Cardio Freak Review: EliteXC: Renegade 2-Disc DVD
Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 08.12.2008
Cardio Freak adventures into the DVD reviewing world and what better way to start than with the pro MMA debut of Kimbo Slice? Not only that but it's the fight that made KJ Noons a star and Nick Diaz a very bitter man. Plus other great fighters like Jake Shields and Antonio Silva are featured.
EliteXC: Renegade
November 10, 2007
American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas
EliteXC: Renegade was the third event ran by the company. It was arguably their biggest event to date as they were crowning their first ever Lightweight Champion and it was the debut of Kimbo Slice.
The 2-Disc DVD was released on May 13, 2008 by Image Entertainment. You can purchase the DVD here.
I should note that TRADING CARDS featuring Nick Diaz, KJ Noons, and Kimbo Slice came with the DVD. I wish I had these when I played Pokemon because I would whip out the Kimbo card and it would be game over.
Disc 1: Televised Fights
Unlike UFC DVDs, EliteXC pretty much shows the entire event as it was shown on Showtime. We’re treated to the opening video package, the Nitro girls, some break dancers, and the arrival of KJ Noons and Nick Diaz.
Muaro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros are our hosts. Quadros explains that the 160 pound weight class was designed because guys were cutting too much weight and 170 to 155 was too big of a gap. Of course everyone knows that EliteXC created the 160 division because it was the weight Nick Diaz felt the most comfortable at and they wanted to push them as their golden boy.
Bill Goldberg interviews Kimbo Slice. His beard lacks glisten. Kimbo gives a relatively bland promo.
Super Heavyweight Fight: Antonio Silva vs. Jonathan Wiezorek
Antonio Silva was EXC’s top Heavyweight at this point but he had to be pushed down the card to make room for Kimbo. Jonathan Wiezorek is a journeyman fighter who had a good record but a past his prime Dan Serven was his only big win. The fight is a Super Heavyweight fight as a opposed to a Heavyweight fight because Wiezorek is a fat ass.
Round One: Wiezorek charges in and gets pushed away. He tries again and Silva again just pushes him away. Two body kicks land by Silva. Wiezorek charges in again and gets tagged with an uppercut followed by a flurry by Silva. Wiezorek goes for a weak takedown and Silva ends up taking his back. Wiezorek rolls into half guard and eats a bunch of punches. Silva mounts and drops punches down on Wiezorek. Wiezorek gives up his back, eats more punches, and ends up getting choked out.
In the best moment of the entire thing, Silva tries a cartwheel after the victory and almost falls on his ass. GSP he is not.
Winner: Antonio Silva, Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round One
Goldberg interviews Antonio Silva. Goldberg has to ask “WHO’S NEXT?!?!” as it’s written into his contract. Silva responds by thanking a bunch of people.
Middleweight Fight: Kyle Noke vs. Seth Kleinbeck
Kyle Noke is the former bodyguard of Steve Irwin so EXC was really stretching for a draw here. Seth Kleinbeck is a journeyman fighter who liked to stand and trade.
Round One: Kleinbeck throws a lot of jabs, one-twos, and low kicks early. Most of them miss. Noke is trying to counter punch. Kleinbeck catches a body kick from Noke and takes him to the ground. Noke puts Kleinbeck in full guard. Noke throws his legs up, looking for a triangle or arm bar but Kleinbeck defends. Kleinbeck delivers minimal damage from the guard so he decides to stand back up. Both guys throw punches but nothing lands clean. The round ends.
Round Two: Noke throws punches and shoots for a takedown. Kleinbeck tries to defend with a whizzer but Noke ends up mounting him. Kleinbeck gives up his back. Noke goes for the rear-naked choke but Kleinbeck defends. Kleinbeck turns into the guard of Noke. The ref stands them up even though Kleinbeck is trying to work. Noke gets another takedown ad ends up in guard. Noke cuts open Kleinbeck with an elbow. The ref stops the fight to check on the cut. We get a close-up of the cut and it is DEEP. The doctor stops the fight.
Winner: Kyle Noke, TKO (Cut), Round Two
Goldberg asks Noke to give a shout out to the Australian fans. “G’Day”, says Noke. “Yeah, G’Day is a good one”, responds Goldberg. It sure is.
Welterweight Fight: Jake Shields vs. Mike Pyle
This fight was scheduled to be for the EXC Welterweight title but Pyle said he wasn’t re-signing with the company after the fight so EXC couldn’t risk Pyle winning and then leaving.
Round One: Shields goes for a takedown but Pyle sprawls and catches Shields with a knee on the way up. Shields is rocked but he goes for another takedown. Shields gets the takedown and presses Pyle against the cage. Pyle works his way back to his feet. Shields gets another takedown against the cage. Pyle gets up and goes for a trip takedown but Shields rolls through and ends up on top. Shields passes to half guard. Pyle tries to use rubber guard but it doesn’t work as Shields passes to side control. Shields quickly moves to mount. Pyle gives up his back and Shields submits him with the rear naked choke.
Winner: Jake Shields, Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round One
Shields is furious that this fight wasn’t for the title. Goldberg stumbles through a bunch of words. I laughed.
Heavyweight Fight: Bo Cantrell vs. Kimbo Slice
This fight was Kimbo’s official MMA debut so of course EliteXC had to give him an opponent with a 10-10 record and four straight losses.
Round One: Bo tries a spinning back fist and misses. I had forgotten that he even threw a strike in this fight, much less a spinning back fist. Leg kick by Bo. Body shot by Kimbo followed by an elbow that drops Bo. Kimbo pounces on him and Bo taps out before he gets murdered.
Kimbo Slice, Submission (Strikes), Round One
Kimbo keeps his mouthpiece in during the beginning of the interview. Goldberg asks what’s next for Kimbo and Kimbo says whoever. That leads to a great moment where Goldberg smiles and nods for about five seconds, thinking Kimbo is going to continue but he doesn’t so he just get dead air with Goldberg smiling and nodding.
EliteXC Lightweight Title Fight: KJ Noons vs. Nick Diaz
As mentioned earlier, the 160 division was made specifically for Nick Diaz so the plan was for him to easily win the belt. Noons was made his opponent because EXC really lacked Lightweights but he was coming off a win, was a former boxer, and seemed like a relatively safe choice.
Round One: Body shot by Noons. Diaz goes for the takedown but Noons stays on his feet. Another body shot by Noons. Diaz goes for two more takedowns but Noons stuffs them both. Another body shot and another stuffed takedown by Noons. Diaz throws his PEPPERING PUNCHES while Noons throws with power. Diaz eats a knee on the takedown attempt but he finally gets the fight to the ground. The knee cut Diaz. Noons is quick to scramble back to his feet. The ref stops the fight to check on the cut. The cut isn’t deep but it’s right under the eyebrow of Diaz. The fight continues. Right hand by Noons that knocks down Diaz. Noons tries to finish by Diaz survives. Noons gets to his feet and Diaz comes at him with the AGGRESSIVE CRAB! Diaz finally gets up. Diaz has another cut on the opposite eye. More PEPPERING PUNCHES by Diaz and more power punches by Noons. Diaz goes for another takedown but the round ends.
The doctor stops the fight between rounds due to the cuts.
Winner: New EXC Lightweight Champion, KJ Noons, TKO (Cuts), Round One
Diaz throws a temper tantrum and flips off Noons as he leaves. The cameraman follows Diaz backstage and Diaz slaps the camera.
Goldberg says that he loves blood and guts but fighter safety comes first. The doctor says Diaz couldn’t see enough to protect himself so he stopped the fight.
Noons thanks a bunch of people and sponsors and Goldberg responds with, “Ok, beautiful man. We can thank the rest of the world later.” I love this man. Noons calls out Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya.
Ranallo, Quadros, and Goldberg wrap up the show and that wraps up Disc 1.
Disc 2: Preliminary Fights
Welterweight Fight: Daniel Pineda vs. Jae Suk Lim
Round One: Pineda shoots and Lim just moves away. He setups up another takedown but Lim stuffs it and trips him down into mount. Pineda tries to buck him off but Lim is having none of it. Pineda gives up his back and Lim locks in the choke. Pineda tries to battle but eventually taps out.
Winner: Jae Suk Lim, Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round One
Heavyweight Fight: Ralph Kelley vs. Brett Rogers
Round One: They trade leg kicks to start. Kelley comes back with another couple of leg kicks. Rogers lands a big left straight. Kelley tries the takedown but Rogers stuff, flips him over, and ends up in half guard. Rogers pounds on Kelley from half guard and Kelley ends up tapping out.
Winner: Brett Rogers, Submission (Strikes), Round One
Middleweight Fight: Matt Lucas vs. Jon Kirk
Round One: High blocked by Kirk. Lucas gets the takedown, lands some big punches from the guard, and passes to side control. Kirk puts him back in guard but he’s eating a bunch of elbows. Lucas cuts open Kirk with one of the elbows. Kirk tries his best to tie up Lucas but Lucas is having none of it. Lucas continues to land punches and elbows from the guard. Kirk tries to roll Lucas over into mount but instead Lucas gives up his back. Kirk puts Lucas in a body triangle and drops punches. Lucas is bloodied up. Kirk tries for a neck crank but the round ends.
Round Two: Lucas goes for a takedown, eats a knee, but still puts Kirk on his back. Lucas pushes Kirk up against the fence. Lucas is doing no damage compared to the first round. Kirk tries to push Lucas off but Lucas comes back with a series of punches. The commentators harp all over the ref for not standing them up. The round finally ends with nothing continuing to happen.
Round Three: Kirk swings with a big right hand and Lucas ends up taking him down. The ref wastes no time in standing them up. They clinch and Lucas gets another takedown. Lucas throws weak punches from the top, Kirk throws weak punches from the bottom. The whole commentary in this round is bitching about the ref not standing them up. It rules. The ref stands them up. Kirk throws a block high kick, a wild punch, and gets taken down. The ref stands them up quickly again. This is the most inconsistent ref I’ve ever seen. Takedown by Lucas. Both guys throw weak punches. The round finally ends.
Winner: Matt Lucas, Unanimous Decision (30-27 Across)
Heavyweight Fight: Geoff Bumstead vs. Robert Ruiz
Round One: Leg kicks by Bumstead. Ruiz clinches against the fence with Bumstead. Ruiz tries a trip takedown but Bumstead falls forward and into side control. Bumstead lands some punches and Ruiz gives up his back. Bumstead locks in the choke for the win.
Winner: Geoff Bumstead, Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round One
Lightweight Fight: Yves Edwards vs. Nick Gonzalez
Round One: Gonzalez uses his jab to keep Edwards at bay. They trade leg kicks. Both guys using pretty much the jab exclusively. They trade leg kicks again. Gonzalez is starting to put together combinations, throwing in hooks and body shots. Edwards gets the takedown and ends up in half guard. Edwards uses a kimura to pass to side control and then he quickly moves to mount. Gonzalez gives up his back and Edwards sinks in the choke. Gonzalez taps out.
Winner: Yves Edwards, Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round One
Disc 2: Extras
Fight Bios
Just some short biographies of all the main card fighters. They’re all pretty much by the numbers and there’s no cool lies to exploit. They did list Bo Cantrell as one of the most feared MMA fighters but that’s about it.
Fighter Interviews
JASON ‘MAYHEM’ MILLER~! hosts the pre-fight interviews and I’m already excited. His first guest is Jake Shields. Shields says he weighs 184, which means he’s put on 14 pounds since the weigh ins.
KJ Noons is the next guest. Noons says he’s going to box with Diaz and he will win.
Mike Pyle is next. Pyle says, “Don’t blink guys, it’s going to be a quick one. Or a long one, you never know.” Miller responds with, “So if it’s a long one do you still want them not to blink?” Pyle has no response.
Seth Kleinbeck speaks next. Kleinbeck is a legit doctor so Miller tells him that it burns when pees. Kleinbeck tells him that penicillin will work. Miller wants vicodin for his back pain.
Randy Couture is the next guest. “Randy, stirrin up some shit recently.” Randy has no comment. Randy says he wants to fight Fedor. Randy says he would clinch with Fedor and take him down. THIS FIGHT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!
Up next is Gary Shaw. He says two words and Miller pushes him aside.
Miller catches up with Yves Edwards after his victory. Edwards says that Marcus Aurelio kept tapping him out in camp so he had to tap someone out in the cage. Edwards puts over ATT as some guy holds up a ATT banner behind him.
Miller talks to Matt Lucas. He’s as boring as his fight.
Jae Suk Lim talks to Miller. He doesn’t speak English. Lim wanted to stand up and was disappointed the fight went to the ground.
Next is Brett Rogers. Rogers says that it’s all in a days work. Miller puts over the fro-hawk.
Ge-off Bumstead is next. Bumstead is a former hockey player and he had nothing to grab in the fight.
Kit Cope and his turkey leg talk to Miller next. He says that fans have been eating his turkey leg.
Antonio Silva and his translator are next. Silva says the fight went according to plan. Silva puts over ATT.
Miller greets Kyle Noke with a “G’Day”. “You wrote Dr. Seth Kleinbeck with a prescription for elbow to the face.” Noke puts over Greg Jackson.
Jake Shields gives Miller a sweaty hug. Shields says that if Kimbo wins the he wants to fight him next. My money would be on Shields.
KIMBO AND MAYHEM~! Someone hands Kimbo a bag of bread and that was the greatest moment in EXC history.
Miller interviews KJ Noons and I can’t pay attention as there’s an extremely hot chick in the background. Damn, she got out of the picture. Out of nowhere Gary Shaw waddles into the picture and says Noons could kick Miller’s ass. Miller calls for security. Just give him a box of donuts. That’ll shut him up for at least 30 seconds.
Greg Jackson and Joey Villasenor are next. Both guys put over Noke. “If you don’t follow the gameplan at Jackson’s then we’ll kick you right out.” I guess that means Keith Jardine no longer trains there.
We’re treated to a Kimbo Slice promo. Kimbo says that he likes to beat up assholes. We get clips of Kimbo’s YouTube fights. Kimbo says he got into MMA because there were no more street fights left.
BAS RUTTEN~! gives us some famous Rutten fighting advice and says that if he were to get into a fight with Kimbo that he would distract him. “And then when he would look back. POW! Kick to the groin. Dangnda dangnda da dang.”
We get a KJ Noons promo. Noons says that Diaz isn’t willing to stand with him. Noons says that he has nothing to lose in this fight.
Another Noons promo but this one is after he won the belt. Noons didn’t expect Diaz to shoot early and he thought he would stand with him. Wait, so before the fight he didn’t think Diaz would stand but after the fight he thought he would. Make up your mind. “A few more punches and his face would have been split open more.” Noons says that he was ready to go five rounds. Noons thinks Diaz should win some fights before there’s a rematch.
Galleries
Broken down into three categories: Meet Kimbo, Fight Stills, and Post Event.
Meet Kimbo is just some photos of Kimbo training. Fight Stills are what you expect except there’s not many of them and it includes post-fight stuff. There’s one photo of Noons and the hot chick that I can only assume is his girlfriend/wife. The best photo is of Noons celebrating while Diaz is in the background flipping people off. Post Event is just photos from the post-fight press conference. The best photo is of Kimbo holding up his bag of bread.
Rules
Just a list of the same rules they show before every EliteXC event. Judge’s score based on: striking, grappling, effective aggression, and Octag…errr cage control. 10-point must system. No knees to the head of a downed opponent. Only the ref or doctor can stop the fight.
Glossary
This is a pretty cool feature that lists a bunch of MMA terms A-Z. I’m not going to list them all but the terms include submissions, striking techniques, grappling techniques, and just general MMA terms. Good stuff.
The 411: I was very impressed with the DVD release of EliteXC: Renegade. Showing the event in its entirety was a good move and something I wish UFC would do. All of the fights with the exception of one were exciting and came to an ending. The interviews with 'Mayhem' Miller and the glossary extras were good stuff and a nice addition to the DVD. If anything you should want this DVD for the historical value of it being Kimbo Slice's first ever professional MMA fight.
