MMA Spotlight 6.05.08: EliteXC Primetime - A Fine Display of MMA

Posted by Reuel Mante on 06.05.2008

EliteXC's first show on CBS was the greatest event in network television history.



Sure, Saturday's show was the first show on network T.V. but you can't deny the statement holds water. It had action, drama, suspense, and incredible sights to remember for days. The last EliteXC show I watched featured Kimbo Slice fighting Tank Abbott and I must say that the company has come a long way since then. Let's go over the finer points of the pay per view.



1. The female dancers.

Watching them dance in between fights brought back memories of the Nitro girls from WCW. I'm starting to wonder if they serve any other purpose than eye candy and entertaining the fans in the arena while the audience at home watches video packages or commercials. Are they going to be incorporated into the fights themselves like escort the fighters to the cage and stand outside screaming inaudible commands? If so, I'm watching the next show.



2. The controversial finishes.

Having your first title fight and your main event on network T.V. end in questionable judgments by officials couldn't be a better way to get even the most casual fan to want to see what's next. The title fight was announced with very little fanfare and more advertising time was given to Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice. What ended up happening? It was the most exciting fight on the card! Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith threw down like their lives depended on it. For the fight to stop in the middle of the third round was a brilliant happenstance. Gary Shaw immediately showed his face and announced that a rematch will happen soon. Sounds a lot like WCW and Eric Bischoff circa 1998. It didn't take long for "crash T.V." to make its way into MMA circles.



3. No submissions on the main card.

Wow, what a better way to get audiences who have never seen MMA or bothered to order a pay per view interested in a sport that is more exciting than boxing. I mean a comparison between both sports can easily be done with Saturday's show and the Ricky Hatton/Floyd Mayweather superfight. How so, you ask? Quick, name one fight on the undercard of Hatton/Mayweather. You can't, can you? Quick, name a fight on the undercard of EliteXC Premiere. Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young. Phil Baroni vs. Joey Villasenor. Jon Murphy vs. Brett Rogers. Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith. All fights that were five times more exciting than any Floyd Mayweather fight I have ever seen! And three of those fights were finished by TKO before the third round!



4. Robbie Lawler's performance.

As one of the most experienced fighters on the card, it truly was up to him to perform at a level that many of the other contracted fighters need to match. Boy, did he ever! Anyone who is associated with me knows I am super critical of EliteXC's Middleweight Champion. I believe he is overrated and anyone who loses to him by KO is absolutely stupid. Maybe a lot of it has to do with high school memories of bullies who looked exactly like him or maybe because his fighting style sucks. I don't know. You have no idea how happy I was when Jason "Mayhem" Miller tapped Robbie out in Hawaii. Brilliant performance by one of the most underrated fighters of today. Anyway, Lawler knew that he was under the microscope and being one of only two reigning champions in the organization, he had to deliver a great fight on Saturday. How lucky was he that Scott wanted to stand toe to toe with him. Those two beat the living crap out of each other and "Ruthless" showed us a lot of what he has learned over the years. Through efficient right handed jabs, lethal left kicks, and improved cardio, I'm thinking that we may have a credible opponent to Anderson Silva's title in the near future.



5. The pyrotechnics.

A lot of people deride the use of pyro in fighters' entrances saying that it ties in too closely with pro wrestling. So what? Obviously it works for them. Why not MMA? It also adds to the company's strive to distinguish themselves from UFC. All companies have to do that in order to prevent casting an image of some big company's clone. Look at what TNA Wrestling did to compete with WWE: added two more sides to the ring, brought in smaller, more talented wrestlers, and wrote even worse storylines than WWE. It's not great but it's an image. EliteXC's fireworks are one of those things that can be just them. At this point, the pyro is quite primitive right now. They don't realize yet that there is so much that can be done with it. The pyro could exemplify the fighters' style or personal taste. Take for instance, Joey Villasenor. His nickname is "Smokin". What better entrance display than have him enter the arena in a cloud of smoke? Or how about Phil Baroni? Have a couple of bottle rockets that take off real strong and then fall ten seconds later. That's smart pyro right there. Give the fans an idea of what they're going to see when they watch Baroni fight! Lay off the juice, Phil!



6. Kimbo Slice.

El Slice is ready for the big time. That's right I said it! It is time for Kimbo to fight a top heavyweight. I know a lot of people are saying, "He sucks" or "He didn't win" or "The fight should have been stopped in the second" or "Who's he?" but I'm telling you, he's ready. You want to know why? He was in serious trouble at the end of the second round. Thompson and his funky ear had Slice pinned against the cage while raining down baby punches and sick looking elbows. Kimbo had no answer and couldn't even get out of that position. But he did survive and ended up winning the fight by TKO. How does that make him ready? Here's an analogy for you: when a state trooper wants to carry a taser or a mace can with him, the trooper needs to feel the pain of those items first before carrying them in the field. Now take Kimbo. He was in the most precarious situation at the end of the second. I didn't see him panic nor did I see any sign that he was giving up. He now knows what it's like down there, tired, defenseless, and praying that the bell will ring. This gives him more motivation to put all of his opponents in that position and to train harder on the ground so he'll never be up against the fence like that again. Pretty soon, I'm banking on Kimbo challenging Chuck Liddell again. I must say that the right hook to Thompson's head that burst the cauliflower was down right "eerie". Yes, another pun.



So there it is. I know it sounded ridiculous but when you break it down point by point, it's not so bad. If you're still critical of the event, look at it this way: it could have been much worse. The bar has been set and now Strikeforce must be ready for their premiere show. Frank Shamrock? Cung Le? Who knows. Until next time, folks, I leave you with this: EliteXC pulled out all the stops on Saturday and I'm really looking forward to an exciting card the next time they're on CBS. Maybe a Tank Abbott sighting!