May 31st will be a huge day for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts as EliteXC is going to be the first major MMA organization on regular prime-time television. Saturday night will have a new show called “Saturday Night Fights” and EliteXc is going all in with this opportunity to show the world their skills. The first card is lining up with their some of their best talent to draw as many viewers as possible. Not only will they showcase one of the most popular street fighters in Kimbo Slice, but they will also show a true gladiator in Gina Carano. The fight card is also rumored to showcase MMA journeyman fighter Robbie Lawler along with Scott Smith, Maurilo Ninja Rua, and Phil Baroni.
Kimbo needs no introductions. The YouTube phenom is as popular as ever. The fans love him, EliteXC loves him, and Bas Rutten loves him. Kimbo is a huge draw for the organization, but he hasn’t been tested yet. He is 2-0 in less than 1:10 of professional fighting and because of that, he is something that people want to see. On May 31st there will be a handful of people that will be logging in just to see Kimbo fight. EliteXC will grab as much money as they can from Kimbo as he is an an interesting draw. Many are rooting for him, but there are just as many rooting against him.
The American Gladiator, Gina Carano, herself looks to continue her impressive undefeated record on the same night. EliteXC is hoping that her popularity on the first season of the new gladiator show will leak over to Saturday nights on CBS. Like Kimbo she is another big draw, but for far different reasons. She is the most dominant female MMA fighter on the planet. She has a decent ground game, great Muay Thai skills, and is an attractive draw for the MMA organization.
Robbie Lawler is a fighter who has fought almost everywhere; UCF, Pride, IFL, Icon Sport, and even a few other places. He fights out of Team Hughes and will look to use Hughes’ consistent pressure and excellent training to be victories. Lawler is 15-4 and has heavy hands. He is an exciting fighter that can bring old school MMA fans to this new avenue of viewing the sport.
Phil “The New York Badass” Baroni will also look to use this television venture to up his stock. This Hammer House athlete will be in great shape and look to get back on his winning ways. He has lost his last two fights to Frank Shamrock and Kala Hose. Baroni also fought in Pride, UFC, and other organizations. In most of his fights he either knocked his opponent out, or got beat.
This is going to be a good card, and a great opportunity for EliteXC, as well as the sport overall. It is the first step in trying to take some of the wind out of the UFC’s wings. It is going to be a weekly showcase that could bring in new fans, as well as bring back some of the old ones. Don’t get me wrong, this is not the end all be all for MMA. The UFC is still going to dominate the sport for now, but this is huge. There are still questions that stick out in my mind about this journey? Kimbo and Gina can’t fight every card. What happens when Kimbo loses two in a row?
Rumors of late are that Fedor and Tim Sylvia may sign with the organization. If this is the case it raises the competition dramatically, but it won’t be long before the fans want to see Kimbo vs. Timmy, or Fedor. Currently the most dominant fighter in this organization is American Top Team fighter Antonio Silva. He is a true big man that could fight with the likes of Sylvia and others. It has been said that he is the next man to challenge Fedor. If EliteXC can sign Fedor it makes for a good matchup. Dana White and the UFC should be a little worried about this arrangement. Between this and the other organizations, talent is constantly improving and everyone is looking to dethrone the MMA giant; the UFC.
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I do still love MMA and have...
March 31st, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Gina Carano is ‘the most dominant female fighter on the planet?’ Chris almighty, are you Gary Shaw or Gina herself?
March 31st, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I say Chris because I don’t want to use the Lord’s name in vain. :p It wasn’t a typo at all…
March 31st, 2008 at 1:21 pm
She is undefeated at 5-0, and women’s MMA hasn’t produced someone to beat her yet.
March 31st, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Uhhh…Gina also hasn’t faced anyone that is even remotely relevant to women’s MMA yet. Hell, she hasn’t even competed at a real weightclass in women’s MMA to this date. There are plenty of fighters who would absolutely wreck Carano at this point (Larosa and Buckner come to mind immediately).
To say that women’s MMA hasn’t produced someone to beat her yet is about as naive as saying that Cung Le is the most dominant MW on the planet and no one has been produced to beat him yet, despite the fact that he’s faced exactly zero fighters who would be considered top ten in his weightclass.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:08 pm
So Rosi Sexton isn’t remotely relevant? Have you ever seen her fight? Not trying to be a jerk, but considering Carano has done a pretty good job, I’d say she’s pretty close to the top right now. Modafferi, Larosa, and Baszler are up there as well.
Carano is by far the most dominant known female fighter right now. Good looks, good marketing, and the spotlight in American Gladiators certainly help.
April 1st, 2008 at 4:53 am
Rosi Sexton is relevant to the 125 lb weight class. She moved up to fight Carano. She is not relevant to the 135 lb weight class. Furthermore, on top of giving up all sorts of weight to Carano, she had to deal with Carano *surprise* not even making weight. Carano made it to 139 lbs and basically refused to cut any more. She told Sexton something along the lines of “we both came here to fight, not cut weight,” or some baloney like that.
And no offense to you, but when I look up previous articles on this site about Carano and find you talking about how Gina decided to compete in the ‘highly regarded 140 lb weight class,’ I question how much you actually know about female MMA, seeing as how that weightclass doesn’t exist outside of special matches made for one special girl.
When speaking of dominance in women’s MMA, you should be speaking about Tara Larosa, Yuka Tsuji, and Megumi Fuji…not Gina Carano.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:19 am
It was actually Gina herself who said that 135-140lb weight class was popular in her interview that I linked in the article I wrote last year.
Popular = well liked = highly regarded. Synonym math for the win.
You can talk about her weight all you want, but it has nothing to do with her fighting abilities. Just look at her weigh in pictures and you’ll see why she has a hard time making weight. Women != Men. I don’t think I have to really explain that part any more, haha.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:42 am
I couldn’t agree more Brandt!