Report: July 26th EliteXC Event to Be Titled "Unfinished Business"

by Luke Thomas on Jun 17, 2008 10:14 AM EDT in News Comment 10 comments

Joining an announced rematch between EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler and challenger Scott Smith at Unfinished Business on July 26 are Jake Shields and Antonio Silva, each of whom may fight to raise the card's title bouts to three.

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According to EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw, Shields' opponent for the newly created 170-pound title will be determined this week. Potential challengers include International Fight League champion Jay Hieron, former Bodog champ Nick Thompson, or the recently motivated Paul Daley.

Shields was in line to fight Drew Fickett for the vacant title before injuries nixed the bout. If Silva appears on the card (it's not a guarantee that he will, right now) he could face IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson, or Robert "Buzz" Berry, who knocked out Ken Shamrock in March.

Unfinished Business, which appears destined for St. Louis, may also feature women's MMA again as Shayna Baszler-Kelly Kobald is being discussed as potential follow-up to the first card's Gina Carano-Kaitlin Young bout.

EliteXC has already started working on lining up an October card with Kimbo Slice, who's expected to fight Brett Rodgers. A rematch between EliteXC lightweight champion K.J. Noons and rival Nick Diaz could also be featured on CBS in the fall.

In addition to the announced CBS fights, Showtime will broadcast several live fights as lead-ins to the events, including a bout pitting impressive featherweight Wilson Reis against Bao Quach or Mark Oshiro.

For having considerably thinner rosters than the UFC, you have to give Elite XC credit for pulling what sound like promising shows together. Most notably, the Kobald - Baszler rematch is intriguing particularly with Kobald going on a recent slide as is a potential showdown between Godoi black belt Wilson Reis and either Quach or Oshiro. On the other hand, a fight between "Buzz" Berry and Antonio Silva shouldn't even be approved by the state athletic commission.

One also has to think the move to St. Louis has much to do with harnessing the strong contingent of amateur wrestling fans in the surrounding Midwest area.

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I thought for sure they would name it 'Dumbass Doctor Denied'

by mythbuster on Jun 17, 2008 10:17 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'd gladly watch...

Shields vs. Hieron (Thompson would be fine too…but Hieron is a hell of a guy to watch), Silva vs. Nelson and Kobald vs. Baszler…Buzz Berry shouldn’t be on the show…and certainly shouldn’t be involved in fighting Antonio Silva. As much as I don’t think Diaz earned a title shot coming in 9lbs overweight (and yes…that means I don’t think his excuse is good enough) I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t watch Diaz/Noons 2. And of course I’m down for Lawler/Smith 2. So they really could put together a hell of a show when there were concerns about such a quick turnaround on CBS.

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 17, 2008 10:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Diaz/Noons wouldn’t be on the next card, but the October card I think—the same one that’ll feature Kimbo getting knocked out.

Still, a card with Lawler/Smith II, Shields/Hieron or Thompson, Silva/Nelson, and Baszler/Kobald, would definitely be a pretty good card on paper. If they can just tone down the ridiculous theatrics, and keep Miragliotta and the quick-trigger ringside docs away, it could definitely be a pretty good second card. For all the bad that I think the first EliteXC CBS show did to mma, I’d still tune again and watch that card.

by Kierkegaard on Jun 17, 2008 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah..

I didn’t mean to make it sound like Diaz/Noons would be on the next card. I don’t like quick turnarounds on important fights. and that would be way too quick for Noons in my eyes.

I just meant that they have a good amount of fights on slate that are actually interesting.

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 17, 2008 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Already a huge improvement over the last show. Shields against any of those three is pretty decent. I would much rather Silva fight Nelson than Berry though.

by SplitBreast on Jun 17, 2008 10:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

- Robbie Lawler vs Smith 2
- Hieron vs Shields
- Antonio Silva vs Roy Nelson
- Shayna Baszlervs Kelly Kobald
- Paul Daley vs Nick Thompson
- Wilsion Reis vs Oshiro

I’d be impressed with that card…

by Nick Thomas on Jun 17, 2008 11:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That would be excellent.

by SplitBreast on Jun 17, 2008 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Reis...

...is a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

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 17, 2008 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs