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Bryan Caraway vs. Wilson Reis was the first fight on the Showtime portion of the card and it was actually a very entertaining matchup to kick off the night of Elite XC action. This fight was clearly matched up to allow for Reis to have a coming out party but Caraway was a more than formidable opponent and exposed many holes in Reis’ game. Winner of the fight is Wilson Reis by way of unanimous decision and all 3 judges scored the bout 30-27.
This scoring was ridiculous as the fight was by no means an easy win for Wilson and it definitely was not a shutout. Reis took Caraway down 7 times but not once did he ever capitalize on the takedowns and achieve anything on the ground. When standing up it was all Caraway as Reis is a very unskilled fighter when it comes to striking and Caraway was able to easily win the battle while standing. If you look at it this way it would be Caraway winning the battle on the feet and Reis being able to score takedowns with neither fighter really winning while on the ground. This was competitive and showed that Reis is definitely not ready for primetime and that Caraway was perhaps too tough of an opponent at this point in his MMA career. With the win, Reis improves his record to 5-0 in his MMA career.
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p next was Rafael Feijao vs. Travis Galbraith at light heavyweight and this fight was not competitive to say the very least as Feijao was able to finish off the construction worker at the 3:00 mark of the first round by way of strikes. Galbraith was a very game opponent but outclassed, outgunned and overwhelmed in short order. With the win, Feijao improves his record to 7-2.
The third and final fight of the Showtime portion of the event was for the Elite XC Heavyweight Championship and pitted Antonio Silva up against Justin Eilers. Silva was too strong and way too much for Eilers as Silva was able to get the win at the 19 second mark of the 2nd round by referee stoppage. The finishing sequence to this fight was a case of one fighter capitalizing on the overaggression of another as Eilers leaped in with a left hook and Silva was able to counter with a hard jab and proceed to pound out the stoppage. Herb Dean gave Eilers more than a fair opportunity and implored him to fight back or else the fight would be stopped and a few moments later Dean had no choice but to call it off. Silva’s power won this fight and “Bigfoot” is your Elite XC Heavyweight Champion.
At this point it was time to switch the broadcast over to CBS for the primetime network portion of this event from Stockton, CA. From the start of the CBS portion it was clear that Elite XC had learned a lot from their laughable debut in May as they cut out the unnecessary and looked like a more respectable fighting organization immediately.
Of course, we open with a women’s matchup that immediately seemed to risk the good opinion I was to have of this network presentation as Shayna Baszler vs. Cristiane Cyborg definitely provided some very awkward and unexpected moments in the 2nd round of their fight.
Before the fight it was Baszler who uttered the quote that she could, “pull a submission out of my butt” and I know that the show this company put on in May could very well have been something pulled out of someone’s butt indeed and I watched hoping it would not prove to be a similar night. So far so good with the production values and a more than entertaining Showtime card, however I was hesitant as they chose to open with the ladies.
Baszler was a tough fighter and this fight was actually very exciting in the early stages as the 1st round was a tremendous battle between a great striker in Cyborg and a solid opponent on the ground in Baszler. It was immediately clear that Baszler needed to keep this fight on the ground if she was to have a chance.
To say this fight got weird in the middle of the 2nd round is the understatement of the night and I thought "here we go again" with the amateur hour side of Elite XC. At the halfway point of round number 2, Cyborg was battering Baszler and somehow imagined that the fight was stopped and began to celebrate by climbing the cage and posing for the fans as time continued to tick in the cage. Mazzagatti implored her to continue to fight but facing a language barrier it seemed as if Cyborg just could not and would not understand. Personally I feel that Cyborg should have been deducted a point as by climbing the cage when the fight is not over and then proceeding to kill time by posturing was something that should not have been allowed to continue. I understand that she could not understand the referee but her corner should have communicated the point to her in a swift fashion. At any rate this break in the action should have been of benefit to Baszler but the inevitable was soon to come as Cyborg won by TKO due to strikes at the 2:48 mark of the 2nd round and the rest was of no aid to Baszler. Personally I feel that Mazzagatti was too swift in standing the fighters up at the end of this fight as this was a benefit to Cyborg and a detriment to Baszler and Cyborg was going to walk around until the ref stood Shayna up. Very smart tactic as it did not behoove her to fight on the ground and once the fight resumed on the feet it was nothing but Cyborg. Cyborg vs. Carano was teased for October and I would be very interested in this fight.
Next up was a battle for the Elite XC Welterweight Championship between Jake Shields and Nick “The Goat” Thompson. Nick “The Neckbeard” would be more like it as Thompson sported a facial hair style that even Kimbo Slice would say is a bit peculiar. His entire face was cleanly shaven, except for his jaw line and neck. This looked like something that a man on a 10 day bender would sport and not a guy who will be taking the bar exam shortly. To put it kindly, this is not a lawyerly look.
Thompson vs. a Bic Razor would have been a more compelling matchup as Shields was all over him from the start of the fight and this appeared to signify that perhaps Elite XC would not be running long tonight as they did in May. Jake Shields is your winner by modified guillotine choke at the 1:03 mark of round 1 and with the win; Shields is your new Elite XC Welterweight Champion. Not much of a fight but Shields was dominant and I wouldn’t mind seeing him fight again in the future. In the post-match interview, Shields said, “Nick Diaz is next. Let’s watch Nick kick some ass.” Let’s do just that, shall we?
Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny was the third fight of the CBS portion of the event and took place at the 160lb. weight limit in the lightweight division. Nick Diaz is age 24 and boasts a record of 17 wins against 7 losses and that one no contest by way of THC. He was up against the 37 year old father of three in Denny who came in with a record of 26 wins and 16 losses. Denny sported bright pink trunks and multicolored hair with nails painted to match. Even Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett would tell you that this guy seems a little over the top.
This fight was brutal from the start and Denny was more than a game opponent for Diaz. However, he was nothing more than an opponent and clearly was put in their as cannon fodder for Diaz to show off his skills in order to set up a fight with KJ Noons for the belt. Denny showed a ton of heart and an equal amount of chin but no head at all as he continued to trade with Diaz even though he was clearly losing the battle. The first round was brutal and Denny weathered the storm but by surviving the onslaught he only postponed what was to come in the opening moments of round number 2. Nick Diaz is your winner by TKO due to strikes at 30 seconds into round 2 and looked deadly in dishing out punishment to a gritty opponent who was tougher than he was skilled. Thomas Denny did not fare as poorly on the ground and if anything else I believe he should have opted to take it to the ground to at least try and stave off Diaz’ thundering blows. This wasn’t much of a fight and Diaz gets the win and comes out looking deadly to the CBS audience.
After the fight it was Nick Diaz telling everyone to join him at the Red Rhino for his after party and from the rhino we head to the spider as in, “The Spider” Anderson Silva. Yes, THAT Anderson Silva was in the audience and shown on camera during an Elite XC event while being called the best fighter in MMA and the UFC champion at 185 lbs. Yes, this is all true but I don’t see how this benefits Elite XC in even the slightest as I don’t see the UFC showcasing Robbie Lawler if he were to be seated in the crowd at a UFC event. Dana White won’t even show Randy Couture on camera and Tito Ortiz is surely non grata and here is Elite XC advertising for the UFC by letting you know that the best fighter is over there and not in Elite XC.
What a way to move into your own 185lb. title fight, eh? This is akin to showing ABC showing an ad for “Two and a Half Men” before one of their shows. You just do not give your competition a moment on your own broadcast and you do not make it appear as if Lawler and Smith are clearly second class fighters by comparison even if this is the case. You need to make your fighters appear at the top of the class as Elite XC clearly made their belt even less valuable than it was heading in to the night. James Evans, the father on ‘Good Times’ had a belt that was more respected after this moment on the broadcast.
So, now we attempt to finish the business that was started in May as it is time for “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler vs. Scott “Hands of Steel” II for the Elite XC Middleweight Championship. Hey, at least Anderson Silva didn’t bring his belt with him; but he may as well have at this point.
Lawler vs. Smith was competitive from the beginning and appeared to pick right up from where they left off in their first fight. The one thing I did notice and one the announce team mentioned was the fact that Smith was a little soft in the midsection. Now, I am not one to talk as John Basedow isn’t jealous of my abs but Smith was definitely not in the same shape as last time. Ok, I wish I had the stomach that Smith had but this is why I am writing about the fights and not participating as a combatant.
Smith threw some nasty elbows and opened up a vicious cut on the head of Robbie Lawler and by continuing to throw a few more it seemed like maybe he could win this one on cuts. Smith clearly let up on the gas at this point and even admitted to doing just that when he was interviewed post fight. By letting up due to opening up the cut, Smith opened himself up to Lawler’s attack. While Smith was enjoying the handiwork of his elbows it was Lawler who was landing hard left after hard left to the solar plexus which served to set up the knees that ended the night early. Lawler hit Smith with knees that definitely served to make one wonder if perhaps Smith’s midsection was not quite as strong as it could have been but then again who could withstand knees like this. Robbie was “Ruthless” and delivered knee strikes that crumpled Smith to the ground and then he began to try and cap things off by dishing out some more strikes while Smith was down. Lawler is your victor by TKO due to strikes at the 2:35 mark of round 2 as he was unable to defend himself or continue and this fight was waved off.
Robbie Lawler began to dance in the cage and this was the first time that anyone danced tonight, if you can believe that! That’s right, there were no dancing girls shaking their moneymakers as the fighters made their way to the cage and noticeably Elite XC knocked out all of the fluff and put on a more serious show. Lawler celebrated in the ring and it was more or less to deliver a knee to the crowd that was in Smith’s corner from the beginning.
Post fight found Lawler to be very professional and respectful of his fallen foe and he let us know that the fear of losing due to the cuts provoked him to fight in the furious manner in which he won the battle. Scott Smith had nothing but respect for Lawler and openly admitted that he was waiting for the ref to check the cut and hoping for a win due to the cuts. Scott Smith then proceeded to let us know that even in defeat he would be going to Disneyland tomorrow as he had promised his children before the night. While Smith doesn’t seem to have much to celebrate, he doesn’t have any need to walk with his head down in shame. Smith and Lawler gave us a wonderful fight and proved to be a solid main event and definitely gave us as much action as the first time out provided; albeit with less drama.
Overall I have to say that this night of Elite XC fights was very entertaining but sorely lacking as far as providing competitive matchups, and in some cases the matchmaking clearly let it be known that some fighters were to use tonight as a way to showcase themselves for future engagements. Those matchups aside, the overmatched fighters still actually fought and Tim Sylvia who made $800K for his lack of effort against Fedor needs to be ashamed of himself if he were to have seen tonight’s show. The fighters fought hard and bravely even in cases where they knew they were outgunned going in. This is what served to make a less than stellar fight card a more than passable way to enjoy MMA and allowed Elite XC to make a more favorable impression than the one they made in May.
We can argue where they rank when it comes to Affliction and UFC but Elite XC proved they belong in the argument with the show they put on this evening. Good things can be in the future for this organization and it will take more competitive matchups to make it happen but they took a step in the right direction.
Unfinished business is what Elite XC has in store for them but after tonight they can at least remain in business and that is the best thing that they can take with them from tonight. They earned another opportunity based on their second chance and I know I want to see what they have to offer us come October 4 on CBS.
