ProElite and Mark Burnett to Produce Primetime Celebrity MMA Reality Series

ProElite,
Inc. , an entertainment and media company dedicated to producing world-class
mixed martial arts (MMA) events, announced it has partnered with top television
producer Mark Burnett to develop exclusive, multi-program MMA content for
network TV.

The
currently untitled initial series centers on former football and baseball
stars, Herschel Walker and Jose Canseco, respectively, who together with a
group of other former pros, train as a team to cross over into the sport of
mixed martial arts. These athletes will fight with select EliteXC fighters in
each episode with the series finale featuring a famous celebrity athlete match
up. Additionally, episode highlights and interactive features for the shows
produced will reside on ProElite.com. The show is co-created by Herschel Walker
and Prem Akkaraju, who will also serve as a co-executive producer.

“We are
really excited to partner with legendary reality television producer, Mark
Burnett,” said Douglas DeLuca, chief executive officer of Los Angeles,
Calif.-based ProElite and co-executive producer of the show. “Mark’s vision for
the sport of mixed martial arts, coupled with his invaluable experience
producing a stable of successful primetime reality series, plays a critical
role in developing this first of many projects that we will do together.”

“I am
thrilled to collaborate with ProElite, and look forward to working with an
organization that is dedicated to the growth of a sport that is sure to become
among the biggest in the world,” said Mark Burnett, who produces CBS’s “Survivor”
and ESPN’s “The Contender.” “I believe a primetime reality series involving
world-class athletes from all sports competing in MMA will resonate with
audiences far and wide as the sport garners popularity around the world.”

Walker and
Canseco, who will both start recruiting teammates, are no strangers to hitting
or MMA.

Walker,
the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and versatile, multi-faceted former pro football
star, brings a diversity of athletic achievement that is at the core of the
sport of MMA.

A 25-year
martial artist who holds three black belts in three disciplines and a devoted
teacher of physical and mental health,

Walker
was one of the first NFL players to take to the idea of heavy exercise training
and physical fitness. He was noted for doing at least 2,500 crunches (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crunches)
and 1,000 push ups (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push_ups) every day in the off
season as part of his training regiment.

Canseco,
the 1986 American League Rookie of the Year and six-time Major League All-Star,
became the first player in Major League history to hit at least 40 homers and
steal at least 40 bases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40-40_club) in the same
year by smacking 42 home runs and stealing 40 bases in 1988. Known for clubbing
monstrous, long-distance four-baggers, the colorful and controversial Canseco
is an 18-year veteran of martial arts and also holds black belts in three
categories.

“Attracting
star professional athletes at the level of Herschel and Jose into a
mixed martial arts competition is truly monumental and will certainly attract a
broader audience to MMA,” said co-executive producer and co-creator Prem
Akkaraju. “I am thrilled to work with executive producer Mark Burnett and
co-executive producer Douglas DeLuca, and look forward to expanding our
programming in short order.”