Fight Game Blog

The promoters kind of hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him.

It’s been reported by most MMA sites (including Josh Gross at SI.com) that ProElite, Inc., owner of EliteXC, is closing down the MMA company after CBS/Showtime decided not to purchase them. Even after a very good TV rating for their last CBS show, the possible underhanded actions by the promotion seemed to scare CBS/Showtime away.

After Seth Petruzelli uttered the quote above to an Orlando radio show, it took everything out of the sails for one of the biggest upsets (that wasn’t really an upset) in MMA. Petruzelli claimed that he was hungover when he said it, but it was too little, too late. For EXC, the damage was done. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has decided to step in and investigate that manner, and it seems like that’s what it took for CBS/Showtime to get cold feet.

Continue Reading »

EXC is back on CBS tonight for the third time. Headlining the show is the much talked about Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock match up. The undercard includes the Affliction sponsored bout of Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson, and a welterweight title fight between Jake Shields and Paul Daley.

There has been a lot of drama in the hours leading up to this show, as a result of the Ken Shamrock situation. It looks like Ken will not compete, and with kick off time approaching, a replacement is yet to be named. At this stage, we will just have to wait and see what happens.

They start the show by announcing that Seth Petruzelli is taking Shamrocks place in the main event. They then show a pretaped interview with Shamrock. He basically says he’s disappointed, and that he has fought through much worse injuries in the past, but the doctors just wont let him fight.

The announcers are trying to push the strength of the card even without Shamrock. They emphasize that the Arlovski vs. Nelson fight could main event any show on its own. Frank Shamrock buries Ken, saying that he should have been training lighter, and that he’s disgracing the Shamrock name. You just know Frank is still trying to build towards a future fight with his brother. Middleweights are up first.

Continue Reading »

The first three fights of this card are on Showtime and the rest on the CBS show.

The announcers are Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo, and Frank Shamrock.

1. Wilson Reis vs. Bryan Caraway

These guys are fighting at a weight of 140 pounds. There must’ve been some heavy blood in the dark match as there was a few different splatterings of blood on the mat inside the cage. Caraway started off by throwing two big rights that made Reis stumble a bit. But Reis immediately took him down. Reis is a BJJ guy and Caraway is a “cowboy karate” guy, whatever that means. Reis stayed more active and was able to keep Caraway on his back with the single legs.

Caraway is hitting Reis at will, but the second he does, Reis immediately takes him down. The crowd is booing the ground action, but this is not simply controlling someone on the ground. Reis has been active in trying to move forward, while Caraway is active in trying to combat Reis’s jiu jitsu.

Continue Reading »

News and notes from around the MMA, pro wrestling, and boxing world …

- Tons of media for this weekend’s Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito fight.

Cotto is ready for business.
FoxSports interviews Miguel Cotto.
Cotto vs. Margarito is a throwback fight.
There are two sides to Miguel Cotto.
De La Hoya to watch Saturday’s fight closely.
Cotto and Margarito go to war.

This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License

Continue Reading »

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- We have a full write-up on the latest EXC from last weekend featuring Kimbo Slice knocking out Tank Abbott.

- Speaking of the fight, there’s a ton of media surrounding the outcome.

The Miami Hurricanes newspaper has thoughts on Kimbo.
The Miami Herald has it’s take on Kimbo.
What’s next for Kimbo Slice?
What did Kimbo and Tank make for less than a minute of fighting?
Bryan Alvarez reports that Showtime did 522,000 viewers for the fight.

- HDNet Fights and Randy Couture apparently have a contract together that starts when his contract with UFC is over.

- Dave Meltzer has more on HDNet and Mark Cuban entering the fray.

- Brock Lesnar looks to have done a top five UFC buyrate.

- Frank Mir says he needs one more win to be in line for a title shot.

- Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have been talking to Mark Cuban, but he’s working for Vince McMahon.

Talking Points

EXC took a lot of flack from the hardcore MMA fan base for putting Kimbo Slice up against Tank Abbott as the main event of their big show last weekend. As I said last week, it’s a much different approach from a show that also happened last week, WEC 32. That event showcased smaller fighters and more technical bouts, while the EXC show was fixated around the freak show main event. At the end of the day, as far as I’m concerned, it’s about having a business model that works. If the EXC can utilize main events that help them make money that might not be your prototypical MMA fight, so be it. Watching that show, Kimbo Slice looked like a huge star. They need to figure out a way to keep him at that level and find more eye balls. I don’t know if they are THE ALTERNATIVE, but they definitely have someone who can draw a crowd in his hometown (over 7,000 in Miami vs. a little over 4,000 for Carlos Condit in Albuquerque) and possibly get some folks to give it a shot.

1. Brett Rogers vs. James Thompson

Rogers knocked this man silly. It was slow until the middle of the round and then Rogers hit a knee and four straight punches. He was knocked completely loopy.

Winner: Brett Rogers by way of first round TKO

2. Edson Berto vs. Yves Edwards

They were both landing early, but Berto took it to the ground. He had a guillotine in and it looked tight, but Edwards got out and nearly got a kimura. Edwards was on top and both men were striking from their positions, but the referee stood them up anyway. Berto shot in for a single leg and actually grabbed a hold of his right leg, but Edwards jumped with his free leg and threw a wicked knee and Berto went down and was out.

Winner: Yves Edwards by way of first round TKO

3. Kyle Noke vs. Scott Smith

Noke took the first round on points strictly from boxing his way through it. He was sticking and moving but never hurting Smith. Smith got a few shots in early. In the second, Noke threw a couple punches that Smith walked right through and then Smith landed a right hand to Noke’s mouth and Noke went out completely. He was out before he hit the ground.

Winner: Scott Smith by way of second round TKO

4. Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Silva

The story of the fight was that Rodriguez was far more active and game than he seemed to be early on. He looked to be afraid of Silva’s strength, but eventually got a takedown late in the first. In the second, Silva was on top and was hitting Rodriguez with some heavy shots, cutting him over his left eye. Rodriguez got the referee to stop the fight so the doctor could check his eye, but it seemed like he did it more so to catch his breath as he winked at the camera. The second was all Silva. In the third, Silva got a takedown but the referee stood them back up and Rodriguez got the takedown. He tried to steal the round, but didn’t do much while on top. It was a boring fight, and afterwards Silva said that he tore his MCL a couple weeks ago. The surprise was that even as fat and out of shape Rodriguez looked, he fought well.

Winner: Antonio Silva by way of split decision

5. Tank Abbott vs. Kimbo Slice

Abbott came out and pushed Slice against the cage, but Slice was able to push him off. Slice put him on all fours, but the referee came in the middle of them because of a punch to the head and Slice received a warning. He knocked Abbott back down twice, with one shot to the head and one to the back of the shoulder. It was more like a forearm. Abbott was back up and was knocked out off a right/left combination.

Winner: Kimbo Slice by way of first round TKO.