May 31: EliteXC on CBS

[Lord of The Curry]

No movie, it's from HBO's The Wire aka Best TV Show Eva.

[The Niggardly King]

Bah, that would be Six Feet Under

 

and Kimbo/Thompson is going to be a glorious 27 seconds right until a nice tight hook connects and Thompson goes to sleep.

[Lt. Al Giardello]

The staredown should be classic...

[NoCalMike]

Kimbo Slice could roll over Thompson, get to 3-0 and still really be untested. With a big national show, this could be Kimbo's last outing with a tomato can. Of course in MMA it always seems that whenever you think you know what is going to happen, it doesn't.

 

Kimbo winning is good for the company no matter if he beats a bum or not because at least he did what he was supposed to. If he loses to a legit fighter then fine, his camp can play the "lack of experience" card, but if he loses to an average fighter on the biggest stage the company has received so far, well, not so good.

[KingPK]

Well, I'm going to be watching now:

 

Officials from CBS and EliteXC held a press conference and autograph signing in Studio City, Calif. earlier this afternoon in anticipation of the first mixed martial arts event to be broadcast on live primetime television on Saturday, May 31.

 

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned from those attending the press conference that Gus Johnson has been announced as the lead play-by-play announcer for the historic event.

 

Johnson will be joined in the booth by Showtime announcer Mauro Ranallo and former UFC middleweight champion Frank Shamrock for CBS' first broadcast two Saturdays from now. Gus has called many a Boxing match in his day, so this should be a great fit.

 

 

[Jaxxson Mayhem]

Yay. Crush will be fighting.

[Guest]

Holy shit, GUS~!

[starvenger]

Well, I'm going to be watching now:

 

Gus has called many a Boxing match in his day, so this should be a great fit.

This is pretty much what I wanted to know about Johnson, since I only knew about his hoops and football credentials. Having the boxing pedigree will help tremendously...

[Mik]

 

 

I like the Detective one.

[Youth N Asia]

Bah, that would be Six Feet Under

 

Maybe if you don't count seasons 4 and 5.

 

Wait, no it's still behind

 

The Wire

Rome

Deadwood

Oz

 

Anyway, I'm tired of this "untested" talk about Kimbo...dude's had two fights. It's not really time to bring on top ten guys yet.

[Lord of The Curry]

I think the bigger issue surrounding Kimbo is that very real possibility that both his opponents got paid to take a dive.

[Hawkius Maximus]

This show is baffling. CBS has been promoting it pretty hard...but there's *NO* buzz for it.

 

I have no idea how well this will do. I don't think it looks good though.

[RavishingRickRudo]

That's because there really are no implications to any of the matches. Smith vs. Lawler for who cracks through the top 20? The dream match of Kimbo vs. Jamesie? Can Gina Carano make weight? There's nothing to be excited about.

[Lt. Al Giardello]

I think the bigger issue surrounding Kimbo is that very real possibility that both his opponents got paid to take a dive.

 

Evidence? It's just a lame duck theory from Kimbo haters without any real evidence surrounding it.

[Hawkius Maximus]

I don't look at MMA in terms of rankings. So maybe that's why I don't get why MMA hardcores are turning their nose up at this.

 

Kimbo/Thompson no matter what happens will be a fantastically fun minute long slug fest.

 

And Smith and Lawler have both looked very good in their last few fights.

 

There's also the fact that it's the first MMA card *EVER* in Prime Time. Why shouldn't this show be supported for the good of MMA?

[Lord of The Curry]

For some (not all) fans it simply boils down to the fact that Kimbo may soon become the most recognizable new face in MMA.

[NoCalMike]

I think the bigger issue surrounding Kimbo is that very real possibility that both his opponents got paid to take a dive..

 

Bo Cantrell possibly, I mean I swear it looked like he got punched in the shoulder and then tapped out ON THE WAY to the ground, but Tank Abbott? No. That dude just got KTFO clearly.

[Lord of The Curry]

Tank was in WCW with 3Count.

 

Dude would do anything for money.

[Celtic Guardian]

I don't look at MMA in terms of rankings. So maybe that's why I don't get why MMA hardcores are turning their nose up at this.

 

Kimbo/Thompson no matter what happens will be a fantastically fun minute long slug fest.

 

And Smith and Lawler have both looked very good in their last few fights.

 

There's also the fact that it's the first MMA card *EVER* in Prime Time. Why shouldn't this show be supported for the good of MMA?

 

 

First one on broadcast network prime time. How much does being on broadcast as opposed to a top cable station really mean, nowadays?

[Hawkius Maximus]

...A lot?

 

Spike <<< CBS

 

Maybe a couple more <'s.

[Lt. Al Giardello]

I don't look at MMA in terms of rankings. So maybe that's why I don't get why MMA hardcores are turning their nose up at this.

 

Kimbo/Thompson no matter what happens will be a fantastically fun minute long slug fest.

 

And Smith and Lawler have both looked very good in their last few fights.

 

There's also the fact that it's the first MMA card *EVER* in Prime Time. Why shouldn't this show be supported for the good of MMA?

 

Baroni/Villasenor shouldn't be a bad fight as well.

[Youth N Asia]

we finally bet to see Baroni get that .500 record he's been going towards these last couple years

[NoCalMike]

we finally bet to see Baroni get that .500 record he's been going towards these last couple years

 

Villasenor is no joke though, he probably has just as much of a chance to win as Baroni.

[Youth N Asia]

Yeah, I'm picking against Baroni, dude's 10-9 right now as I recall.

[Lord of The Curry]

Villasenor got KO'd by Ninja who is a solid fighter but isn't known for having knockout power. If Baroni connects on a good one Joey's going to bed.*

 

*This is Phil Baroni we're talking about so there's a good chance he shits the bed and loses this one in an embarassing fashion.

[starvenger]

...A lot?

 

Spike <<< CBS

 

Maybe a couple more <'s.

I think it's about right. Granted, Saturday night is not the most ideal spot for viewers in the US (I think college football is an exception, not the rule) but at the same time poor ratings won't kill the show entirely.

 

BTW Carano's Gladiator bio makes mention of her fight this weekend - although understandably not who is airing it. Just thought that was interesting.

[Lord of The Curry]

Has anybody here even seen footage on Kaitlin Young? I was chilling with Rudo 2 weeks back and basically what he said was that if Carano can't get her to the ground she'll get KFTO'd.

[Lt. Al Giardello]

I've seen a few of her fights, she has legit KO power and good technique... Rudo is right, although Gina is known as a muay thai fighter, if I was her trainer I wouldn't want her to risk standing with Young.

[NoCalMike]

If you read Carano's interviews and press going into this fight it is almost like she is already conceding that she has a good chance of losing this fight and she doesn't really care, kind of acknowleding that juggling the Gladiator schedule left her with barely three weeks to train.....I mean it might just be her introverted personality talking, but she doesn't seem to care much that this is perhaps the biggest stage thus far of her fighting career against a seemingly legit opponent and it could rocket her to stardom or sink her.

[Youth N Asia]

If you read Carano's interviews and press going into this fight it is almost like she is already conceding that she has a good chance of losing this fight and she doesn't really care, kind of acknowleding that juggling the Gladiator schedule left her with barely three weeks to train.....I mean it might just be her introverted personality talking, but she doesn't seem to care much that this is perhaps the biggest stage thus far of her fighting career against a seemingly legit opponent and it could rocket her to stardom or sink her.

 

With the way she looks I really don't see a loss sinking her. She's still a babe and will do well from here