EliteXC Review
July 27, 2008
With their second card on CBS, EliteXC looked to build up new stars to supplement the duo of Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice. While I don’t feel that any of the fighters came out of the card with that kind of high profile name, EliteXC has to be happy the results. With strong wins for Nick Diaz, Cris Cyborg, and Robbie Lawler, EliteXC has something to work with in building towards future cards on CBS and possibly PPV.
From the production end, things went very smooth for EliteXC. Much of the superfluous filler that was a hallmark of their debut show was cut out, and the fights flowed fairly smoothly. They were able to fit their show into the allotted time with plenty to spare, which should keep the local affiliates happy. The announce team did a very solid job, given to hyperbole at times but nothing beyond what would be expected of in-house announcers. The producers did a smart thing by using cageside segments with Gina Carano and Kimbo, keeping their profile high and hyping their return to CBS in October. The night of fights was also aided by all of their CBS fights going to definitive finishes.
Nick Diaz looked strong on the card, with the crowd giving the fight a certain energy that translated well to TV. While the fight wasn’t high on the technical scale it, it was the kind of sloppy boxing that is easy to understand and embrace for a casual crowd. In my preview I stated that this was a squash match designed to get Diaz over, and it played out that way to a T. Diaz was able to put on a stand-up flurry for almost the entire fight, one that got the crowd excited and most likely the televised crowd as well. If folks weren’t aware of Diaz coming into the fight, this made him a star to the causal crowd.
The logical match up for Diaz would be KJ Noons but what show do you do that on? Noons and manager Mark Dion have been reluctant to sign a long term deal with EliteXC, and Elite has responded by not putting their 160lb champion on either of their network shows. Do the parties come to some kind of deal and they put Diaz vs Noons on the October Card or do they delay and hype match-up until they get on PPV? That would seem to be almost too long, but Dion may leave them no choice if he wants to drive a hard bargain.
Cris Cyborg put on a striking clinic in her fight with Shana Baszler. With Carano set to fight on the October card, they may look to build towards a Cyborg-Carano fight on their early 09 PPV they mentioned at Tuesday’s conference call. They can probably do a quick turnaround on Cyborg and have her fight a soft touch to lead into the Carano fight. Carano is star, and the crowd will rally around her in a match up against the Ivan Drago-esque Cris Cyborg. In looking so strong, Cyborg came off as a credible threat to the resident female superstar, Gina Carano, which can translate to PPV buys. Carano-Cyborg would be a study in contrasts that would be very sellable, with the muscle bound Brazilian Killer facing off with the All American girl with the milk and honey good looks. I think they are already reserving a cageside seat for Mrs. Cyborg at Gina’s October fight.
Jake Shields looked impressive in his submission win over Nick Thompson. Shields was able to dominate Thompson and finish him early in the first round. Shields has a style that isn’t the most television friendly, so to speak, so his performance was the best possible result for everybody, well everyone except Nick Thompson. EliteXC has to feel like they dodged a bullet with this fight and actually came out if it with Shields looking very strong. Questions remain on where you go from here with Shields, with their being a paucity of options at Welterweight. Paul Semtex Daley and his exciting stand-up game may be one option.
Robbie Lawler put on another slugfest for the fans on network TV. Lawler’s withdrawn demeanor may hold him back from breaking out as a major star for the company, but he has been featured twice on network television putting on exciting fights featuring some entertaining stand-up. One has to think he has built up some goodwill with the fans, who know that if they see him on a card they are going to see a good action fight.
For the October Card, EliteXC will have their two superstars in Kimbo and Carano, but it is doubtful they will be put into challenging matches. The rumored opponent for Carano is Kelly Kobald, who shouldn’t be perceived as too much of a threat. Loretta Hunt of Sherdog says that their is a short list of possible opponents for Kimbo, including Dave Herman, Brett Rogers and others. Either of the two mentioned seem to have too much of a chance of upsetting the apple cart before EliteXC can cash in on Kimbo-mania, PPV style. With enough time passed since his loss to Buzz Berry, they could put Ken Shamrock in to provide someone with name recognition to feed to Slice. The other Shamrock brother, Frank Shamrock, has also stated he may like to get a piece of Robbie Lawler for the EliteXC middleweight title on the October card. Carano, Slice, The Shamrocks, and a twice CBS featured Lawler would make for a good ratings draw for EliteXC on their next network card. Taking the long view, the match-ups they seem to be setting up for the planned PPV include Carano vs Cyborg, Diaz vs Noons, and possibly Slice vs Rogers.
The folks at EliteXC and CBS now go into a waiting game, as the ratings come in over the next couple of days. Many online lamented the lack of buzz for the fights, but CBS did a good job of advertising the show in-house. The second installment of EliteXC received heavy rotation of their ad spots the last two weeks through-out CBS’s prime and daytime schedules, as well as on their week-end sports programs. We will have to wait and see if their lack of penetration of other mainstream media or lack of internet buzz foretell a ratings letdown.
