Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
---|---|
Founded | November 1995 |
Founder | Rick Blume |
Headquarters | , United States[1] |
Key people | Rick Blume, president and CEO Donald Zuckerman, executive producer John Perretti, matchmaker |
Battlecade: Extreme Fighting, sometimes referred to simply as Extreme Fighting, was a mixed martial arts promotion which hosted four events in the United States and Canada between 1995 and 1997. Although few events were held, a number of well known fighters competed for the promotion. Battlecade CEO Rick Blume is credited with coining the phrase mixed martial arts and the promotion was the first to implement weight classes in MMA.[2]
Despite the number of fighters which the promotion was able to attract, Battlecade struggled financially and had trouble with authorities over the sanctioning of MMA bouts. Following the fourth and final Extreme Fighting event, General Media International, Battlecade sponsor and publisher of Penthouse, withdrew their financial support of the promotion. Additionally, cable television providers Tele-Communications Inc. and Request TV refused to air further Extreme Fighting events.[3]