The highly-publicized spat between EliteXC officials and the organization's lightweight champion K.J. Noons and his management team recently garnered another participant.
GracieFighter.com, the official website for Cesar Gracie's training camp -- home of EliteXC lightweight Nick Diaz -- recently released a detailed response to K.J. Noons' official statement issued earlier this week.
Entitled "KJ Exposed," the explosive response questions the validity of Noons' boxing career, explains how the 160-pound weight class was not created specifically for Diaz, and labels Noons as both a "whiner" and "paper champion."
The full release can be found below (unedited).
Multiple attempts to reach EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw throughout the week for an official statement on Noons' release were unsuccessful. However today Shaw reached out to MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) to offer a sample of his forthcoming official statement.
Early this morning a UPS delivery arrived at MMAjunkie.com offices. The package had been shipped from EliteXC headquarters. Inside the package was a sealed copy of "EliteXC: Renegades" with a note from Shaw attached that read, "Open the DVD and please enjoy."
Inside the DVD were three of the trading cards Noons complained of being omitted from in his original statement. Featured on the cards were Nick Diaz, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and Noons.
A call from Shaw followed shortly after.
"The gift you received today is a token of EliteXC's appreciation to all press and a reminder about how we do treat our fighters," Shaw said. "And any fan that also wants to see exactly how we treat them right should go to any major retailer of DVD's and buy 'EliteXC: Renegades.'
"And if I'm wrong about what I claim, send me your receipt and I'll pay for it."
Shaw said he plans on commenting in full on the matter after the holiday weekend.
"I plan on releasing a statement about Karl Noons, Jr.," Shaw said. "It just won't be happening over this weekend. Karl is an employee of EliteXC and this is Labor Day. So I figured I'd give him a weekend off of public embarrassment."
For more on the story (including Noons' original statement, manager Mark Dion's claims and more of Shaw's comments on the matter), check out the K.J. Noons page here at MMAjunkie.com.
KJ EXPOSED -- AUG. 29 2008
We break down the KJ Noons cryfest point by point.
"Honor my contract. Elite XC wants to talk about honoring the contract. How about when Elite XC honored the contract and my pay to fight Edson Berto went down after I lost my first fight. That was not part of my contract. Or how about the contract Gary Shaw breached by not promoting my boxing career? Gary Shaw only gave me one out of four of the agreed upon fights. I have not boxed for over a year. When I signed with Elite XC, I was promised they would promote both my boxing and MMA careers. I could have signed with another MMA only company, but I wanted to box too."
GF- 1) Earth to KJ; you don't have a boxing career. No one in the boxing world knows who you are. 2) Another MMA company would have paid you less and not given you a title shot, especially when you were 1-1. 3) If you will not fight Diaz due to a breach of contract by EliteXC then why would you fight Alvarez for the same terms?
KJ- "Elite XC does me a favor after I lose, by putting me on the first ShoXC against Edson Berto? Berto’s father is good friends with Jared’s father, Gary Shaw who wants Berto’s brother on a boxing contract. Berto was the next guy Elite XC wanted to build. But I win that fight and now I am 1-1. Elite XC gives me an opportunity to fight Diaz. Elite XC puts me against Diaz because Elite XC’s roster was so light and there was nobody else to fight him.
Elite XC creates a new weight class for Diaz because he beat Gomi. Giving Diaz a belt and creating a weight division (160) he can make, will make your belt legit. Sorry to ruin Elite XC’s plans and beat him.
Elite XC never promoted or took care of me as their champion
KJ- "Elite XC does me a favor after I lose, by putting me on the first ShoXC against Edson Berto? Berto’s father is good friends with Jared’s father, Gary Shaw who wants Berto’s brother on a boxing contract. Berto was the next guy Elite XC wanted to build. But I win that fight and now I am 1-1. Elite XC gives me an opportunity to fight Diaz. Elite XC puts me against Diaz because Elite XC’s roster was so light and there was nobody else to fight him.
Elite XC creates a new weight class for Diaz because he beat Gomi. Giving Diaz a belt and creating a weight division (160) he can make, will make your belt legit. Sorry to ruin Elite XC’s plans and beat him.
Elite XC never promoted or took care of me as their champion."
GF- EliteXC weight classes were never dictated by Nick Diaz. Diaz would have preferred a 165lbs class. That's why he likes fighting in Japan at 167lbs. He has difficulty cutting to 160lbs. 2) Jake Shields has been promoted the same way and is quite happy.
KJ- "In the Elite XC’s DVD where Diaz and I fought there are two (2) baseball cards of Diaz and Kimbo. Hello! I won the fight and Elite XC’s promoting Diaz after I beat him? Or how about the day Elite XC flew Diaz in to do a signing on the DVD where he lost. Wow, that must have been uncomfortable Nick? Signing a DVD, and it is a fight that you lost. Why wasn’t I flown in for the signing?
Elite XC has never promoted me on either of their websites, EliteXC or Pro-Elite.
Elite XC offered me a fight on the first CBS show, but only if I signed a new long-term contract. Instead of promoting their best fighters on CBS, you have to be on a long term contract for them to promote you. That was not our deal."
GF- 1) Nick Diaz, Jake Shields and Frank Shamrock were flown in to shoot an instructional trailer on grappling for the CBS show. The signings were an after thought. You weren't flown in because you aren't a grappler. We are sure they will fly you in if they need an instructional on whining. 2) Your contract was for Showtime. Diaz and Shields both signed longer deals for CBS. Nathan Diaz signed a special long term contract for Spike TV etc... This is a business not Burger King, you can't have it 'your way'.
KJ- "Consider when Elite XC gives a couple thousand tickets away at their CBS show in Stockton.
Elite XC gives me a hard time about comping me one extra ticket for my cousin that helped me train for my fight. I only get four tickets per show. I am the main event in Honolulu, my home town! I did not ask for any tickets for my family and friends and they gave me a hard time about one extra ticket!
Or how about when Elite XC brought Diaz into the ring after my last victory in Hawaii to disrespect me and my family."
GF- Diaz got no extra tickets in his home town of Stockton and isn't complaining. 2) Bringing a fighter into the ring to promote an upcoming fight is standard practice. Your (I could of been a contender) drunk father, started a near riot and should be banned from further events and immediately placed in an Alcoholics Anonymous treatment center for his own self respect.
KJ- "Chuck Champion (President Elite XC) threatens me, my family and my manager with lawsuits and how he’s going to sue me. HAHA. Pretty hard to sue a guy who does not make jack with your company. I’m glad $kala disclosed how much I make, which breached the confidentiality clause of the contract. I will break down the real numbers for you. I am the defending world champ, I have been the main event for Elite XC three out of four times on Showtime. In almost two years I have made approximately $83,000?
After paying my trainers and managers fee, I have $50,000 thousand. After taxes, probably 30 grand. Divide that by two years for $15,000 thousand a year. Divide by 52 weeks that amounts to approximately $300 a week. I do not know anybody that can survive on that amount of money. My buddies make more money than that in a couple days being a bus boy or bar back. And yes you can argue I should fight more. Elite XC doesn’t give me fights or promote me, they ice me. Gary Shaw Productions only gave me one of the agreed upon four fights per the boxing contract.
And I do not want to ramble on about all the little small stuff that I can keep going on about. But the straw that broke the camel’s back is they want me to fight Diaz for the second time. Diaz is not the number one contender and they are paying Diaz three times more money than me. Diaz complained after the Stockton fight, he was not paid enough. How do you think that made me feel? Yes you can argue that Diaz gets more for the draw, therefore I do not deserve as much compensation. If that is the case, it is a result of Elite XC terrible job promoting me. Instead of promoting me as their champ and upcoming athlete, Elite XC has resented me for ruining their plans to make Diaz their champ. That is just total disrespect. So it comes down to money and what is fair. I am tired of being bent over by Elite XC with no Vaseline."
GF- Promoters will sue when you don't fulfill the terms of your contract, just ask Randy Couture. By the way, you are not Randy Couture and the fight world is not holding it's breath waiting to see if you will fight again. 2) $83,000? There are several fighters that are a lot better than you fighting for a lot less. Pay your dues and quit being a little bitch. 3) You are paying your management too high of a percentage and here's some advice you should consider, "they are completely incompetent". 4) Chuck Liddell makes 100s of thousands more than Keith Jardine even though he lost to him. Diaz does not complain that Kimbo makes much more. He understands marketability, why can't you? 5) Divide this and then multiply it several times: KJ = little bitch > KJ = real champion 6) We agree you do need more Vaseline. You are used to it and damn those EliteXC guys for not using it when they bend you over.
KJ- "I am right when I say Diaz is not the number one contender. Elite XC is trying to force this fight for their ratings. Eddie Alaverez is the number one contender and anybody with half a brain knows that a fight with Eddie is a way harder fight for me than Diaz. I will fight Diaz, but Elite has to be fair. I’m not ducking Diaz, why the hell would I be scared of someone I already beat.
With that being said, I am going to focus on my boxing career. I can make more money doing 6 and 8 rounders every other month and make more than I did being the Elite XC defending world champ. At least I will be able to sleep at night and be able to look myself in the mirror everyday. That right there is worth more than $300 bucks a week or fighting a guy I cannot stand for less money than him the second time around.
Will the Diaz fight happen, yes. Will the fight happen on Elite XC on October 4, 2008, probably not. The way things are being run by Chuck Champion, a guy whose history is newspapers, not fighting, and $kala, someone who talks a lot of game, but has never put on a pair of gloves, never stepped in a ring or cage. $kala has had everything handed to him with a silver spoon from daddy. Does anyone else but me think $kala just wants to be famous and stir up all this dirty laundry? I guess any publicity is good publicity. When I think about it, it has been good promotion for their October card since nobody is talking about it until you bring up the Noons vs. Diaz match up."
GF- 1) It is not up to you to decide who the #1 contender is. That is EliteXC's sole discretion. Patrick Cote will soon be fighting Anderson Silva at the UFC's sole discretion. Silva is not complaining because he fights whomever they put in front of him. Silva fought Rich Franklin after wrecking him the 1st time. Serra rematched GSP his very next fight after demolishing him. Serra got paid less than GSP even though he was the Champion after the 1st fight. These men are true Champions and fight anyone. This is a concept you cannot seem to grasp. 2) You are scared because Diaz, despite having a terrible showing last time was stopped by cuts. God forbid the doctor that let the fight continue against Gomi had been calling the shots at your fight. In your heart you know what would have happened and you would rather live the lie of being a paper champion. 3) What will EliteXC ever do without you? I guess you will have to watch from your couch. Drink a beer. Prepare to make a ritual of it.
