Sunday, July 27, 2008

Elite XC: Unfinished Business Review

That was a much better showing from Elite XC. It didn't have the drawing power of the first card and I can pretty much guarantee they won't reach half the viewers they captured the first time. However, in terms of putting on an MMA show they succeeded 200% over their first try. There were no rappers, there were no close ups of card girls dancing, Phil Baroni wasn't being undressed at ringside, there were no pyrotechnics, they didn't allow the card to go an hour over the time limit, etc. etc. And most importantly all the fights on the card had some significance in terms of titles. This was a show for the real MMA fans and it showed. However, I don't think what's good for MMA is necessarily good for Elite XC and CBS. I think when they put on their next show in October they'll have to find a happy medium between their first and second show. They need the casual viewers to tune in so CBS can sell advertising which will allow Elite XC to stay on the air. However, Elite XC can't alienate the real MMA fans by doing what they did in the first show. So as much as last night's show was a step in the right direction I think they may need to take a step back to take two steps forward. Let's dive into the fights and see how I fared.

Antonio Silva v. Justin Eilers: I only got to see highlights of this fight but it looked like Silva just dominated Eilers on the feet until he got the TKO in round 2. I got the pick right and came very close on the prediction but no cigar. With this win Silva becomes the first Elite XC heavyweight champion.

Jake Shields v. Nick Thompson: This fight was over almost as fast as it started. There was a vain attempt to stay on the feet but they went to ground almost immediately. Shields put on a clinic tapping out Thompson with a one armed (yes you read correctly, ONE ARMED) reverse guillotine choke. Please be reminded that Thompson is also a black belt in BJJ. However, Shields proved he was just that much better. With this win Shields solidified himself as a top ten welterweight in the world and wins the inaugural Elite XC welterweight championship. I got the pick right here but wasn't even close to getting the prediction right.

Nick Diaz v. Thomas Denny: At first Denny looked like he was taking advantage of his puncher's chance by clipping Diaz with some really clean shots. Diaz stayed true to his style starting slowly and taking some punishment along the way before getting in his groove and started unloading on Denny. Denny survived the first round but it was apparent that he had punched himself out. Diaz took full advantage. Still feeling fresh he went right to work on Denny and dropped him with a TKO. Diaz is a total a****** but he is a real tough fighter and probably does deserve his rematch at the lightweight title after this win. I got the pick and prediction totally right here.

Robbie Lawler v. Scott Smith: This fight looked like an exact replica of the first one. They both came out feeling out the other one until each one started finding their rhythm and started swinging away. They both landed some solid shots at the end of the first round. Smith came out strong in the second round and hurt Lawler but then he just seemed to sit back and let Lawler take him out which he happily did with a TKO in the second round. Lawler retained his middleweight title. The funny thing is if I had stayed with my original prediction I would've been 100% correct but instead I thought Smith would come out and slug it out a little longer. In any case I got the pick right but not the prediction.

I had a pretty solid night. I went 4-0 in my predictions and got 1 bonus point for getting the Diaz prediction right. One other notable fight was Cristiane Cyborg beating Shayna Baszler. Cyborg will now go on to fight Gina Carano at the next CBS event in October. That should be a really good fight. Cyborg is incredibly strong, aggressive, and has high motor. Not to mention her Muy Thai skills rival those of Carano. The question is can Carano keep up with Cyborg? I guess we'll all find out in October. That's all for now but stay tuned for my WEC preview this week. Until then,

Soccer kicks and head stomps...

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