CBS Orders Elite XC Show In July
by Michael Rome on Jun 13, 2008 4:08 PM EDT
in MMA News
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PrintDave Meltzer reports that CBS has ordered two more Elite XC shows. One will be in July, the other in October:
The dates are not etched in stone because Elite XC now has to secure a venue and put together a card, likely for July 26, without a lot of lead time. From a star-power standpoint the July card is going to be a real test of MMA on the network, because neither Kimbo Slice nor Gina Carano, the two biggest ratings draws on the May 31 show, will be on the card. Both are expected to return as headliners in October.
Elite XC is looking to build the show around crowning of champions in both the heavyweight and welterweight divisions. Antonio "Junior" Silva is currently slotted as one of the participants in the heavyweight title match. Among the names being talked about as possible opponents are Brett Rogers, IFL champion Roy "Big Country" Nelson and the winner of Saturday's Ron Waterman vs. Dave "Pee Wee" Herman match.
This will be a huge test of MMA, it has never drawn well without "stars" and this rating could fall significantly unless a lot of people were converted to it by the last show, which I doubt. They really need a main event that can draw. There are some possible options out there, but time is running out quickly.
Note: I did not link the story because Dave Meltzer has merged his website and newsletter with Bryan Alvarez at www.f4wonline.com, and the story is for paying members only. It's a pro wrestling/MMA combination site, but it is going to become pretty much the exclusive place to get Dave's news updates and hear him talk about MMA.
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hmmm....
I’d like to see Silva/Nelson. But that fight won’t draw a lick.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison
by Brent Brookhouse on Jun 13, 2008 4:25 PM EDT reply actions
Shields vs Hector Lombard will be cool
but also won’t have any sizzle.
What on Earth can Shaw book that would draw?
Who’s out there that has any brand value? Ken Shamrock is the only name on his roster and he is damaged goods.
I'm getting to the point...
...where I wonder how he is passing pre-fight physicals. Not only has he taken a lot of punishment and gotten (t)KO’ed in his last bunch of fights he is getting up in age to where that damage can have a much worse effect on him.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison
by Brent Brookhouse on Jun 13, 2008 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Honestly I’d book Shamrock v. Ortiz, or Shamrock v. Royce. Ken has the name value, he is damaged goods but nobody saw his last fight anyway.
I agree, they don’t have anyone other than Shamrock available who will draw most of the people who comprised the 7.1 rating last time. Though I believe Tito isn’t available for negotiations for a few more months, so they’ll have to throw someone else against “the world’s most dangerous man” (that is really funny to type given his performances over the past few years). I think a bout vs. Royce might be their best bet for any sort of casual fan draw, unless they can find someone else with decent name recognition to match him up against.
Shamrock vs Royce is a great idea
could be a terrible terrible fight given their past history and ages but still it would draw casual fans. If they lead up to it with solid welterweight and heavyweight championship matches it could be a good show.
I also like the idea of brett rogers vs antonio silva—kind of saves kimbo from rogers without screwing rogers over.
At what weight???
Ken is a HW, and could cut to 205, but that is about it. I think Royce is about 180, so it is a pretty big difference. They may have problems with a sanctioning body.
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
If Royce were to weigh 186, he’d be in the 205 lb class, right?
by Richard Wade on Jun 13, 2008 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Most MMA Fans will watch, because it's free and it's MMA
I’d like to see SILVA vs. Rogers. I think it’ s plain that Rogers would have beat Kimbo if he had been rightly put on the last ticket.
Rogers/Kimbo...
...remains the plan for October’s EXC show from what I’m hearing.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison
by Brent Brookhouse on Jun 13, 2008 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions
The worst source possible???
Ok, I’m ready to be ridiculed, but here it goes…
So I stopped by Sherdog yesterday and entered a thread by some guy that ran into Silva at Seaworld or something, he had a picture to prove it, so…it might be correct.
He said that he was set for an October fight with Rogers, which as fights go, actually makes a lot of sense.
I don’t think they want to make Silva unhappy, because long-term, he may be there #1 guy.
So yes, I sourced a Sherdogger…I’ve done worse, lol!
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
Well...
problem #1 is that CBS basically makes the dates for the fights. So CBS wants a fight in July…Silva can be ready and should be in any possible EXC heavyweight title fight. I don’t think it’s quite fair to expect Rogers to do such a quick turnaround on such short notice.
So if they want Silva on the July show I don’t expect that it will be against Rogers. If they want to wait until Oct to do it that is fine…but my source (and I don’t have too many of them) says that they’re really set on Kimbo/Rogers in Oct.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison
by Brent Brookhouse on Jun 13, 2008 6:23 PM EDT up reply actions
but they need more than just MMA fans
MMA fans would get them about a 1.0 rating. They need to quadruple that.
I still say, they should consider putting a replay of tomorrow nights card on CBS next week or the week after. Many of their target audience won’t have watched it, or even know it is happening. They might develop a new draw to put on their future cards.
And what would they lose? a rerun of CSI? (BTW, saw the dude from Human Weapon, Jason Chambers (?) on CSI:NY, playing a street luge racer!!)
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
DREAM
Why not test the partnership?
Nick Diaz just fought in Dream, so why not use one of their stars to headline the card?
I also think Tito Ortiz would be a draw and a worthy champion, well as much so as Frank Shamrock.
Mark Hunt? Mirko Cro Cop? Randleman?
I'd like to see....
Renzo Gracie. He already fought on an EliteXC card. Of course, that was a debacle. In my opinion, Renzo was brought in to get beat up last time. That’s a play right out of Dana White’s playbook ( see Royce vs. Matt Hughes). White and Hughes just executed their plan much better than Shaw and Shamrock.
I guess I like Renzo because I feel like he thwarted one of Gary Shaw’s schemes. Besides, the dude is just cool. He’s a Gracie. That still carries a lot of weight in the fight world. However, I’m still convinced they want to avoid a match that has a high probability of prolonged ground work.
by Cannon Jacques on Jun 13, 2008 11:42 PM EDT reply actions
When they announced this partnership, it was around the same time renzo was on 60 minutes, and I posted somewhere, that I thought he would make a great face of EXC. Apparently I’m not running EXC, lol!
Your on the money with that as well as the avoiding the ground game.
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
I was just thinking about Renzo on 60 Minutes. If you were running EXC, I’d probably like it. The one match I’d really like to see is the Renzo/Frank Shamrock rematch. I don’t see Gary Shaw ever making it happen. This is one of the reasons, among others, I don’t like Gary Shaw. If you’re looking for an unbiased assessment of EXC, don’t read my stuff.
by Cannon Jacques on Jun 13, 2008 11:51 PM EDT up reply actions
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