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?

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

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.

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.

Read the full story

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.

This is a response to Brandt DeLorenzo’s article about Melvin Costa.

Why is it important to have a stance on this man. Why is it so important that we all run not only to comment, but in paying it mind we HAVE to say “what an idiot” or “he shouldn’t fight for Elite XC/ Rage in the Cage/ whatever company we’ve heard?

Sorry to be the white guy to say this (I know this makes me the target for White Sup. Defender heat), but he has the right to have his tattoo. He has the right to say what he wants as I do anytime I post something here. I don’t have to agree with him, but it’s really heavy handed to always qualify everything with “idiot” and so forth because everyone in our increasingly politically correct culture is so afraid to be labeled a racist or the center of a media fit over someone’s thoughts.

I also don’t think it’s a valid reason to deny the guy work. As long as he’s not using Elite XC or CBS sponsored media to get his feelings across, it’s his personal life.

Look, I very much dislike organized religion. I think people who follow it are rubes. That’s not popular to say, but it’s how I feel. I’m being truthful. I also can’t and never would try to stop those people from what they do. I grew up in Catholic school, and it was my right to debate it.

I understand the business counter argument: “we” - which really is MMA hardcores fans, and seems less at this point to be Elite XC management - can’t have this guy running around messing up the perception of “our” young sport. Okay, that’s valid. It’s also valid that there are racists and/or religious zealots in every aspect of life. Do you think I want to see Matt Hughes talk about his version of God on my TV? Why isn’t that “offensive”? The truth is it’s not, but our culture selectively labels things. In one breath your told life isn’t fair, and in another you’ll hear cries for accountability or fairness to a person or persons who don’t have to be accountable or fair. It’s one of the reasons I find the word offensive so obnoxious. Because you don’t have a legal right to NOT be offended. I myself am injured at times by people’s ideologies and words. But it’s ridiculous for me to attempt to MAKE them stop.

Unless this guy commits a hate crime or suggests others should in an interview, this shouldn’t be shaped as the fake P.C. story it is. None of you, nor me, is that “good” a person. The NFL, NBA, and MLB have criminals too. If MMA isn’t strong enough to combat media critism, than it simply won’t be national. Hardcores will still know how to watch their sport, and life will go on. That in itself has it’s ironies. If some op-ed writer for a major newspaper says for the 300th time that MMA is a brutal anything goes cockfight I can be offended. It would be weak of me to try and get the man fired. I’d find it beneath me to take food from the man’s mouth. Instead, my lobby would be for education and debate. I think the same of the fighter discussed for his tattoo. We are talking about a sport where the object is to strike or submit an opponent using violent tactics, after all. It’s up to you to see the art involved.

There’s always going to be a large movement of fans (not just of fighting, but of anything) who reject the conventional and the mainstream. Those guys are generally credited with being the first MMA fans; guys who turned their backs on professional boxing and wrestling in order to find something new, something different, something off-beat.

The problem is, now the UFC has become so mainstream, so cultured that the reason they started following it to begin with no longer carries any weight. Where do these fans go?

They can’t go to Pride, since it no longer exists. (many left for Pride after the first TUF season, but they’re now looking for somewhere else to go)

They can’t go to the IFL, because, let’s face it, the IFL has worked way to hard to pull itself into the mainstream.

They can’t go to the WEC, because it follows that same formula as the UFC, only with lighter weight classes. (And, on top of that, many refuse to support Zuffa entirely, because of some of its contractual issues with its fighters)

They can’t go Japan, because they know that those organization are unstable. (and the disillusionment has only furthered itself with Fedor’s free-agency)

They won’t go to Elite XC because, besides about 4 fighters, the whole thing is a gimmick show (these are the fans who have been following the sport long enough to know that Kimbo Slice is not legit).

These guys are stuck in limbo, wandering back and forth between organizations. They watch UFC events because their friends (most of whom they got into the sport) are really excited to watch Anderson Silva (who is not, as many have said, the Mike Tyson if MMA, since he doesn’t commit rape and he has all of his teeth) and Rampage.

I wish I could say that the solution was simple, or that an answer would present itself, but the fact is I don’t think that’s the case. I’ve been out looking for other, exciting organizations for a long time. I’ve watched alot of K-1 (very exciting, but I miss the grappler) and have turned to Cage Rage to get some of my fix. Whether an underground titan will emerge soon, I don’t know, but I hope that when it does, these fans will find it, so that the UFC doesn’t just squash it with it’s giant checkbook.

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.

I’m a sucker for a circus act in the fight game. I love the ridiculousness of cartoon like characters, fighting thugs and monsters of all shapes and sizes, brought from depths of strange parts of the world to beat the hell out of each other for our enjoyment. What can I say? I love a freak show. When I heard Kimbo Slice was set to fight Tank Abbot In Miami, a short ride from my home, I bought tickets immediately and danced with glee knowing I would see at least 1 minute of pure chaos and destruction. Turns out I wasn’t the only one.

After some very entertaining preliminary fights of prospects giving everything they had, the arena started to fill up and fast. I noticed many “Team Kimbo” shirts and lots of gold grills. After inspecting the t-shirt stand I bought myself a classic Kimbo shirt complete with a shiny gold grill to fit in. What amazed me beyond the Kimbo fashion was the crowd that was milling about for the fights. These were not your average mma fans. These were Kimbo fans. There is a difference. Many of these people had never seen a true MMA fight before or really seemed to care about it. The minute any fight was without action or went to the ground for longer than thirty seconds they booed. They were bloodthirsty, they wanted action and they wanted it now.

Read the full story

After watching EliteXC live on Showtime tonight, I came away with the impression that EliteXC does indeed have a chance in this UFC world of MMA. To solidify my case, I ask you this: when is the last time you watched three knockouts in a row for free? Sorry, boxing doesn’t count - not in this case at least. One of the KO’s came in the form of a knee to the head. Not until the heavyweight bout between Ricco Rodriguez and Antonio Silva did we see if the judges had any idea of how to score a bout. There were a few things that we could have done without considering this wasn’t the MTV Video Music Awards, but we’ll get to that later.

The televised production overall for a free production was seamless. The fights went on without the long UFC-like delay with the overdone trash talk between fighters and it was less than two hours from start to finish. The commentating, even with Bill Goldberg, was much better than I had expected, and there was even a short interesting clip of Goldberg attempting to train with Miami-native Slice. The judging was fair, the referees stopped the fights properly and there was much respect between everyone post-fight.

Read the full story

Kimbo Slice is living proof that you can make a living via the internet. This one time backyard brawler made a name for himself on YouTube. I just did a search for “Kimbo”, it resulted in what it says is “about 3,860 videos”. I am confident that he doesn’t have that many fight videos, but the popularity alone for one man on that site is insane. If this can transfer into MMA popularity, it could mean big numbers for EliteXC. EliteXC’s new baby will have his next test this weekend against UFC legend Tank Abbott. In the professional world of Mixed Martial Arts this matchup seems more of a sideshow at the circus. Imagine this headline; Former Champ vs. Backyard Champ. The actual name of the event is “Street Certified”. If nothing else this promises to be a fight of two big men with real punching power.

Tank Abbott is a monster as he is the original street fighter. Tank’s MMA skills were developed from bar fights in Huntington Beach California. He is known for his punching power, and raw fighting talent. Throughout his fighting career is 9-13. He has fought in the UFC, Pride, and was once a professional wrestler. On the night when he made his debut as an MMA artist he knocked out a 400 pounder in 18 seconds! Unfortunately Tank’s career hasn’t gone the best. He is coming off of his third string of at least 3 losses in a row. Some of the notable fighters that Tank has fought are Frank Mir and Pedro Rizzo. Tank wasn’t scared to fight them, and he is not scared to fight Kimbo. If there is one downfall that Kimbo can exploit against Abbott, it would have to be his cardio. Tank has had problems with his cardio and it could become an issue if this fight of haymakers lasts into the later rounds. In many interviews Tank has said that he isn’t taking Kimbo lightly. He is down from 296 to 261 and according to Tank, he is ready for Kimbo! In my opinionI don’t feel that Tank has much to gain from this fight. If he loses he either rides off in the sunset to the closest bar, or is the guy that beat Kimbo. Either way, he is not on his way to the best heavy weight in the world.

Kevin Ferguson AKA Kimbo Slice is a result of camcorders, digital cameras, and the internet. His popularity exploded as his videos emerged online, as well as his pornography job. He is the huge guy with the beard. Like Tank, he is a street fighter. Kimbo could be in the same class as Tank minus one key man named Bas. Bas Rutten is one of the best MMA fighters of all time with a record of 28-4-1 and all wins since 1995. Bas sees something in Kimbo and he has taken the young fighter under his wing. Tank didn’t have such an influential fighter to mentor him and this could be a key factor in the professional development of Kimbo Slice. If Kimbo stays committed to MMA he will be able to achieve victory, but just like Tank, he wont be in anyone’s top 10 anytime soon; If ever.

Saturday night at the U, fans will get something they love at that school; a good fight. This fight could and will probably be won by one massive punch. Kimbo and Tank will both look like homerun hitters swinging for the fences early. If they both can weather the storm, we will see if either have any technique. Although this fight is not in the UFC Octagon it is drawing a good amount of popularity. I know I am planning on watching it. Neither of these two fighters will be fighting Fedor or Randy any time soon, but this should be an entertaining fight to watch.