My Take On MMA 7.28.08: Final Elite XC/CBS Saturday Night Fights II – Unfinished Business (7.26.08) Thoughts

Posted by Larry Csonka on 07.28.2008

Elite XC returns with three title matches on a card so big that it had to be on two networks! Well it sounded really cool…



WELCOME~!:
Welcome back to another edition of My Take On MMA! It was a quiet weekend with only the one show, but what a show it was. Elite XC presented a night of champions as Robbie Lawler retained his Middleweight Title; Antonio Silva become the first Elite XC Heavyweight Champion and Jake Shields took home the first ever Elite XC Welterweight Title. But did the show deliver? Did they improve on the last CBS show? What mistakes did they make or why does CBS suck? Let's get to work.


Final Elite XC Saturday Night Fights II – Unfinished Business Thoughts~!:

The Fight: Bantamweight Bout - Wilson Reis (4-0) vs. Bryan Caraway (9-2):
My Pick: Reis, STRIKES, RD1
The Result: Wilson Reis via Unanimous Decision (30-27 Across the cards)
Final Thoughts: First of all Bryan Caraway is a GREAT man for two reasons. #1 he took the fight even after suffering a dislocated kneecap in training. Secondly, his discipline is COWBOY KARATE~! Seriously, how do you NOT love that? The fight was a simple story; three rounds of Reis taking Caraway down; usually shooting for the bad leg and Caraway then scrambling and getting back to the feet. When it was on the feet, which wasn't much, Caraway did well but Reis kept taking him down. That was all he needed to win the fight. Elite does want to build a featherweight and bantamweight division, and Reis is tentatively slated to be their star. Unfortunately he didn't have a "great showing" here. He won a decision over a guy with a bad wheel. Sure he got the takedowns, but Bryan Caraway was also able to keep scrambling and getting up. This was likely not the showing that they wanted from him, but a win is a win.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.5

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The Fight: Light Heavyweight Bout - Rafael Feijao (6-1) vs. Travis Galbraith (15-5):
My Pick: Feijao, STRIKES, RD1
The Result: Rafael Feijao via RD1 (3:00) TKO
Final Thoughts: 7.25
Larry's Enjoyment Index: Rafael Feijao was very impressive in his last outing and I feel has a TON of potential. The man is skilled and very exciting to watch. Travis Galbraith took the bout on short notice, training for a lower weight division as well. He was game and did his best, but Feijao appeared to be on a different level than he was. This was good stuff and the opposite of the first bout, helping to excite the crowd. Look for Feijao to fit into the Light Heavyweight Title mix when they decide to create that title belt due to his two first round stoppages. I would imagine that this will be soon since they have a Showtime Event September 20th and are back on CBS October 4th.

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The Fight: EXC Heavyweight Title Bout- Antonio Silva (10-1) vs. Justin Eilers (19-6-1Draw):
My Pick: Silva, STRIKES, RD1
The Result: WINNER AND FIRST EVER ELITE XC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION Antonio Silva via RD2 (0:19) TKO
Final Thoughts: 7.5
Larry's Enjoyment Index: Our first title fight was for the first ever Elite XC Heavyweight Title. Many joked about Eilers being a part of the fight, sure he had a good record but was never able to win the big one. Eilers gave Silva some trouble in round one as he was content to box it out with the big man and had success doing so. But Silva controlled the bout, and the only reason round one was a draw was due to Silva losing a point due to a shot to the back of the head. When round two began we got what I expected, an execution from Silva. Eilers came out and got caught after he gets a left hook, lost his mouthpiece and Silva DESTROYS him with a knee and about 15 unanswered shots. Silva looked like a beast, plain and simple. I think everyone expected Silva to take the title with ease, and while he had to work a bit for it, we got the decision expected. Silva is exciting to watch, but for people to take him seriously he'll need to fight a serious heavyweight contender.

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The Fight: Women's Bantamweight Bout - Shayna Baszler (11-4) vs. Cristiane Cyborg (4-0) :
My Pick: Shayna Baszler, SUBMISSION, RD2
The Result: Cristiane Cyborg via RD2 (2:48) TKO
Final Thoughts: 9.0
Larry's Enjoyment Index: And this is where everyone gets to mock me for being REALLY wrong! In the roundtable I stated: " Shayna Baszler has looked unstoppable in her last four fights, winning all in the first round and all by submission. I have stated that I feel that she could be the one to dethrone Gina Carano. I look for her to once again take the win here, and go onto challenge Gina." WRONG CSONKA! Yeah, damn was I ever wrong. Cristiane Cyborg DESTROYED Shayna with EASE here, it was spectacular. They went to the ground early and Shayna tried toehold and knee bar, but she just couldn't get good position. Cyborg would get control and do a lot of damage, tiring out Shayna. Round two was just domination by Cyborg, who knocked Shayna down and thought she won, to the point that she hoped onto the top of the cage. When she was alerted that the fight was NOT over, she went back in and destroyed Shayna with devastating rights and lefts, and that was all. This was a tremendous display by Cyborg. When the fight was over the crowd was chanting "GINA" for Gina Carano who was at ringside. The live crowd WANTED this fight, which is a great thing. People are interested. They interviewed Gina after the bout and she said she wanted the fight, and that what we saw was great, which it was. Carano has been built well especially after her debut on CBS, and this could be one of the main fights for October 4th. I would imagine if they have signed Cristiane Cyborg that it will be for the first ever Elite Women's Title, which is fine with me. MONEY.

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The Fight: EliteXC Welterweight Title Bout - Jake Shields (20-4-1Draw) vs. Nick Thompson (39-9-1Draw):
My Pick: Shields, SUBMISSION, RD3
The Result: WINNER AND FIRST EVER ELITE XC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION Jake Shields via RD1 (1:03) Submission
Final Thoughts: Jake Shields has been waiting since November to fight for this title. First the match for the title was scrapped when his opponent was leaving the promotion, then injuries to he and Fickett postponed it, Fickett leaves and Shields looked to have to wait more. But we finally got the bout to decide out first Elite Welterweight champion, and it would be against a very experienced Nick Thompson. I really thought that Thompson would cause more of a problem for Shields than he did, but Shields just took him apart for the quick sub, and that was that. I thought the cut Shields suffered in training could have caused a problem, but obviously I was wrong. It was fun while it lasted, and Shields sits on top of the Elite WW division. It was quick, he looked great and it was a very good fight for him to debut on CBS with.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.5

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The Fight: Lightweight Bout - Nick Diaz (17-7-1NC) vs. Thomas Denny (26-16):
My Pick: Diaz, STRIKES RD2
The Result: Nick Diaz via RD2 (0:30) TKO
Final Thoughts: The opening round of the fight was awesome. Denny knew he couldn't sit back and allow Diaz to settle into his game plan, which while I don't like it a lot of the time, it works. Denny pushed the pace and made this a BATTLE. Some felt this was a horrible plan, but I feel that this was Denny's only chance. Denny dominated early and got a takedown, but after that Diaz turned up the volume and took back control and did good damage; winning the round. When round two began Denny had not recovered, and was exhausted. It only took 30-seconds for Diaz to polish him off, and he looked great doing it. Diaz came off like a superstar in his hometown with this all out battle., which makes the mistake by CBS even bigger. Quite simply CBS and their control over the show hurt the build for Diaz vs. Noons. CBS refused to show footage of the after match angle in Hawaii because they didn't want to show that side of the sport. But with Diaz winning they should have showed it and should have allowed Diaz to openly challenge Noons for the title, which could have been huge leading into the next show. Unfortunately because of this I feel the fight will be stuck on Showtime, and not nearly as many people will see it. What a shame.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 8.0

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The Fight: EliteXC Middleweight Title Bout - Robbie Lawler © (15-4-1NC) vs. Scott Smith (15-4-1NC):
My Pick: Lawler, Decision
The Result: Robbie Lawler via RD2 (2:35) TKO
Final Thoughts: And here we were at the main event of the evening, Smith vs. Lawler II. I think that it was a great idea to follow up with the rematch here, and while I don't know what kind of rating they will get it was the right choice. This was almost the same fight as the first one, lots of standup and high kicks being thrown around. Hang and Bang baby, none of that ground shit here. They had a really good first round, and it could have gone either way but I went with Smith as he came on very strong at the end of the round. Round two was looking good for Smith again as he was able to cut Lawler with elbows, much like the first bout again. But as Smith will tell you he didn't properly press, he was hoping for a stoppage. Lawler admitted that he pushed the action because he didn't want Dean to take time and have the cut checked, and THAT was the turning point. Lawler destroyed Smith with knees and took the fight, and kept his title. The important thing is that they got a clean decision. They made the right call doing the rematch on the second CBS special, but they had to deliver and they did. It was another great battle between the two men, and now Lawler sits atop the Middleweight Division. I would imaging that Rua or Villaseno; both former champions and both doing well after losing the title. Lawler already beat Rua, so I could see Joey Villasenor getting the first shot.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 8.0

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The Overall:
Best Fight(s): Women's Bantamweight Bout - Shayna Baszler (11-4) vs. Cristiane Cyborg (4-0) 9.0
Worst Fight: Bantamweight Bout - Wilson Reis (4-0) vs. Bryan Caraway (9-2) 6.5
Final Thoughts: Overall the second edition of Elite XC on CBS was WAY better than the first. No controversy, good to great fights, new champions and they ended on time thanks to adding an hour on Showtime. Shields looked great, Lawler won the big rematch and we now have a huge bout in the making with Gina vs. CYBORG. And rock on I went 6-1 for the evening! This was a damn fine show.

Show Score: 8.25