I couldn't resist the hype.  Kimbo Slice on network tv, free for all to see.  Now I have been a fan of MMA for some time now and was glad to see it finally "arrive" to the masses.  But, was saturday nights event good or bad for the world of MMA?

     My reservations:  Elite XC is not the best MMA out there.  Ok, may sound petty but before it even started I was worried, let me put it in another sports analogy, if you were introducing a sport into mainstream tv, would you rather watch the best of the best or a "minor league" be showcased?  I give all the credit in the world to Elite XC for getting the deal with CBS and even Showtime.  They've set themselves up for popular success more than any other MMA league, sorry UFC but for all the talent you have, Spike TV and PPV doesn't measure up. 

     For those who watched, you'll notice the list of fighters all seemed to have UFC experience, which in a way is good, but most of those fighters had losing records at the highest level.  That doesn't mean that the top talent won't come to Elite XC in the future because of the network deals, but right now, it's not the best talent. 

     Now for the actual show.  Starting off, I could help but notice, it had a pretty large pro wrestling feel too it.  Why where the Nitro girls there dancing on the entrance way?  Ok so they weren't really the Nitro girls but it gave it that kinda feel.  Then came the fighters.  Coming down to the cage in showy entrances that once again, sadly made me wonder if i was watching pro wrestling once again.  Ok minor gripes, but my main concern was that is this kinda show something that will turn people on to the sport or turn them off.  Pro Wrestling has plenty of fans, I won't even begin to deny that, but it seemed the show was more something I'd see on USA than CBS.

     Next up the announcers.  Ok, so I'll be honest, of the three the only one I ever heard of before was Frank Shammrock, but that isn't a bad thing.  I was impressed with the way they called the fights.  Good commentaries, and they seemed to have a knack of calling the fight so that both MMA veteran fans and newcomers could understand and enjoy.  Much better than listening to Joe Rogan.

     Finally the fights themselves.  First two fights, a swing and they're down.  Ok not off to a great action packed start, two quick knockouts but then again, it showcased the explosiveness of the athletes in MMA, but didn't give much in the way of great fighting. 

     Now for a first for me.  I know that there are places out there where you can see women fighting in MMA, I just have never seen it.  The fight seemed to make up for the first two but having some compelling action and great fighting.  I was impressed by the display actually.  We'll call it an even draw so far.

     What first network show would be complete without a title fight?  A stand-up war between Lawler and Smith.  Lawler dominated the first round. Smith taking the second.  Impressions after 2 rounds, One hell of an exciting fight yes, but besides the occasional kick has the look and feel of a bare knuckles boxing match.

     And now for strike one.  In the middle of the third round Lawler accidently poked Smith in the eye, one of the drawbacks to wearing those fingerless gloves.  Here's where I started to worry, please don't let them stop this fight.  I don't want to see anyone get seriously injured don't get me wrong, just that with a Network debut a no decision in a title fight would be a major blow to the event.  The fight was stopped by the ring Dr, and fine i can handle that, I just worried it left a bad taste in new fans mouths.

     The Main Event:  Could  you get any more hype for a fighter than Kimbo Slice?  With a mountain of experienced MMA fighters talking trash about Slice's fighting style well being trash.  The internet sensation (although the only youtube video i've ever seen of him fighting he caught a real beating at the hands Sean Gannon)  finally brought to the masses.  As each fighter made their way to the cage I noticed something right off the bat about Kimbo's opponet Thompson,  The planet growing in his left ear.  As they were doing the in ring announcements, I couldn't believe that he would even be allowed in the ring with his ear that bad.  Wouldn't someone in his camp at least advised him to maybe getting it drained leading up to the fight?  And more so, I couldn't believe it took till the second round before it was even brought up by the commentators.

     The fight itself:  I gotta say, I was not expecting Kimbo to  be anything more than a punch, and the much more experince Thompson sent him to the ground early but much to my surprise Kimbo showed much more aptitude in the ground game than I could have ever imagined.  Sadly, more than the UFC debut of Brock Lesnar although not really a fair comparision since Lesnar's opponet in that fight Mir is miles above Thompson's skill.

     And bring on the controversy:  First up the supposed tap out.  After being caught in a guillotine chock hold was Kimbo tapping out?  Wait, no he was giving the ref the thumbs up, a good show of flash and flair.  And then came the ending. I was really just waiting from pre fight introductions to see that ear pop, in fact watching i was almost grimmacing at every punch near that ear expecting to see the worst and finally it happened.  Not as gruesome as I had pictured in my head but bad none-the-less.  Thompson definitely stirred after if and was pummeled repeatedly after the hit.

     He's where I completely disagree with it being controversial, ear damage aside.  Maybe it was because I was watching on big screen HD tv, but you could clearly see ever hit after that damage Thompson's eye's just roll further and further back into his head.  To bring a boxing analogy into this, he was out on his feet.  The giant competitor wasn't going to fall down, how I really have no clue, but he was out on his feet. 

     All in all, for the level of competition that Elite XC has it seemed like an accurate representation.  As for MMA as a whole with it's first Network showcase?  I'm not sure, but is putting a minor league game on big time tv really the best way to show your sport to the world?  Elite got the tv deal and shame on UFC for not making a network deal work before this.  My only hope is that this spurrs other networks and leagues to get into the act.  Guess i'll just have to wait to see the overnight tv numbers to find out.