I know next to nothing about mixed martial arts (MMA). Before his fight tonight against James Thompson, all I knew is what I read about Kimbo Slice in the most recent issue of ESPN The Magazine. Apparently, he gained notoriety by fighting in bare-knuckle fights in the backyard that were recorded and found their way to the internet. He was homeless for about a month and now he’s a rising star in MMA. Anyway, I thought his story was interesting so I tuned in to the Elite XC’s debut on CBS. Here are some random thoughts from the night’s events:
1. MMA is more entertaining than boxing. The action is pretty steady and the addition of kicks and other wrestling moves makes it more unpredictable. There isn’t so much grabbing and holding as there is in boxing when the fighters get tired. Of course, it helps that CBS hired Gus Johnson to call the fights. He’s one of the best play-by-play guys out there. I can’t believe that TNT and/or ESPN don’t use him for the NBA playoffs.
2. The “cheerleaders” (and I use that term loosely) are hot. I’d say the outfits are smaller and tighter than the average NBA dance team, and that’s saying a lot. When the girls start dancing freestyle, some of the moves are pretty stripper-esque.
3. The undercard fights were pretty interesting. There was the women’s fight that featured Gina Carano, who still won despite not going through the proper training. She’s built nicely and is pretty easy on the eyes. The middleweight championship fight between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith was great until Smith was poked in the eye. The doctor came in and called the fight which brought a chorus of boos from the crowd. Apparently, you have to have three complete rounds in a championship fight and it was called in the middle of the third.
4. Kimbo Slice got his ass beat and then he beat some ass. Thompson had him pinned on the ground and hit him with about 20 consecutive elbows to the side of the head. It got so bad that the ref had to keep telling Slice to defend himself or he’d call the match. He made it through the round and then smacked Thompson’s (disgusting) cauliflower ear, which started to bleed profusely. Then he landed about four straight punches to Thompson’s kisser and the ref called the fight.
I don’t know how the Elite XC relates to the UFC, but the two should merge so that there is one “league” that has all the best athletes. No one likes it when there are two middleweight champions and two heavyweight champions. Get everyone together in the same deal, and have it. That’s a superficial view of the sport from someone who just watched his first event, but if MMA really wants to take off and ultimately replace boxing, they need to pull everyone together.
