The Good, the Bad and The Ugly of EliteXC on CBS I

The Good:

·         Brett Rogers was impressive with his striking and quick KO of Jon Murphy and I think Kimbo will be up next for him.  I’d like to see that fight. 

·         Joey Villasenor looked far superior than Phil Baroni and could be a serious contender

·         Gina Carano unfocused and under trained is still one of the best women fighters in the world

·         Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith had an exciting fight going on

·         Kimbo Slice proved he can be a MMA fighter.  I don’t think he was great, but he showed some ground game, he had a good reversal or two.  Most of all I liked that he said afterwards that he knew he had a lot to learn.  He is a work in progress, but showed he is a serious MMA fighter.  I don’t have a problem with that stoppage as I think Thompson was on his way out. 

·         I thought the commentators did a pretty good job, and I liked the way Frank Shamrock covered the MMA basics for potential new viewers

The Bad:

·         I thought the show was tasteless.  From the nasty dancers who I have no idea why they were there, to the Busta Rhymes performance.  Phil Baroni led the way in tastelessness with his entrance.  He showed exactly what mixed martial arts is not about.  I was sickened by him coming in dancing with women dancing all around hum while they rubbed him down.  And could someone please tell me what was with all the fat guys in red after Rogers’ win.  It was way showier than I would have liked.  Joey Villasenor said in his post fight interview that Baroni was a good entertainer and I think he is right.  What a difference in how the two took the fight in their own minds, and look who won.  I would have liked more focus on the fights and less talk and less show. 

·         I thought the stoppage of the Laweler/Smith fight was sad.  Yes, I think Smith was doomed to be KO’d as Lawler was starting to pick him apart, but that stoppage nearly ruined the night.  I wanted to see it finish.  I think the stoppage was premature and Smith could have continued. 

·         Gina Carano, although she looked good needs to decide what she wants to do with her life.  She spent a lot of time videoing American Gladiators and too little time training.  If she trains more she will be dominant.

·         I didn’t like that Gary Shaw seemed to have his thumb on everything.  He stood over every fighter’s shoulder during every interview

·         Did anyone else notice that the former UFC sponsor “Mickeys” was a sponsor at this EliteXC event. 

The Ugly:

·         James Thompson’s ear.  That thing was nasty before the fight can you imagine it now?  I would have to get that thing fixed somehow. 

·         When the fans were booing the Lawler/Smith fight I was frustrated.  What a sorry bunch of fans!  They must not know anything about MMA, that was shaping up to be a great fight.  There was great action and good striking. 

·         The bottom line is that this show came nowhere near a UFC show and proved to me that UFC is far superior to EliteXC.  I argued constantly that EliteXC could compete with the UFC and now I am proven wrong and I will go eat crow.  They emphasized the show to the loss of the fights; they could have gone quicker and showed an undercard fight.  They could have pulled Phil Baroni aside and taught him that this is Mixed Martial Arts and now a Wrestling league. 

·         Overall, I think the show was only so-so.  I thought there were a few good fights and some good KO’s.  There was some good stand up fights, but I would have liked to see some technical ground fighting and jiu jitsu on display for America and MMA newcomers to see.  I thought the lack of class of the dancers, Baroni, and Rogers’ big boy posse proved that point and I am sure left a bad taste in some people’s mouths.  People will now think of WWE when they think of MMA.  I would like to see different guys next time like Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Antonio Silva, or Paul Daley.  In other words, EliteXC on CBS I made it, but not as grand as it could have been.