be. That’s where the notoriety comes from. Not from pay‑per‑view. I can name you fighters that have fought pay‑per‑view and most of you won’t even know their names — both in boxing and mixed martial arts. You can prove it because you can bring them to 42nd street and Broadway in New York City and everybody will be walking past them all the time. But if you have the eyeballs as Kimbo has proved with YouTube, as we’ve proved with SHOWTIME, as we’re about to prove with CBS, there is absolutely nothing bigger in the world.

Question: Gary, will being open in the free TV market help with websites recognizing you more when it comes to rankings?

Shaw: Well I hope so. I think those that know me personally know how I feel about rankings and how I feel about websites’ rankings. When I look at most websites — and I have to be candid — I don’t read the blogs, I don’t go there, they don’t rule my world, both in boxing or mixed martial arts. But when I read them, they’re mostly all UFC fighters. That’s because that’s all these writers know or feel because everything’s the UFC. But I can tell you I would put our women fighters against any women in the world. I’d put Jake Shields against anybody in the world. I think he is one of the finest fighters in the world. Robbie Lawler. I’m willing to fight Kimbo against anybody from the UFC, so you know we have fighters that are tremendous fighters. But they’re not ranked because they’re all UFC rankings. So I don’t think my fighters take it seriously. I’ve never had a fighter coming to me and ask ‘why aren’t I ranked third? Why am I not in the ranks?’ It doesn’t cut any mustard.

Question: Gina, did the “American Gladiators” thing help with your endurance?

Carano: What it does help with is putting me out in front of people and getting me used to being in front of crowds and performing. That’s something I definitely need help with. I’m a little bit more to myself. So that’s what it did help with. Being around a bunch of healthy body builders and positive people, and a great production team also helped.

Question: Did anybody from “American Gladiators” say they wanted to be an MMA fighter?

Carano: You know, a lot of them have actually trained here and there in boxing or whatever they trained in. I don’t know how many of them have actually fought. I think they’re all probably pretty much sticking to the entertainment business. I think they found their niche and they want to kind of ride it out.

Question: Gary, did you have any resistance on the CBS side to putting a women’s fight in the first MMA show?

Shaw: There was absolutely no resistance. Zero. As a matter of fact, they were thrilled to have Gina in the fight on CBS. I put the fight where I thought it should be for entertainment value and what I’m looking to do on the card.

Question: What is the challenge with mixed martial arts with getting people like ESPN to cover it as a sport rather than cover it as entertainment?

Shaw: I think we need to do a better job. There was only one player in the space for a long time. Now, there is us and a lot more. I think we owe it to the fans to educate the fan base and others out there to become fans about the discipline and this truly is a real sport — because it didn’t have its start as a real sport in the eyes at least of the American public. I can’t complain about ESPN, they’ve done a spectacular job. We have two athletes that have now appeared on “E:60” — when Gina appears tonight (Tuesday), we’re getting coverage of their web sites. We’re getting coverage on the magazine. That’s huge. And we’re being covered in a broad way like never before. We’re backed up right now with over 85 requests for interviews from our athletes. And they’re important stuff. And it’s important to MMA, the sport, because it’s not just a sport now. We’re crossing over to those like “People” magazine and that direction, let’s call it lifestyle, rather than plain sport. So I think we’re in a very, very good place. I’m very excited about what CBS has brought to the table for us. Obviously, I always thank SHOWTIME because they were the ones who took a real gamble on us. But I think that you are going to see the coverage and it’s going to be wide, a lot wider than any of you that are on this call has ever seen before. I think it’s going to be good for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Question: What do you think about doing more than four shows for CBS?

Shaw: I think it would be spectacular. Obviously, May 31, I don’t want to say it’s make or break, but it’s sure make or ‑‑ maybe its rather than make and shatter, maybe make and break. If we do the rating that I think we can do, and the fighters fight like I think they’re going fight, and the match‑ups by the fight team are the correct match‑ups, then I think CBS is going to be all over us to do more than four fights as year. And they have that right in our contract to ask us to do more than four a year.

Question: Gary, what do you think of Affliction now having its own promotion?

Shaw: What a question. I think they’re going to find out that they’re better off in the clothing business. Stick with what you know. Stick with what you do best and don’t try to be somewhere that maybe you shouldn’t be. I mean, look, we’re not allowing any of our fighters to wear anything with the affliction name. UFC has done the same thing. So wouldn’t they have been better off being in the clothing business where they have a spectacular line of clothing and lifestyle brands and being branded in our show on CBS in front of potentially 100 million eyeballs than try to do fights that may not be competitive or may be boring. The names don’t make the fights. The fighters make the fights, not the names of the fighters. And, you know, we’re proving it every day with new people that we’re bringing aboard. I can’t wait for Eddie Alvarez to be a fighter on CBS or SHOWTIME. I mean we’ve got some great fighters in the wings, exciting fighters. But as far as directly to your point, I think that maybe they’ll do one or two fights. My prediction: they’ll be back in the clothing business.

Question: At that point do you think you would allow your fighters to wear Affliction again?

Shaw: When the day comes and they can e‑mail me or call me and say we’re back strictly in had the clothing business, yes, that ban will coming off that second. I always say this, and I’m stealing it from a boxing promoter so I can’t claim the credit for this statement, but I sure know it’s true: The desert of Nevada is littered with the bones and skeletons of would‑be promoters.

Question: Coming from the world of boxing, what are the most significant differences you see in the athletes and the promotion of the sport?

Shaw: The fan base and the lifestyle. Boxing is not a lifestyle. Boxing’s a sport that people go to that could be an event or they’re just a boxing fan. Mixed martial arts is a lifestyle. They wear the gear. They wear the lifestyle clothing to the fights, to press conferences, to weigh-ins. It’s a much more rabid fan base. The true fans are a lot more educated about the sport than a boxing fan. And when you are there ‑‑ when you go to a boxing match you can sit in the front row and wave to your friends until the main event comes on because nobody gets there until the main event. In mixed martial arts, everybody is there when the doors open. It just shows you the fan base. The other part is the demographic in mixed martial arts skews much younger. The other part that still shocks me — and maybe Kaitlin or Gina can speak to it because I am really not sure why — but in boxing there are very few women in the audience unless on occasion someone brings a wife or a girlfriend. Very rarely will you see just girls there; in mixed martial arts you see a group of eight girls coming to the fight. The place is it littered with women, fans, both with men and just girls night out. And I don’t know why but I do know that’s a huge difference between mixed martial arts and boxing.

Comment: (For everyone in the Southern California area, CBS Media Day is this Monday, May 19, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. It will take place at the CBS Studio Center, 4024 Radford Ave., in Studio City. It will be on Stage 4. Gina will be part of the proceedings along with Kimbo, Phil Baroni, Nick Diaz and Jake Shields. Also, this Monday night, May 19, from 6‑8 p.m. at the Best Buy on 1015 North La Brea Ave., in West Hollywood, Gina, Frank Shamrock, Baroni, Diaz and Shields will participate in an autograph session put together by EliteXC.)

Shaw: Just to go along with that (theme), CBS will send out a release Monday morning announcing the announcing team on the first CBS card. We will have the announcers at media day. We are bringing in a cage. We are going to allow the people that have never been in the cage to go in the cage with Nick Diaz and Jake Shields. There will also be demonstrations inside the cage, so it’s going to be a terrific media day.

Question: Kaitlin, what are your thoughts about fighting your first high-profile opponent, the highest, the most publicized fighter that you will be facing in your career?

Young: It’s really exciting actually. This is the first time I have fought somebody that I’ve been able to see footage of beforehand. I think my preparation has been more complete so that part of it is really great. I think there’s that much more exposure available because she is such a big star right now, so that works out very well for me. I’m really excited for this fight.

Question: If this becomes a fight of striking are you confident you are going to win? Is that how you’d like this fight to play out?

Young: Not necessarily. You know, it is MMA. I think this fight has the potential to turn into a fight-boxing match. But it is MMA. It’s mixed martial arts. And it will be a mixed martial arts fight. It wouldn’t surprise me if this fight goes the ground.

Question: Gina, you mentioned you ‘re not buying into your own publicity or own hype. Have you noticed that your profile has gone up as you walk around your hometown or wherever?

Carano: Yeah. It’s definitely way up. It’s not only my hype; I’m not buying into hype in general. I know who I am and I know how far I’ve come probably more than anyone. And I see where I am at in the sport. I just don’t buy into it. A lot more people recognize me and that’s a great feeling, but, you know, most people that are coming up to me are very genuine. It’s cool.

Question: Gina, can you give a brief idea of what your training normally consisted of, how many weeks out you started seriously training for a fight and what you have been able to do for this fight?

Carano: Normally, I would like to train seriously for a fight for eight weeks. For this, I’ve been probably anywhere between three to four weeks. Again, no excuses. Whatever happens happens and that’s just what’s going to happen. I’m not feeling confident in what I can do. Then, you know, it’s pretty much two days, three days sometimes, of just hardcore preparation for the fight and that’s what it usually is eight weeks out. So, I’m just having to crunch it into three weeks out. And the difference between what I am doing now is, I’m kind of just keeping my mind clear and just relaxing. And we’ll see how I do.

Question: Gary, why is the show in New Jersey?

Shaw: First of all, I live in New Jersey. I’m a former regulator (for the athletic commission) in New Jersey. For years, it is just something that if I thought I would get the opportunity to do, I wanted to jump at it. The Prudential Center is part of the AEG family, who I do business with. I think the Prudential Center’s a spectacular place for the fight. When our fighters get there I know they’re going to be impressed. It’s close to New York City, major media including all of you. When you think of the demographics from Philly to Connecticut, I mean we’re loaded with people, loaded with MMA fans. So to me it’s a natural fit. But personally, going to the campus of the University of Miami for our last big show where, you know, I’m proud to say I’m a graduate, then coming home to New Jersey, to me that’s like I hit the sweepstakes.

Question Gary, how are tickets selling?

Shaw: Very well. We’re all out of all the $25 tickets, and I made plenty available. I think there are six $1,000 seats still left available. So we’re doing very well. We have no complaints. We’re going to have a full house when that CBS TV camera rolls at 9 o’clock..

Question: Gary, obviously you’re aware of the comments of Sumner Redstone regarding the deal. Were you surprised by his comments? Despite all the gains that MMA has made in the last couple years, it is clear there is still a stigma attached to it. How do you combat that?

Shaw: Good question. I thought it was a, sort of like just a remark off the cuff. Because, you know, chairman Sumner Redstone has the majority stake in the CBS world, but also has Viacom, which has Spike, which is probably 90 percent UFC. So you can’t be a mixed martial arts hater because he’s got 90 percent of it on one of his channels. I didn’t take offense of that. A little bit of setback? Sure. Any time anybody says anything negative, I think it’s education. I think I’ve tried to say that all through this call. You need to meet these athletes up close and in person. You need to meet Kaitlin, who is telling you that she’s a student. You’ve got to meet Gina or Kimbo or fighters out of other organizations. Not just in our organization, but other organizations, too, to find out that they’re good citizens and that they’re not animals or hoodlums. I think part of it is the dress, part of it is the fighting within a cage and how the sport started. But this is truly a discipline. It’s truly a sport. I mean, go to the gym with any of these fighters and go through a training session. You’ll have newfound respect for all these fighters. So I think we just have to really educate the people that it’s truly a real sport and the two girls that are on this call are proud of what they do and proud of the discipline. And I think a lot of their friends and family admire them for it. So, education, education, education.

Shaw

Closing: This has been a tremendous conference call. I have a lot of respect for a lot of the questions asked. I’ve been on hundreds of conference calls and it’s always the same questions to the athlete, tell us about your training, etc. So the fact you’re all interested, both in our company, myself and our two fighters that I represent, I thank you all very much.

Question: Gina, with “Gladiators,” did you have to tone down the kind of aggression you would bring into the ring for your MMA fights?

Carano: That’s a good question. The first season they were kind of freaked out having me – well, it seemed like they were kind of freaked out having me be part of it. Because they’re coming back to go over the rules of each event and they would just be directly talk to me. They’re like no punching, kicking, whatever, don’t check anybody out on the pyramid. I was looking at them like, I’m just here to have fun and that’s exactly the way I look at it. They should have been telling that to everybody else because I’m used to being physical on a regular basis. And I was completely looking at it as fun and games. There were a couple times where I pulled guard or I wanted to go for a submission or something and I had to rethink it because of where I was in spandex in front of people. It’s a good question but I didn’t have any problems holding back because it’s a completely different mentality.

Question: Gina, is that very much a case of having to switch on a different part of your brain for a contest like this?

Carano: Definitely. I have to just get back to Gina being the fighter. I have been in a completely different world for the last nine months. And it’s really fascinating to me because I’m coming back to the fight world. But I like my little refreshing outlook that I have on it and it’s really kind of lightened my load and kind of refreshed me. I am reminded I love doing this. I love fighting. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t do it any more. If it’s something I love to do, I’m not going to dread it. I’m not going to run from it I’m just going to embrace it and I love the feeling that comes along with it. I used to get so nervous and now I feel those nerves coming back and it’s like a whole different game now because I feel refreshed and I’m loving it.

Question: Is it fair to say that if this hadn’t been such a high profile potential showcase for you, you might have thought twice about taking a fight at this stage?

Carano: You know, that’s a good question, too. I probably would have held off and liked to really have put everything into my training for the fight. But that’s not the case. So we’re just going to do it. We’re just going to go for it. Think I owe it to EliteXC, I owe it to my fans and I owe it to myself to get back in there and not spend so much time in between fights. I’d like to fight a lot more so I’m hoping to get another fight in this year regardless of what happens.

Question: Have you had a chance to compare notes with Laila Ali or discuss the challenges you’re facing in MMA compared to some of the challenges she’s facing in boxing?

Carano: Yeah, actually I have and it really refreshed me when I walked into “American Gladiators” and she walked into the room. I was kind of having second thoughts. I was taking myself really, really seriously. Too seriously even. And I told her I didn’t know if I was going to do. I want to be taken seriously as a fighter and all this stuff. She looked at me and she’s like ‘you know that people are always going to say what they’re going to say. So what you can do for yourself is just do what you do and have fun. You get just one life to live. So just live it the way you want to. And don’t be worried about what people are going to say about you because they’re always going to have something to say.’ I read through some of the interviews — I guess , the old interviews that were done on her and people just gave her a lot of grief about being Ali’s daughter. It’s just too bad. We’re standout characters right now. We’re doing what we love. People should be inspired by it instead of trying to bring it down. Look at it for what it is. OK, fine, I’ve got a 5‑0 record. There are more females out there that have bigger records but right now people like watching me. In a month that could change or in this fight that could change or whatever it is. But it’s not so say we’re not skilled. It hurts. It hurt as little bit that the American public is so focused on building people up and watching them fall. We should just be more into the inspirational story of everybody’s lives. Laila is a tremendous, awesome boxer. I’ve spoke to her trainer and she’s awesome. I mean put anybody in there to spar with her and just watch her go. So, yeah, we do relate on a bunch of different issues. I’m just learning to believe in myself and take it for what it’s worth.

Carano

Closing: I want to thank everybody for your support and for all the writers who look at it from a positive perspective. Thank you — because it’s not been easy. I can’t imagine why people are still even asking the question, ‘why is this really considered a sport’ because there’s obviously two professional athletes training and going against each other in competition. So I thank the writers, I thank the fans so much for being positive. If it wasn’t for them I definitely wouldn’t be where I am at in life. So I really owe that to them. And for all my trainers and for all the other female fighters that are in it, you know I appreciate that we’re all doing this together and it’s big event. I’m just happy to be part of it.

Young

Closing: I am also very thankful for everybody that’s covering this fight. We’re going to give you guys a great fight to watch. I’m really excited about it. I’m really glad to see the EliteXC women’s division is growing the way it is. I recently heard they booked a fight for 130 so it sounds as though there might be another weight division coming. This is a very exciting time for women in general and women’s MMA so keep watching.