Time to air the sport's dirty laundry

Press Release: Wallid Ismail, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion and an accomplished Mixed Martial Artist known for being the first person to defeat three members of the legendary Gracie family, has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Newark, New Jersey against the promoters of Pro-Elite Inc -"EliteXC"- whose mixed martial arts event is scheduled to be shown on Showtime on February 10, 2007. Ismail claims that Pro-Elite raised $10,000,000 and secured the Showtime event based on his efforts and reputation, with an event known as "Jungle Fight Championship" and then "squeezed him out". He is claiming, in part, an ownership interest in Pro-Elite. The defendants include Douglas Deluca, a co-executive producer for ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, Curt Brendlinger, a television executive, David Marshal, a co-founder of Youbet.com, Inc., the largest legal online gaming company in the U.S. and Eric Pulier, a member of the company that helped put the private placement together. Interestingly, promoter Gary Shaw, the name most familiar to boxing fans is a member of Pro-Elite but was not named as a defendant.