By Gary Herman
Special to CBS SportsLine.com
Questions and answers with the winner of The Apprentice Season 2, Kelly Perdew, as he talks about his new association with the mixed martial arts world and life after Donald Trump.
Gary Herman: Can you tell the fans about what proelite.com does?
Kelly Perdew: Absolutely. You can think of us as a MySpace meets YouTube focused completely on the mixed martial arts community. We provide tools for fans, fighters and organizations to do all the things they need to do to be successful in MMA.
GH: How did you get involved with Pro Elite? It seems like a big switch coming from Donald Trump's boardroom.
KP: I've had a background in some martial arts. I wrestled and did boxing at West Point. I've always had a respect for the sport. I don't begin to compare with these Olympic quality athletes, but in seeing the opportunities in this growth industry, I think there is a lot that can be done to help grow the sport. We can work with the fighters, the fans and the dojos. My background is also in building websites.
GH: The big Icon card coming up on March 31 featuring Robbie Lawler vs. Frank Trigg should be a popular fight. The show will be on www.proelite.com. What do you think about the fight?
KP: Both fighters are great. It should be very exciting. We teamed up with Icon to show the entire card. We will provide a live streaming feed for the fight.
GH: How did you go about securing the rights for the fight?
KP: Based on the exposure we have received from the site, and the high quality of the streams that come from the site. The fans are very much into seeing MMA on our site. Many of the organizations are coming to us.
GH: Are any other events coming up?
KP: Yes. There is a No Limits event coming up from Orange County, Calif., on April 21. We are expecting to do about one to two events each month on the site.
GH: As far as Pro Elite's business model, how will they be successful? Could there be pay per views in the future?
