[wolf137]

The UFC apparently wasn't the only suitor of Strikeforce.

ProElite Inc., the once-mighty fight-promotion company purchased for pennies on the dollar in February 2010 by Stratus Media Group Inc., had been in active negotiations with the recently acquired Strikeforce and had met face to face with CEO Scott Coker, sources close to the negotiations today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

"There were offers made both ways," said one source.

Those negotiations came to an end today when UFC president Dana White announced that the UFC's parent company, Zuffa LLC, has purchased Strikeforce with the intention of running shows parallel to the UFC.

ProElite Inc. first inquired about purchasing Strikeforce mere months after it was taken over by Stratus Media Group in early 2010, and talks had intensified within the past month, one source said.

The revamped company's proposal to acquire the California-based promotion may have included cash and stock paid to Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment, a sports-franchise company that owns Strikeforce along with Coker, another source said.

The fight promotion had been looking to raise capital in recent months, sources said, though it's unclear whether the search was motivated by imminent financial troubles.

According to the "San Jose Business Journal," Strikeforce generated $30 million in revenue for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

"Silicon Valley was relatively happy with the returns but didn't want to take it to the next level," one source said.

But another source said the sports franchise had been losing cash and had grown skittish with its investment.

Two weeks prior, ProElite Inc. officials became aware of the UFC's interest in Strikeforce, though it appears they did not attempt to sweeten their offer.

White said Strikeforce will continue to operate as a separate entity from the UFC, though there will be changes behind the scenes at events plus changes to the look of shows. He said all fighters under contract with Strikeforce will serve out the remainder of their obligations with the promotion, which has a deal with Showtime for the next few years.

Fans may best remember ProElite Inc. as the parent company of EliteXC, which hosted 21 events from 2007 to 2008 before mounting costs halted operations. The company burned through millions of dollars raised in a 2006 initial public offering of stock. EliteXC operational costs and its purchases of ICON Sport, King of the Cage, Cage Rage and other international promotions were the primarily culprits for the estimated $55 million in losses. Most of its former executives, including onetime frontman Gary Shaw, since have left the promotion.

In early 2010, Stratus CEO Paul Feller said his company planned to revitalize the troubled brand and promote events, though to date, no such shows have taken place.

The company's last major event, the CBS-broadcast "EliteXC: Heat," drew a firestorm of controversy when allegations of fight-fixing surfaced after Seth Petruzelli's 14-second knockout of Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson. However, the Florida State Boxing Commission later cleared EliteXC of any wrongdoing in the October 2008 event.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and UFC president Dana White were not available for comment at the time of this writing.