Shayna Baszler vs. Cristiane Cyborg on July 26th CBS EliteXC Show

by Luke Thomas on Jul 8, 2008 3:45 PM EDT in MMA News

It's official:

The female bout between Shayna Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D. and Brazil's Cristiane Cyborg has been added to the lineup for the second primetime broadcast of CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS, live from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif. on Saturday, July 26 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Baszler and Cyborg, who are fighting in the 140 pound weight class, complete the primetime matchups for the CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS on July 26. Other CBS fights include:

·        "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler vs. Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith (for EliteXC Middleweight title)

·        Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson (for EliteXC Welterweight title)

·        Nick Diaz vs. Thomas "Wildman" Denny (Lightweights)

Nicknamed "The Queen Of Spades," the talented Baszler is 9-4 and has won her last four starts. All of Baszler's victories have come via submission; her last four outings ended in the first round.

Regarded as one of the roughest and toughest women in MMA, Cyborg has a record of 4-0. This will be the United States debut for Cyborg, who has scored first-round technical knockouts in her last three fights.

SHOWTIME will televise three live fights preceding the CBS broadcast from 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT including:

Antonio "Big Foot" Silva vs. Justin Eilers (for EliteXC Heavyweight title)

Wilson Reis vs. Brian Caraway (140 lb. weight class)

Rafael Feijao vs. TBD (light heavyweight fight)

The combo of Showtime and CBS to showcase as many fights as possible is a gigantic step up from using ProElite.com. However, the star power on this card is lacking severely. EliteXC has gone from doubling up on their stars to using essentially none at all. While I'm glad to see more talented MMA fighters getting their television due, one has to wonder what sort of numbers this is going to generate.

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Comments

A chick with the name ‘cyborg’? lol…scary…as far as what type of number’s they will pull…it all depends on the promotion of the card…the #’s will be respectable if they promote the show.

Kelvin Hunt

I'm like those boyz on the sidelines...cause I ain't playing...

by Tha Realness on Jul 8, 2008 3:50 PM EDT reply actions

Yup, she shares it with her husband.

And they’re both with Chute Boxe – double scary.

by Chris Nelson on Jul 8, 2008 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions

I didn’t know she was married to “Cyborg”...makes sense now….lol

Kelvin Hunt

I'm like those boyz on the sidelines...cause I ain't playing...

by Tha Realness on Jul 8, 2008 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Obviously they can’t rely on Kimbo and Carano forever. Building stars is part of promoting, and after the high viewership figures for Lawler vs. Smith they could be building something good here. When they do use Kimbo and Gina, people just complain about them overshadowing the more legit fighters. EXC is pretty much damned if they do, damned if they dont

by smoogy on Jul 8, 2008 3:54 PM EDT reply actions

Can’t believe they have Bigfoot on Showtime. They need to market their best HW to the masses. Maybe it will make it into the CBS show if they have time.

"They said you was hung!!"

"And they was RIGHT!"

by BJJDenver on Jul 8, 2008 4:47 PM EDT reply actions

woof.

Shayna could get really hurt in this fight. I just watched some Cyborg fights on the net. She looks like Wanderlei Silva with cornrows & a sportsbra. Fights like him too.

I just hope she doesn’t rearrange Gina Carano’s beautiful face when they fight in the fall.

by steak_knife on Jul 8, 2008 5:26 PM EDT reply actions

Cyborg looks tough as hell in the clips I’ve seen, but the quality of her competition is questionable. I wouldn’t worry about Shayna. She’s really impressive from what I’ve seen, and she’s fought some of the best female fighters in the world. Josh Barnett trains Shayna, and it shows. Her ground game is top notch. I think Gina would stand a better chance in a stand-up war with Cyborg than in a potential ground battle with Shayna. That’s just my two cents. It should be a good match, though.

It will be interesting to see if lack of star power will hurt this event. I like this card better than their first event, but most of America doesn’t care what I think.

by Cannon Jacques on Jul 8, 2008 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions

I know that Shayna is no joke, but Cyborg really looked half-human in those highlights.

I agree that this card is much better than the first. Much less freak-showish. But I just love seeing anything with Gina Carano in it, and I know I’m not the only one.

by steak_knife on Jul 8, 2008 6:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I like Gina Carano, too. They need to build up some competitors for her, though. I think Shayna deserves this shot. Cyborg’s going to look human when Shayna locks on to her arm.

by Cannon Jacques on Jul 8, 2008 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions