EliteXC: "Unfinished Business" on CBS at 9, Sat, July 26
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:37 am
So the big event this week is EliteXC's second CBS show, "Unfinished Business." Not quite as compelling as the first, but looks to be a decent enough card, and it's on free TV.
MAIN CARD (CBS)
* Champ Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith (for EliteXC middleweight title)
* Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson (for EliteXC welterweight title)
* Thomas Denny vs. Nick Diaz
* Shayna Baszler vs. Cristiane Cyborg
* Jeremy Freitag vs. Anthony Ruiz (swing bout)
MAIN CARD (SHOWTIME)
* Justin Eilers vs. Antonio Silva (for EliteXC heavyweight title)
* Brian Caraway vs. Wilson Reis
* Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante vs. Travis Galbraith
3 Title fights on there, and there could have been a fourth, if they did the Diaz vs. Noons fight (anybody know why they didn't? I assume that was the plan, being in Stockton and all).
The Lawler vs. Smith fight should be very exciting, and while I think Lawler is on a level above Smith, with the kind of fight they are likely to have, anything can happen.
The Silva and Shields fights seem to just be fights against halfway credible opponents in order to get a belt on the guys that are far and away tops in their respective divisions.
Denny vs. Diaz could be decent. Diaz usually has pretty good fights.
Looking forward to seeing Cristiane Cyborg in action, as I've heard a lot about her. I'm usually not that into women's MMA if Gina Carano isn't involved, but this fight has my interest.
That just got me thinking....this card seems like it's missing something in terms of starpower. And EliteXC's two biggest stars (by far, unless I'm completely missing someone) are Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice. As long as that's the case, I think EliteXC still has a long long way to go before being looked at as serious competition for the UFC, or even Affliction and Dream.
MAIN CARD (CBS)
* Champ Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith (for EliteXC middleweight title)
* Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson (for EliteXC welterweight title)
* Thomas Denny vs. Nick Diaz
* Shayna Baszler vs. Cristiane Cyborg
* Jeremy Freitag vs. Anthony Ruiz (swing bout)
MAIN CARD (SHOWTIME)
* Justin Eilers vs. Antonio Silva (for EliteXC heavyweight title)
* Brian Caraway vs. Wilson Reis
* Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante vs. Travis Galbraith
3 Title fights on there, and there could have been a fourth, if they did the Diaz vs. Noons fight (anybody know why they didn't? I assume that was the plan, being in Stockton and all).
The Lawler vs. Smith fight should be very exciting, and while I think Lawler is on a level above Smith, with the kind of fight they are likely to have, anything can happen.
The Silva and Shields fights seem to just be fights against halfway credible opponents in order to get a belt on the guys that are far and away tops in their respective divisions.
Denny vs. Diaz could be decent. Diaz usually has pretty good fights.
Looking forward to seeing Cristiane Cyborg in action, as I've heard a lot about her. I'm usually not that into women's MMA if Gina Carano isn't involved, but this fight has my interest.
That just got me thinking....this card seems like it's missing something in terms of starpower. And EliteXC's two biggest stars (by far, unless I'm completely missing someone) are Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice. As long as that's the case, I think EliteXC still has a long long way to go before being looked at as serious competition for the UFC, or even Affliction and Dream.