There’s still not a lot going on in the world of MMA news these days, unfortunately. While UFC 84, scheduled for May 24th, is looming, many people are also looking forward to see the first glimpse of MMA action during prime time television only a week later thanks to the partnership of EliteXC and CBS. It’s not like EliteXC just paired up with some junk television station - CBS has been a roll lately by racking up the highest number of viewers for the second straight week while maintaining a solid second place standing for the entire season just behind Fox. Ten of the top 20 shows on television these days are on CBS and the viewership will be there regardless of what else is on television at the time. And now thanks to the UFC and Spike TV, you can also watch “Ultimate Iceman: Chuck Liddell” on May 31st as well.

So why did the UFC decide to air a show opposite of live MMA action? If you go out and ask anyone on the street who Chuck Liddell is, you’ll get a pretty decent response. Ask those same people if they like watching live sports and your reaction might be even better. Ask people on the street if they enjoy documentaries and, well, your response might not be so positive. So what makes those running the UFC show think that people will stop watching EliteXC’s live Saturday Night Fights on CBS to learn about the life of an injured former light-heavyweight champion on Spike TV?

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The current poll up on Sherdog is a question regarding Randy vs. Fedor. It asks “Will Randy Couture ever fight Fedor Emelianenko.” With the answers being “Yes, No, or don’t matter, I’m no longer interested.”

When I wrote this there was 11,730 votes and of these votes 28% of the people who voted said no and another 28% said they don’t care they are no longer interested. That is way too many people that have no interest in this fight. Possibly one of the best heavyweight match ups ever!

How can this be? I was beyond shocked when I saw these numbers. I understand that there have been controversy after controversy about these two fighters, and the fight seems more distant than the Chuck and Wandy fight back in the day, but c’mon! This is Randy and Fedor! I understand that Randy seems to be doing more legal fighting than MMA fighting, and Fedor has been running around with the Olympic torch and sleeping his way through the Sambo tournament, but it is Randy vs. Fedor!

Do you remember that feeling you had right when the bell rang for Chuck and Wandy? If you are like me I said to myself, I can’t believe that these two are finally fighting! Here we go! Would it not be the same feeling if not more?

Speaking of here we go, we are almost in a similar lull that we had prior to that fight. As of right now it is unsure if these two legendary fighters will ever square off. It is like that time when your parents said there was no way you were getting that Nintendo, but in a way you knew you would still get it… I am hoping
that one day soon we will get that surprise package under the tree and inside will be a Randy vs. Fedor PPV!

I can understand why many of the fans have lost interest. I get that, I only hope that the minute that the fight is announced that those same fans will change their mind. If they don’t it is possible that they could miss one classic battle! At the same time, if these two never fight, every single fan of the sport will have been done wrong, and all in the name of money!

My father’s generation had Walter Cronkite, respectable and stoic, to talk them through the death of John F. Kennedy on live TV. In those days people respected the news media. Cronkite was a calming voice on a chaotic day.

My generation had a tragedy of its own on September 11, 2001. It played out in a much more graphic sense, live on TV as planes hit and then buildings fell. I had Peter Jennings, as did so many other Americans, as my touching voice to both encapsulate history and calm any sense of fear. It was Jennings who had taught me about death as a six year old. Pre-school let out early and I sat on my father’s lap in front of a TV as Jennings explained why a school teacher, much like my own, had passed away with others on a space shuttle called Challenger.

These are extreme examples of citizens all experiencing a traumatic event at the exact same time through eyes provided to us. While it is certainly hyperbole to compare these events to tragedy and triumphs in sports, there are threads of reactionary behavior and thought that remain the same in any example. A sociologist or psychologist knows there are a few common bonds that link any event with another.
The first is basic. When Cronkite spoke, he spoke through a relatively new box Americans had placed in their homes. Similarly, my memories of Jennings were viewed through this same box. When CBS/Elite XC has their first event in front of the nation, millions of first time viewers will see the sport of MMA through this same box: The TV.

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I first saw Fedor Emelianenko fight in 2002, when he took on Heath Herring, and just by looking at the guy, I was not impressed. He’s not big, he’s not muscular, and he’s not angry. But, I didn’t really know what it meant to be a fighter. Sure, I knew about the Gracies, but the way I had figured it, Rickson was built like a truck and he was the best, so it wasn’t like Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was this huge exception, where athletic prowess was irrelevant.

There is a moment in the lone round of the fight with Herring where Fedor picks Heath up and slams him down into the canvas, and I remember being twelve years old, watching that slam and going, “Damn.”

To say I follow Fedor with personal investment in his career is overstating it. There are fighters that I believe that I have a much bigger stake in, fighters who I have backed a little bit more than I realistically should have because I want them to get some extra attention. Still, there is something about Fedor that makes me, and every hardcore MMA fan I know, revert to the child/enthusiast in them, yelling and screaming at the TV.

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If the debacle that we called “YAMMA Pit Fighting” did anything for the MMA community, it confirmed a few things about MMA fans as a whole. With an obscure announcing style, a heavyweight tournament, and a cage with an abnormal fighting surface, YAMMA took us back 15 years to the early days of modern Mixed Martial Arts fighting. Unfortunately, it seems that fans these days don’t want to go back or change the style of MMA right now. If you think about, the sport of MMA is perfect where it is and the growth proves it. The rules, the cage, the fighting styles have begun to make the sport mainstream enough to escape John McCain and the rest of legislature, but still tough enough to keep the hardcore fans excited. YAMMA proved that fans don’t want the potential changes that Bob Meyrowitz presented earlier this month in Atlantic City.

Fans don’t want a new fighting surface. Professional wrestling would have seen the benefit of a cage with banked edges to help set up crazy tag team combinations, but MMA fighters only saw it as an obstacle which discouraged takedowns and encouraged stalling. The “pit” was a novelty idea that we’ll hopefully never see again in a real MMA competition.

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Kimbo Slice needs no introduction. If by some slim chance you haven’t been on the internet lately, Kimbo is a street fighter that has turned to MMA. The YouTube sensation has finally responded to the comments made by Chuck Liddell. In an article posted on www.mmajunkie and Yahoo, Chuck had nothing good to say about the EliteXC star.

In response to the negative comments made by Chuck, Kimbo recently made and posted a video that is swirling about the internet. In the attached video you can hear his comments, as well as him challenging the UFC super star to a bare knuckle fight. Not only does he challenge him to the fight, but Kimbo also says he would do it at Chuck’s gym! Check it out and let the comments roll.

Got a few extra bucks to spend this weekend? Bodog and BetUS are both showing odds for UFC 83 that just might make you want to drop a few bucks on Matt Serra, Travis Lutter, or even Mark Bocek.

After watching Matt Serra dismantle Georges St. Pierre during UFC 69 last April along with St. Pierre’s domination of Matt Hughes, this fight could easily go either way. Bodog is showing lines of -500 for St. Pierre and +300 for Serra while BetUS has Serra up at +350. You could make $350 for every $100 if Serra pulls off another “upset.” It’s only an upset if Serra wins because it’s one of those fights where many are thinking St. Pierre will come away with the victory, but there’s some uncertainty. Remember the last time this happened? It was Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson and although a great fight ensued, the upset just wasn’t there. Things may change this time around if Serra doesn’t let the Montreal crowd get to him.

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“YAMMA Pit Fighting,” the newest organization to make a go at MMA, had it’s first show over the weekend hoping to catch the eyes and hearts of MMA fans abroad. With an old-school tournament tactic, a newer version of today’s cage, and not to mention the big named fighters of MMA’s past, the night was set to surely impress and engulf anyone who watched. So what happened? Not much of anything for the the typical MMA fan, but from a comical view it was great!

From beginning to end, the show was by far the worst MMA production in a very, very long time. To start off the ring announcers voice had you wondering if this was MMA or a night at the carnival. If his voice didn’t get you laughing, then his sayings like “the guy in the red corner with the thick cross tattoo on his left shoulder” to ” fighting out of Minnesota the land of 10,000 lakes, lets catch a snook” and ” drink a cold one for Ricco” was sure to have you rolling with laughter. The actual appearance of the show looked out dated, from the words on the screen (stats, fighters,etc.) to the camera panning away from the fights and into the crowd. Last but not least, one of the commentators made comments as if it were his first MMA event ever, like after a fighter threw a superman punch or a flying knee he said “I don’t like that jumping stuff” and “is his nose broke? No it can’t be broke because they would stop the fight, you can’t continue with a broken nose” I think you get my point. It just seems a little unprofessional to jump on the the MMA scene with such a minimal attempt to give the fans not only their moneys worth, but also an amped-up night of fights.

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This should be interesting. I had just finished an article about Monte Cox and Adrenaline MMA when the news of a summer showdown between technically undefeated Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and ex-UFC fighter Tim Sylvia. Will Emelianenko finally fight an ex-UFC heavyweight champion this summer? Better yet, will Emelianenko fully regain his undisputed #1 heavyweight status with a win over the much larger Tim Sylvia? Or will the nay sayers continue to beat on the Russian fighter for being inactive for too long even though he has clearly dominated most of his opponents?

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Can the man who supposedly worked with the disputed #1 heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko, last year as the leader of M-1 Global finally get an organization together? Or will Adrenaline MMA turn into another defunct company filled with empty promises like it’s Russian counter-part?

Steve Sievert of the Houston Chronicle has an informative article about Monte Cox’s involvement in MMA throughout the past 13 years and 500 events. Most of the article focuses on working with the Russian heavyweight, Emelianenko, and why the deal with signing him failed. A difficult language barrier coupled with an immense loss leader with signing Emelianenko to $2 million per fight led to the breakdown of the to-be-signed contract that Emelianenko never signed. Instead, he had signed a letter of intent and was given a signing bonus of $1.5 million which he has since returned.

The newest supposed stars of Adrenaline MMA will be IFL heavyweight Ben Rotherwell and UFC heavyweight Tim Sylvia. While Sylvia recently left the UFC on his own after losing two of his last three fights, Rothwell was forced out of the IFL after the 2007 season due to contractual reasons. He left the organization on a 13 fight win streak including prior wins in other organizations before moving to the IFL. What makes it somewhat interesting is that both fighters have already fought each other, back in 2001, when Sylvia proved to the judges that he was deserving of the decision win over Rothwell. Now seven years later, both men may end up fighting again - who knows if the hype will still be there, however.

What’s great about Monte Cox, all issues with Emelianenko aside, is his ability to get things done for MMA. The Adrenaline MMA organization will begin with an inaugural show near Chicago, a major city that could appreciate some big-name MMA action. Then the organization will move to the smaller city of Joline, Illinois and then hopefully throughout the rest of the U.S. during the summer months. While the IFL has been focusing on the east coast this year and the UFC headquarters is Las Vegas, the Midwest is in need of something new and big. Can Cox deliver like he has done for over a decade? With reported numbers of $3 million for Syvlia per fight and Rothwell seeing paychecks he has never dreamed of in the IFL, I sure hope so. This will be an interesting summer for MMA fans for sure.

8 second knockouts, ground and pound referee stoppages, impressive Jiu-Jitsu, and it was all free; what else could a MMA fan ask for? UFC Fight Night 13 delivered the goods at a great price tonight on Spike TV at 7PM EST. Although the program was a little long, which was expected, there were a few extra boring segments which made me pause my DVR and take a walk before returning to some MMA action. Spike TV doesn’t offer anything in HD as far as I know, but the surround sound did a decent job of making up for the poor visuals as I could hear the crowd everywhere in the room. Let’s get to the good stuff - here are some overall thoughts on UFC Fight Night 13.

The opening fight was a slugfest - all eight seconds of it. Both men walked in the cage looking pretty ripped and ready to throw down. But, unfortunately for the fans, Houston Alexander got dropped by James Irivin in the opening seconds of the first round. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but Alexander was dazed and he couldn’t protect himself fast enough before the fight was stopped. He was not happy with the results and called the stoppage “crap.” I couldn’t disagree more - he was done.

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If so, they deserve that television contract.

With three rounds of nearly non-stop action, Frank Shamrock and Cung Le helped to solidify EliteXC as worthy of prime time MMA viewing. Why, you ask? Well, there’s quite a few reasons.

1. Frank Shamrock is hilarious in the cage. Cung Le wasn’t too bad himself. Whenever there was a chance to showcase some personality, both fighters didn’t waste any time. With finger pointing, hit counts, and smiles between the fighters, there wasn’t a time during the fight that I wasn’t laughing at the antics between both fighters. The casual fan could enjoy the display of personality and hopefully it could help some people see that both men were more than just punching and kicking machines.

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May 31^st 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 31^st 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.

The internet phenomena makes sense to me. The fact that millions of people saw his videos on the internet, saw how hard he hits and how tough he looks and said “damn, that guy is one tough son-of-a-bitch,” makes sense. His ability to entertain makes sense, in the same way that Brock Lesnar’s showmanship does. His athleticism is considered a fixture in the same way that a professional boxer’s is; we may question it’s applicability in MMA, but it’s still there.

What I don’t understand is the shaky mix of feelings about the guy. Long time, hard core MMA fans, fans who experienced the street-fighting era of MMA that quickly dissipated after the appearance of Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn and (slightly thereafter) Mark Coleman, hate Kimbo Slice. They hate Kimbo because they know that he’s not a serious fighter, that he doesn’t have the same level of technique that the long time fighters do. That hate is as passionate as it is for any professional wrestler or boxer that says they deserve to be considered a top “fighter” without fighting, except that Kimbo has stepped into the cage. (for that, in my mind, he’s earned a little respect, but it hasn’t done much to dissipate the other issues I have with him)

Many new wave fans (those who haven’t really connected themselves too closely with the hardcore fans) love Kimbo Slice. They think he’s exciting, he’s explosiveness and he’s powerful. They think that his viceral fighting style is all there is to fighting (despite the fact that the upper echelon of this sport has proven time and again that that is absolutely not true). The love him because they think he’s fun to watch.

Here’s what I don’t like, not just about Kimbo Slice, but about the way that he is treated by the fans.

No one talks about Kimbo’s loss. When he was just an internet fighter, his embarrassing loss to Sean Gannon (or what little we saw of it) was a big deal. It called into question his technical skills, even in terms of his fans. Still, that seems to have all been overshadowed by the fact that he is training with Bas Rutten. People take his coaching as proof of improvement, when we have seen absolutely nothing to show that that’s the case.

I’ll be honest, I don’t really like any gimmick fighter, and I see Kimbo as just that. I have no problem with a big, hard hitting dude, but that’s only if he’s got skills. (Tim Sylvia, Gan McGee and Hong Man Choi all have real kickboxing skills, and I’ve got no problem with that) If you put a guy in the cage and say: “This guy has punched out a couple of street punks and has a beard and wears a grill on his way into the cage, this is going to make a great fight!” then I’m going to have to ask you what you’re smoking and where I can get some.

So, Gary Shaw, who’s your dealer?

Look, I’m not going to smash on Kimbo because that’s the popular thing to do among hardcore MMA fans. I don’t have a problem with the guy, and I don’t think anyone can if they’ve seen his interviews, as he’s a decent guy with a kid trying to put food on the table. The fact is, I don’t think that Gary Shaw should be billing him as a serious competitor in this sport when everybody knows that that’s a load of crap.

Kimbo Slice is not the Mike Tyson of MMA. Period.

When we talk about Mike Tyson, yeah, we think of a badass with a thug attitude, but that’s not why he was the greatest sports sensation of the ’90s. Mike Tyson was the most recognizable sports sensation in the ’90s because he had some of the best technical skills and the most aggressive boxing on the planet. He hit harder than anyone and if you stepped in the ring with him, he was going to hit you so hard that you were going to wake up and wonder what your name was.

Kimbo hits hard, but if you put him in a cage with any of the top 20 fighters in MMA or K-1 and he’ll get his face rearranged.

Mirko CroCop would submit him, Jeff Monson would knock him out, hell, Fujita would probably beat him via groundnpound.

We’re talking about a fighter that has done nothing (and promises to do nothing) that will excite the world of MMA, or shock anyone who properly assesses the abysmal level of his competition.

There’s been alot of talk about him fighting Ken Shamrock, and all I have to say is: who cares?

I like Ken Shamrock as much as anyone, and I respect what he’s done for the sport. In my mind, no one has done more for MMA then Shamrock. What I will say is that Ken hasn’t won a fight in almost 4 years, and you’re going to call him serious competition?

That’s like putting Danny Abbadi in the cage with Anderson Silva and calling it the fight of the century.

Get it over with and put Kimbo in with Antonio Silva, so we can see the big bad bearded brawler get smashed and watch his hype machine crumble like the unstable mess it is. If you’re going to bill him as the best, put him on the top of the card and take the fight to his hometown, give him the best competition you have. Not the silver-goateed Tank and the retirement ready Shamrock.

C’mon Gary Shaw, if you’re not going to give us a serious matchup, you’re never going to compete, regardless of the hype you put together. Because if you don’t show that you are going to offer serious competition, then no legitimate heavyweight is going to want to sign with you. It’s that simple. Really, it is.

Fedor Emelianenko recently annihilated his competition during his Combat Sambo tournament. Jeff Monson just finished dominating the Absolute Division of the NAGA Arnold Classic this weekend. Now both men are looking to get back into MMA action this spring in a fight supposedly held on U.S. soil. In a new interview with MMA Fightline, Emelianenko talks about Randy Couture, Hong Man Choi, and his next fight.

It’s not Randy vs. Fedor, but at least it’s Somebody vs. Fedor.

Monson, the man we dub “Snowman”, might just be the first test for the virtually undefeated Emelianenko since he fought both Mark Hunt and Mark Coleman back in 2006 in Pride. While Hunt was only 5-3 and barely pulling off split decision wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Coleman, however, had wins over Maurico “Shogun” Rua, Don Frye, and many other old-school legends of MMA. He was also recently inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame if that still counts for anything anymore (thanks to Dana White saying that Tank Abbott is next). The fights against the Marks were just two months apart and the results were the same; submission wins for Emelianenko. After defeating Matt Lindland, who many say wasn’t a top contendor because he moved up two weight classes to fight, in April of last year, Emelianenko only recently emerged on New Years to beat the unnaturally huge K-1 kickboxer Hong Man Choi. Some fans rejoiced while others laughed and called it a circus. And who could blame them?

So can all of the name-calling and can-fed accusations finally end for Emelianko? Is Monson, a guy who went on a 16 fight win streak between 2003 and 2006, good enough to satisfy MMA fans who want to see Emelianenko up against “real” competition? Monson does have losses to Chuck Liddell and, surprisingly enough, Forrest Griffin back in 2002, but he also carries a decade of experience.

We’ll soon find out if the fight will be made official and when it will be held. As far as who will be lucky enough to host this - will it be held by EliteXC on prime time television in April? I really doubt that, but it is somewhat amusing to even think about it. Perhaps HDNet Fights will televise the first M-1 production or maybe a Japanese promotion has some crazy idea to attempt another event similar to K1 Hero’s Dynamite!! You know, the the kind of unorganized event you would expect to come out of Japan.

But either way, we can hopefully expect to see a real fight that goes the distance. Then maybe someone can really solidify themselves at the top #1 heavyweight in the world. Or not.

We recently learned that EliteXC has solidified themselves as a frontrunner in the race to get MMA on prime time television. Already, many are forecasting clouds and thunderstorms even before the MMA organization rounds the final turn as Adam Swift from MMA Payout releases some of the details of the agreement. Sure, it’s easy to predict doom on the organization that has used former street brawler Kimbo Slice, rappers, and cheerleaders during their latest Showtime event, but there’s much more to be excited about. There’s more than setting a live gate record and helping Showtime gain 11% in viewership. There’s the future of the sport.

Forget the ignorant viewers who already wrote off MMA. Forget the financing issues and matchmaking problems. Forget about Kimbo. Just drop all of the worries for a few minutes and hear me out.

This move by EliteXC and their parent company, Pro Elite, to move MMA to the mainstream can’t make things any worse for the people who have already written off the sport. Even if we manage to witness four amazing fights with technical submissions, mutual respect, and amazing well rounded fights, the anti-MMA crowd isn’t going to care. We need to worry about backing EliteXC and help them lobby themselves and CBS into making the right decisions. I don’t want to see rappers and cheerleaders on TV so I’m going to let it be known to EliteXC and CBS. I also don’t want Bill Goldberg within 500 miles of the event. Even though SpikeTV wrote off the efforts of Fightlinker to set up a three hour UFC Fight Night 13 broadcast, the MMA community came together and helped make a change for the good. Spike TV, although not quite as large as CBS, still listened to what we, the fans, wanted.

Not only can we do something good for the sport, we need to understand that EliteXC’s move to the mainstream is going to force other organizations to re-think their current strategies. The UFC needs to get a television deal, at least in the mind of Dana White. Getting a sponsorship deal with another alcohol brand isn’t going to force viewers to turn off their free MMA to pay $45 ($55 for us oh so fortunate HD viewers).

This leads me to my next point. Will free EliteXC try to go head to head with UFC PPV? I certainly doubt that. This sort of “friendly competition”, if you will, can help the sport move into homes where PPV isn’t an affordable option. These are the homes are younger wrestling fans who are becoming bored with fake fighting and are looking for a real hobby to pursue throughout the rest of their 18-35 year old lives.

Kimbo Slice had a past which led him through boat yards, parking lots, and other questionable venues, but once people see that a real fighter, not some street thug, is dominating on television, they may take the time to understand the sport a little bit more. I don’t care if you think Kimbo is dumb or if you think he is the next big thing, there’s a bigger picture to look at. EliteXC is piggybacking on the success of their latest show to sign this agreement and their attempt to bring MMA to everyone was the next big step for MMA. Let’s hope they do the right thing by providing our intelligent input. After all, our failure to help will ultimately be their failure - and there’s always the change of watching sport get sent back 10 years.

Wow. In a surprise move that has potential to shake up the MMA industry, ProElite and EliteXC will soon be announcing a TV deal with Showtime owner, CBS. Kid Nate of Bloody Elbow beat me to punch by asking how did Gary Shaw beat Dana White to a television deal? I get a lot of flack for publicly denouncing White’s means of running the UFC (along with many many others, I might add), but this only solidifies my standpoint. Will White come out and publicly say that he had the ability to sign with CBS but he didn’t due to some outrageous comment? My guess is that he says they wanted too much control. Thanks to MMA Junkie for breaking the news! Sam Caplan, a ProElite writer who runs Five Ounces of Pain, has more commentary. It seems that everyone beat me to the good talking points already!

Does this mean that UFC will be going over to HBO? Well, if talks broke down in the past, White better hope he can revive them or risk being stuck with Spike TV for a little while. I’m sure he’s not a huge fan of HDNet right now.

First off, watching two guys with the same exact Warrior Wear half-camo, half black fight shorts made me want to stand and scream “hey guys, same team!”, but then I realized that I wasn’t watching a normal sport - this was fighting. Not that I couldn’t already tell by the second fight of the night. The first fight took the classic striker vs. grappler to the next level with some of the most nonchalant guard passes and mounts since Sean Sherk danced around Hermes Franca during UFC 73. Too bad the grappler was nearly dead from being rocked nearly a dozen times during the second and third rounds. But a lot more happened tonight. Let’s break down Strikeforce at the Dome! But wait, Bob Sapp is back on the screen laughing. He did this about 10 times randomly throughout the broadcast before his cage debut. Ok, now let’s take a quick look at the bouts.

Some of the fighters were local guys who were still only a few fights past their MMA debuts, but looking to prove themselves on live television. One of these local guys was none other the 145 pound bandtamweight grappler in the first fight, Zach “Skindog” Skinner. Even with his questionable nickname, Skinner did a nice job of eating a lot of shots to the face and the body in his attempts to submit another local fighter, Scott Shaffer. Skinner went on to win a very good back and forth fight that had a few slow points. This would be a great fight to show aspiring grapplers how important the ground game really is as Skinner was able to stop Shaffer from doing much damage for most of the bout. Both fighters were very one dimensional, unfortunately, and they both paid for it. Shaffer walked away with the loss even though he completely destroyed Skinner during the second round while Skinner did nothing by go for takedowns.

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