The reaction to Elite XC's inaugural show on CBS has been mixed to negative and after spending the night cageside, I can't argue with that. The stoppages in each of the last two fights was much to quick and the controversy about an uncalled tapout by Kimbo Slice looms as an issue that Elite and CBS will have to deal with to confirm the legitimacy of what they're putting forth.
As you can see in the above picture of James Thompson, the stoppage didn't come completely out of nowhere. His ear is in awful shape. I don't think the context of the fight to that point called for a stoppage but Slice's punches and strikes were doing damage. Thompson's, on the other hand, weren't. He was on top and throwing elbows but, from my spot 10-15 feet away, they weren't doing much to hurt Slice. If Thompson weren't fatigued and/or hurting, I think he would have ended the fight during that moment in the second round but he couldn't muster the necessary might.
As you'll see after the jump, Slice looked better after the fight. Not the best picture, I apologize for my photo skills, but he didn't have a scratch on him.
The fighting didn't end when Kimbo Slice stopped James Thompson in the third round of tonight's main event in Newark. Brett Rogers, a heavyweight who won his match in 61 seconds to start off the televised portion of the card, took the podium during the press conference and called Slice's performance "garbage" and said it was "unacceptable" to give that to the fans.
Slice wasn't there yet but he did show up later and the press asked Rogers to elaborate on what he meant. He was much clearer this time, saying that Slice tapped out when Thompson had him down on the ground during the second round of their match. Slice asked if that was a challenge and, as you can see from the photo above, things got pretty heated. Every fighter, cornerman and Elite XC employee kept the men apart but it was a good three or four minutes before things cooled down and Slice left.
From my vantage point at cageside, I didn't see Slice tap out. There was discussion along press row about a tapout but everyone seemed to say they heard someone else say it first. Thompson said he didn't and Slice obviously denied it so either Rogers saw something different or he's a savvy marketer who knows how to put himself in position to fight the league's big dog. Promoter Gary Shaw said the next CBS show would be in August at the earliest, perhaps he found himself his main event?
This hasn't been the best of nights for Elite XC. They finally got a match worthy of their network slot between middleweights Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith and then, deep into the third round, they have it pulled out from under them.
Doctors called for the match to be stopped when Smith suffered a thumb to the eye and declared a no contest. Smith looked raring to go and, as much as fighters should be protected, it seemed like a pretty quick call that was meant with great displeasure from the crowd. As I type, in fact, I can't hear Gus Johnson's interview just booing and calls for refunds from the crowd.
It's funny because the crowd spent most of the match booing Lawler and Smith whenever they took a break from the action. Lawler was winning the bout but it was close and the final 10+ minutes could have taken it to another level. It's really a shame for Elite XC and these fighters because this should have been a big leap forward for the two best fighters, if not the most famous, on tonight's bill.
UPDATE: Was just handed the official scorecard and two judges had it even and the third had Lawler up 20-18. Had the round ended before the stoppage it would have gone to the cards, which would have been interesting to see.
After a desultory first hour that featured two minutes of fighting and a lot of waiting around, the fans at the Prudential Center finally got excited about something going on in the ring. Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young gave good effort and and exciting fight that ended after two rounds when the doctor ruled that Young couldn't continue.
Young actually got the better of the bigger and heavily favored Carano in the first round, keeping her on her back for the lion's share of the action. The second round, though, saw Carano break through with a variety of strikes and kicks, including a foot to the body that may have led to the end if the bell hadn't stopped the round. The crowd was very into it, chanting lustily for Carano and, perhaps, showing that there's room for more women in the MMA mix.
Before that, the crowd was searching for any reason to get excited. They cheered lustily for local product Phil Baroni as he made his way to the cage but were let down when Joe Villasenor made quick work of him. The only other thing getting them excited is the appearance of Plaxico Burress of the Super Bowl champion Giants near the cage.
Well, at least Busta Rhymes did a nice job. The first match of the night from Elite XC on CBS was over almost before it began. Brett "The Grim" Rogers knocked Jon Murphy down 61 seconds into their match with an overwhelming strike to the head. The referee wisely stopped the fight at that point.
Rogers is now 7-0 and has the look of a guy that Elite XC is grooming for further success. Added to the rapping styles of Rhymes is the Big Black Security Team. Several large men in bright red t-shirts, some wearing oversize novelty sunglasses throwing hats to the crowd. I'd imagine we'll see more of Rogers in the future.
The length of the fight can't thrill CBS, however. The lulls in the action aren't doing great things for the crowd's energy level and I wonder how much filler they have to show to a TV audience tuned in for better fights than the one that just finished. We're 40 minutes into the televised program and we've had one minute of fighting. They need to do better than that.
I mentioned in an earlier post that there were a bunch of empty seats on all sides of the cage for tonight's event. Well, that must have bothered someone at CBS or Elite XC, or both presumably, because ring announcer Jimmy Lennon invited fans to move down from the upper deck to enjoy better seats.
It made a huge difference visually as the CBS broadcast got underway but while Gus Johnson and company did their intros there was a deadening effect in the arena that scores of dancing girls (sadly not dancing girls from Scores) didn't do much to alleviate.
Other observations from cageside, they handed out Kick Ass Kimbo signs to just about every fan in the house, lest you think Elite XC is a disinterested observer in who wins tonight's main event. And I watched Johnson get lipstick applied while being razzed about it from the faithful seated at ringside.
Jon Murphy and Brett Rogers are about to kick off the fighting portion of the TV broadcast, I'll be back in a bit.
I'm not sure if CBS is planning on using any of the undercard bouts are filler during the live broadcast starting at 9 P.M. so I'll put all the results after the jump. I will say, however, that if they do tell you they're about to throw it to one of those matches, at any point, it's a good time to go grab another beer, visit the bathroom or stare at paint drying. With the exclusion of the Matt Makowski-Nick Serra matchup, the effect would be about the same.
Last weekend, MDS was in Vegas for UFC 84 and was blown away by the energy, crowd size and diversity he saw Octagon-side. There's a pretty clear difference in tonight's event at the Prudential Center in Newark.
For one thing, the size of the crowd can't compare. We're a little more than a half-hour from the start of the main portion of the card and the crowd isn't much fuller than it was for the start of the undercard. There are swaths of empty seats on all sides of the cage and I wonder how good that will look on CBS.
The crowd is throaty, though, and all the loud music, smoke machines and flashing lights are the same as last weekend. Without a full house, however, it's hard to get the same big event feel.
For another, MDS remarked on the amount of women in the crowd in Vegas. Tonight's crowd is much more representative of the stereotypical, young male demographic. There aren't many women here, outside of the somewhat cheesy girls dancing in hotpants in between matches. Popular with those young males, for sure, but something less than professional quality.
I just arrived at the Prudential Center in Newark for Elite XC's inaugural CBS show and found the answer to a NFL Where Are They Now question. Carlton Haselrig, former Steeler Pro Bowl guard, is fighting on the untelevised undercard preceding the live show this evening. He'll fight Carlton Moreno, a New Jersey fighter with a 5-2 record.
Haselrig has one MMA fight on his record already, a victory over Shane Ott in April. He was a six time NCAA champion Greco-Roman wrestler and made an impressive transition to the NFL until substance abuse problems ran him out of the league in 1995. That culminated in a 1997 arrest in Pennsylvania for riding his motorcycle under the influence while wearing his helmet backward.
I'll have an update on Haselrig's fight and the rest of the undercard a little bit later. For now, I'll tell you the arena is a little less than half-full a good 90 minutes before the shank of the evening's entertainment is upon us. The undercard is filled with local fighters and you can definitely hear friends and family pulling for their guys.
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