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So there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the MMA Saturday night fight card is the 3rd story on ESPN.com. It made the “Sportscenter minute” behind the Stanley Cup finals, Manny Ramirez’s 500th HR, and Ken Griffey Jr’s 599th.
The event got noticed.
The bad news? Saturday night was not even CLOSE to what I’ve become a fan of over the last 6 months. Saturday night's CBS fight card was brought to you by Elite XC. They're a league of MMA. But they are by no means, elite.
There is no longer ANY dispute that UFC is on top of the MMA world, and these other leagues that are fighting for a spot…just don’t stack up. There are a thousand reasons. I’ll give you the long and short of it:
The short:
1. 45 minutes in there was ONE fight. Not sure if they had that kind of time.
2. Dancers? Really?...nice work CBS
3. NO SUBMISSIONS. NO ground game really, until the Slice fight.
4. Bad fighters. It probably resembled an NFL strike game of 1987. These are the best of the best…that can’t make the BEST league – the UFC.
5. Kimbo looked completely beatable.
6. Not sure America wants to love this sport…pretty sure if they DO, it won’t be because of the WOMEN. No offense to the ladies, they’re definitely GOOD enough…but watching two beautiful women punch each other? Rough.
7. They were running ads for a new Jay Mohr show. Great. Can’t wait for the 2 episodes to air, and then he can go on the Rome show telling us why it failed. Here’s why. You’re just a random guy in Hollywood that has never been nearly as relevant as you think. You’re a funny guy…but come on. “Project Gary” might last as long as I would in the Octagon.
8. YES, I will buy Street Fighter IV for PS3
9. WHERE WAS THE JU JITSU???
10. Tonight, WEC (owned by UFC) will totally blow the doors off this Mickey Mouse event that CBS put on. Faber v. Pulver on Versus tonight at 9:00.
The long:
I’ll break it down fight by fight.
Main Event: Kimbo Slice v. James “The Colossus” Thompson
The fight showed me that UFC President Dana White is right about Kimbo Slice. He’s a puncher, and a good fighter, but if he were to step into the Octagon in the UFC, he’d be handled. The fight was a struggle for Slice, who collapsed to the canvas after it was called. Slice tagged Thompson with a number of punches to the chin, but “The Colossus” stood there, weathering the storm, only to see his chances of victory vanish when his disgusting cauliflower ear exploded. It was a lot of blood, but it was in NO way a danger to him. It was NO reason to stop the fight. The Colossus was definitely LOSING the fight, but when the two fighters went to the ground, he was able to expose Slice. Kimbo had a few nice reversals, and a good escape or two…but those came against a tomato can from a minor league.
Title Bout: Ruthless Robbie Lawler v. Scott Smith
The fight was called a no contest because of an inadvertent poke in the eye. THIS fight could be the one that REALLY turns people off, simply because of the way that it ended. Lawler and Smith were engaged in a perfectly competitive scrap when Lawler’s finger caught Smith in the eye. It’s something that can happen because (unlike boxers) you’re not wearing mittens on your feet. You’re wearing gloves. In reality, boxing gloves are MITTENS (because you don’t have fingers exposed). Lawler’s finger caught Smith in the eye, and the doctors deemed that he couldn’t continue fighting because he couldn’t see out of it. It’s a GOOD sign that the doctors on hand are committed to the safety of the competitors, but this one just FEELS wrong.
Ruthless Robbie Lawler retained his belt, and Gus Johnson (who did a nice job) compared him to Anderson Silva. That’s the funniest thing that happened all night. Johnson, no doubt is doing his best to sell Elite XC because CBS has partnered with them. Comparing Lawler, who was released by UFC, and then caught on with Elite, to Anderson Silva? Let me make a proper analogy…
It’s like if Coy Wire went to the CFL and won the league MVP, and the announcer said he’s a lot like Brian Urlacher. Lawler is a nobody, in a minor league.
Cat Fight: Gina Carano v. Kaitlin Young
Solid fight…not too many complaints here. Gina Carano is hot. Kaitlin Young might be…but you probably wouldn’t want to date her tonight. Her face is…well…yeah…
Undercard #2: Joey Villasenor v. Rob Birano
Undercard #1: Some former SU Linebacker v. “the Grim”
Both first round knockouts. Tough thing here. The sport DEFINITELY sells the knockout, the same way that baseball sells HRs. Two fights in…two knockouts EARLY…my immediate reaction was, “The sport is better than this”.
In summation…it was a great night for MMA in getting exposure…and a great night for UFC…because Elite XC was exposed to be a second class production. |
