6:05 p.m. Hey Everyone...it's Joe Fernandez.
I'll be updating you as best as I can tonight from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey for the Elite XC fight card. Tonight the fights can be seen on CBS at 9 p.m., so feel free to join in on the discussion and ask any questions about the fight or the fighters. I'm sure either me or someone else on the comment portion of the blog can answer. IT'S IMPORTANT TO REFRESH THE PAGE SO YOU CAN SEE MY UPDATES.
Right now, Robbie Lawler is shadow boxing in the cage and providing the growing crowd with a couple of dance steps while the Bee Gees' "Night Fever" plays in the background. Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes will be in Lawler's corner and looks on from outside the cage and then conducts an interview.
There's a good buzz in here right now as the crew makes the last-minute preparations.
First fight is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. as Garden City's Joe Sampieri takes on Mike Groves in a 155-pound fight. I'll be back in a few...
6:52 p.m. So Garden City's Joe Sampieri gets the stoppage with about two seconds left in the first round. Mike Groves displayed some solid jiu-jitsu at the start, but Sampieri punched away from inside Groves' guard, eventually took the mount and earned the stoppage.
7:04 p.m. Andre Soares vs. Zach Makovsky. So Soares nearly catches Makovsky with a beautiful oma plata shoulder lock. Soares was aggressive during the round and looked for the takedown. We go to the second...
7:17 p.m. Makovsky controlled the second round with good punch combos and kicks with a lot of the same in the third. Soares was doing his best to bring the fight to the ground, but no dice. Makovsky wins by unanimous decision.
7:43 p.m. Sorry about that...don't know if it was the computer or the internet but I was having sending issues. Anyway, James Jones is legit on the ground. His transitions were fluid and he was a handful for Calvin Kattar at their 155-pound matchup. Jones was able to get the back of Kattar near the end of the first round and win by rear naked choke. Jones made Kattar look very uncomfortable for most of the match. By the way, if you want to watch the undercards right now, check out proelite.com
7:54 p.m. Talk about another menace on the ground. Justin Robbins faced Wilson Reis in a 140-pound matchup, and Reis is no joke. Another rear naked choke near the end of the first round. Reis was relentless. It looked like he could've broken or seriously injured Robbins' arm with a nasty armbar. He then transitioned back to the triangle and didn't quit attempting to end the match. After getting Robbins' back, Reis got the submission victory and then jumped on top of the cage, igniting the crowd with the second consecutive submission.
8:00 p.m. Wow. Here comes the entire Serra entoutage with former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra, Striking coach Ray Longo, mixed martial artist and Long Island product Pete Sell with tonight's fighter Nick Serra leading the way with a monkey mask on. Nick, Matt's brother, is from East Meadow as well and is 8-2 in his MMA career. He fights Philadelphia's Matt Makowski.
8:08 p.m. Serra looked strong for most of the first round. Both brothers have the ground game and that's where Serra wanted to keep it with Makowski doing a good job on his feet with the strikes. Serra had his back at one point and transitioned to the armbar. First round will probably go to Serra, but Makowski had some nice strikes in there as well. Matt Serra has been a great coach in the ear of his brother. To the second...
8:14 p.m. Wow. What happened here? I don't know if it was fatigue or an injury or what, but Serra just fell down and didn't get up. He appeared very tired, and as the referee took a point away from him he just stayed lying on his back. Then the ref just called the TKO victory for Makowski. I'll find out more as it comes in, but this was very odd.
8:27 p.m. Let me preface this by saying I love the sport of MMA, but this is exactly why the heavyweight division is my least favorite. It's because the fighters don't HAVE to be in peak physical condition. The match between Carlton Haselrig and Carlos Moreno was stopped when Moreno didn't answer the bell after a lackluster, boring first round between the fighters, which consisted of a lot of laying around and loose submission attempts. It was the match that people went to go get drinks during, like when Keith Richards sings at the Stones' concert. (Except for Thru and Thru - that song rules.)
8:38 p.m. Chris Liguori vs. Jim Bova in a 160-pound matchup. Now this picked up the pace a lot after that last match. These guys came to fight. Great, great pace. Liguori looked for plenty of subs in the first round, transitioning from armbar to triangle. First round ends...have to give it to Liguori.
8:45 p.m. So we have a doctor stoppage at 4:31 in the second round. Liguori opened up a huge cut on the forehead of Bova and went to work on it. It looks like we're going live soon. I'll keep you posted.
9:08 p.m. OK. Well we just had our first near-death experience. I guess they were testing the pyrotechnics or juggling M-80s because there was a HUGE boom near the backstage area where the fighters come from. Everyone seems to be fine because the Elite XC dancers have been dancing for the past 10 minutes near the boom. Don't know what you're seeing on television right now, but Frank Shamrock, Gus Johnson and another broadcaster I don't recognize are doing their "stand-up" segment in front of the cage. Almost all the seats that are available are taken. They could've sold so many more tickets if they allowed for more seating by the curtain. Ok...like 4 a.m. at a bar, the music stopped, the lights are on and people are sitting around. I think we're ready to go.
9:17 p.m. Ok, Brett Rogers is on his way out with Busta Rhymes rapping his intro. The crowd seemed into it. Now it's Jon Murphy's turn to enter. Again the pyro went off and startled me and at least some of the crowd. Come on now, not every time with that.
9:25 p.m. As the fighters are being announced, Journalist-friend Big Cat makes a good point. Twenty five minutes into the broadcast and there hasn't been a punch thrown.
9:27 p.m. That was quick. Some clinching and then Rogers lands two nice rights to the head of Murphy and gets the ref stoppage during the first network-televised mixed martial arts event. Rogers improves to 7-0 in his mixed martial arts career. I think this is what's going to happen during the Kimbo Slice/James Thompson match. Early KO.
9:32 p.m. Nearly...and I mean nearly caught a Pure Power Mouthguard hat from the hands of Rogers. He threw it out to the crowd and it didn't quite make press row. Sweet chuck. There definitely is a technique to hat-throwing though. It's tough. By the way...the Elite XC girls should be making more money than the main eventers because they've been dancing for at least two hours.
9:39 p.m. We were going to try to get the "cover-it live" live blog for y'all, but it's just not working for some reason here. But feel free to leave comments or ask questions about the event and I'll do my best to answer them. Massapequa product Phil Baroni is about to head out to the cage. Joe Villasenor is awaiting his entrance, and what an entrance it is. OK, Baroni is dressed as if Hugh Hefner was a pro-wrestler. He's coming out with two ladies that are taking off his red satin? robe for him. I think he thinks he can fight with those shades on. No wait, he just took them off. They might've made him. This one's about to get started.
9:48 p.m. So the heavy-handed Baroni gets the worse of the stand-up as Villasenor nails the MMA veteran with a bevy of strikes before the referee stopage. Two matches and two TKOs for CBS. The crowd is not happy with Baroni's performance, and obviously Baroni is disappointed as well. The Long Island native drops to 10-10, while Villasenor improves to 26-6.
10:03 p.m. Now it's time for the ladies to fight. Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young. Young awaits Carano's entrance. I haven't seen Carano this determined ever. She wants to get this fight underway. Kim Couture stands in Carano's corner. Carano is easily the crowd favorite. She has gotten the loudest ovation so far.
10:14 p.m. Good first round, a lot of action. Carano has to use that front kick more, it's very effective. She even added a takedown, but Young is taking the punishment well and staying in the pocket. First round: Carano.
The crowd is LOVING this fight. With just under two minutes left, Carano rocked Young standing up and then landed another nasty front kick. Carano went for the choke at the end of the second round as time expired. It looks to be a doctor stoppage at the end of the round as Carano earns the win. Her father, Glenn, came in the cage and gave her a big hug. This was easily the crowd's favorite fight of the night to this point.
10:37 p.m. Batting the slow internet access here still. Robbie Lawler is about to defend his EliteXC middleweight belt against Scott Smith. Both are former UFC fighters with plenty of experience. They both have heavy hands, this might not last long.
10:45 p.m. Lawler nearly ended the fight at the end of the first with a huge flurry of strikes. Smith survived the round and now Smith is answering back in the second and the crowd is appreciating the fight in Smith. Now Smith lands a short elbow to the face of Lawler, which appeared to cut him open on the forehead with under a minute to go. Smith still using those elbows effectively. Round two is over. It looks like a round a piece so far. Nice recovery by Smith.
11:04 p.m. You guys are probably hearing this better than me because the crowd is booing so loudly. With a thumb in the eye and Smith unable to continue, this fight is ruled a no contest and Lawler retains his belt. Too bad, this one was turning out to be a great contest. Apparently if it went three rounds, the fight would've went to the cards. Either way, the crowd is not happy but they're still clapping for the fighters. Elite just announced that both fighters are receiving their win bonuses.
11:20 p.m. James Thompson just entered the cage. Here comes Kimbo Slice. Slice enters the cage with just about everybody south of Tenafly, New Jersey. I mean there were A LOT of dudes that followed him out. I think that's how I'd roll too. Straight Gracie clan-esque, with a train of at least 20 family and friends.
11:32 p.m. Good first round. I have to admit, better than I expected. Thompson had a nice takedown early, but Slice battled back and was able to reverse position at one point. We even saw Kimbo Slice's guard. Wow. To the second...
11:41 p.m. Well, after a second round that featured a very tired Kimbo Slice on his back, the YouTube legend scored the technical knockout. A vicious right landed on the cauliflower left ear of Thompson early in the third. Covered in blood, Thompson became the victim of a Slice combo that was enough to stop the fight, much to the dismay of the Great Britain product. Had it not been stopped, Slice was clearly set up for a knockout after a violent upper cut and hook.
Some final thoughts: It appeared to many that Slice tapped during a second-round guillotine. Thompson said in the post-fight press conference that Slice didn't tap. Slice said he didn't tap, but some people aren't buying it. I can't wait to check out a replay of the fight with a slow-motion and pause button when it's available. Also, near the second round when Thompson was on top of Slice, raining down some shots, it looked like Thompson was either very tired or not putting 100-percent into his strikes. At that point, Slice had nothing left in the gas tank. Even though Thompson wasn't hammering Slice, he wasn't defending himself or trying to better his position, I thought there could've been a stoppage possibly just for the fact that Slice was just taking these quasi-strikes and not doing anything.
Anyway, here's the final fight story. I was literally writing it during the press conference, updating it with more info as I got it from the fighters. It's all set now: STORY
Once again, thanks to all the readers that followed the blog and contributed to the comments section. I appreciate it.
-- Joe
Comments (30)
How difficult is it to teach a heavyweight a solid ground game?
Well, it takes years of training, but it is able to be done.
CBS ruined MMA. Total bs with that stoppaged That doctor is just looking to stop fights. CBS is a joke. They both took a beaten for a no contest. Thanks CBS
He had 5 mins to get ready
Do you think kimbo is crazy enough not to tap?
This won't be a tapp out
wow the referees were verrrry suspect tonight
i havent seen this much controversey in dozens of ufc/wec matches...kimbo got that handed to him
definately - they wanted kimbo to win - his weakness is his cardio
was hoping this would do well on primetime but some of the calls made tonight were total bs
well they did not give it to him, he punch the hell out of the bigger guy and would of got him. But the big guy did do well.
Everyone was way over protective because cbs
I agree about that with cbs - still good fights/match ups. but i think that kimbo wouldn't survive in UFC
If it were any other fighter, the Kimbo fight would have been called when he was on the ground
And not for nothing , to any fighters posting on here--
this is ur full time job, u train full time 24-7, u eat, sleep fighting...to come in to a fight and have no strategy )ie. just throw wild punches) is quite embarrassing (ie Phil Baroni the Baloney or whatever his name was)
Phil u came into that ring like a showman and u looked like a total fool getting ur a-- whipped.......u are a 50/50 fighter 10-10 record, give me a break guy
What a joke!!! All CBS did was make UFC look like the most professional, exciting game in the business....Dana White must be laughing his ass off in Las Vegas. I have to quit typing now....I got poked in the eye...LOL!
Kimbo submitted tapped 4 or 5 times when homeboy was chokin him out!!!U gotta be kiddin me....wat a crock of sh#t!!!!!Fixed fight just like wrestling..ill never watch elite xc agian..............
As the sister of a former full contact fighter I was still glad to see this on a prime time viewing spot and main stream network. Unless these fights, or any martial arts fights, become more mainstream, the fighters will never be offered much money.
I know that's the reason my brother stopped fighting, because even being offered champion fights, or lead ups, there was never any real money involved.
Of course, I am talking about the years in the nineties and up to a few years ago.
One would think if one had a fight against Cung Lee, as my brother did, and it was on ESPN, that there would be some real money in it.
Nawww.......there never was back then.
I hope these guys, the mixed martial artists, start getting paid some decent money and that mainstream media gives them more attention and respect.
Kimbo brought with him the same anticipation as a Tyson fight but he tapped and they didnt see it.
This was crap! Why wouldn't they call th Kimbo fight when you see clearly that his arms were trapped and getting pounded by forearms and elbows?!?! The second round made the country roar with excitement seeing Slice getting forced to eat fist! No matter what happened, even if Kimbo Slice one, He was exposed to his weaknesses and he thinks he's a GREAT fighter! Not likely bud! If he wen up against, Randy would plant him on his back and spank him like he did to Tito! People say boxing is fixed... That fight was fixed... The only reason people even remotely like Elite XC is because they want to see Kimbo Slice knock someone out hardcore but that didn't happen... What's happening is, that Elite XC is eating up that Kimbo will become the next, Worlds Greatest Fighter!
I'm sure Dana White is sitting at home laughing at Elite XC, saying, "What are they doing, UFC is the place to fight... Look at the crap doctors calling fights for an eye gouge(He didn't get 5 minutes), and not calling a clear desperation, and not defending himself (KIMBO) but gets a ref stoppage to a fingernail to the ear, cutting his cauliflower... They're wanting Kimbo to win JUST so this Crap with announcers, of a show will stay "alive!"
This was crap! Why wouldn't they call th Kimbo fight when you see clearly that his arms were trapped and getting pounded by forearms and elbows?!?! The second round made the country roar with excitement seeing Slice getting forced to eat fist! No matter what happened, even if Kimbo Slice won, He was exposed to his weaknesses and he thinks he's a GREAT fighter! Not likely bud! If he went up against, Randy would plant him on his back and spank him like he did to Tito! People say boxing is fixed... That fight was fixed... The only reason people even remotely like Elite XC is because they want to see Kimbo Slice knock someone out hardcore but that didn't happen... What's happening is, that Elite XC is eating up that Kimbo will become the next, Worlds Greatest Fighter!
I'm sure Dana White is sitting at home laughing at Elite XC, saying, "What are they doing, UFC is the place to fight... Look at the crap doctors calling fights for an eye gouge(He didn't get 5 minutes), and not calling a clear desperation, and not defending himself (KIMBO) but gets a ref stoppage to a fingernail to the ear, cutting his cauliflower... They're wanting Kimbo to win JUST so this Crap with announcers, of a show will stay "alive!"
This was crap! Why wouldn't they call th Kimbo fight when you see clearly that his arms were trapped and getting pounded by forearms and elbows?!?! The second round made the country roar with excitement seeing Slice getting forced to eat fist! No matter what happened, even if Kimbo Slice won, He was exposed to his weaknesses and he thinks he's a GREAT fighter! Not likely bud! If he went up against, Randy would plant him on his back and spank him like he did to Tito! People say boxing is fixed... That fight was fixed... The only reason people even remotely like Elite XC is because they want to see Kimbo Slice knock someone out hardcore but that didn't happen... What's happening is, that Elite XC is eating up that Kimbo will become the next, Worlds Greatest Fighter!
I'm sure Dana White is sitting at home laughing at Elite XC, saying, "What are they doing, UFC is the place to fight... Look at the crap doctors calling fights for an eye gouge(He didn't get 5 minutes), and not calling a clear desperation, and not defending himself (KIMBO) but gets a ref stoppage to a fingernail to the ear, cutting his cauliflower... They're wanting Kimbo to win JUST so this Crap with announcers, of a show will stay "alive!"
WOW ... I never thought it would be possible to ruin MMA, but CBS did it. What a crappy WWE version of MMA. It is a WWE version because the fight outcome was pre-determined. CBS wants this second rate company to take off, and they needed Kimbo to win. He was out for the last 90 seconds of the second round, no stoppage. Bust a cauliflower ear and that is it, kimbo needs to win for this horrible CBS show to take off. I hope that ref never goes into a UFC cage. The show itself was pathetic with too long of breaks between fights. Gina's fight was the only good true contest on the card. To CBS: I will never watch your limp ass EliteXC again. Never. I enjoyed watching old Chuck Liddel footage on SpikeTV while waitng for your horrible show to continue. If Dana White reads this: Congrats Dana, your UFC still has no competition. UFC is truely the only elite MMA company around.
Wow, a lot of people who have NO idea what they're talking about posting on here. Kimbo was wailing on Thompson when the ref stopped it...Thompson was staring blankly into space and couldn't defend himself. Thomspson was so out of it HE THREW A PUNCH AT THE REF! It wasn't just that Kimbo exploded his ear, he was wailing on Thompson who could no longer defend himself. Kimbo doesn't claim he's a great fighter. What's the first thing he said in the post-fight interview? "I have a lot to learn." You all just hate on Kimbo Slice because of his popularity and the fact he would pummel any UFC fighter.
I loved the fight on CBS. Keep more coming CBS! I am sure CBS AND Elite XC are laughing all the way to the bank. If UFC is so great why is not main stream? One episode on CBS and Elite XC is already more mainstream than UFC.
Screw golf and tennis... CBS = GOLD with NFL, NCAA and now MMA.
Kimbo would have knocked out Thomspon had that fight continued. Thompson himself said that Kimbo did not tap... and I am sure Shamrock would have pointed it out too. Stop hating. Kimbo is a manimal, best and all around bad ass.
UFC... take note.
Hey Kimbo fan boy, lets be fair now. The fight should never have made it that far. If the obvious tap out wasn't enough, what about the repeated blows to the head without intelligently defending himself. Any other fighter and that would have been stopped.
This was fixed from the beginning. They can't have their poster boy lose to some European nobody.
I think Vince McMann is a silent partner in Elite XC.
What a sham! Too bad....
I agree with the statements of nearly everyone on here. I don't agree with the "CBS sucks" and all the comments trying to make the story about UFC vs Elite XC. The biggest fraud of the night was the doctor stopping the Lawler/Smith fight. I don't see the ring as a place for a female unless she is fighting anyway - and that was an example of why I think that.
The main event was incredible. Kimbo NEVER tapped - though he probably should have several times. In the guillotine early on he should have gone out, but his heart and I guess his neck of steel saved him.
Kimbo's inexperience was what was exposed. Once fatigued all of his ground training escaped him. Experience will fix that. I've got huge respect for Kimbo. I am a fan and will watch hoping he continues to succeed and get better. He WAS handed this win - not that he wouldn't have finished it but we didn't get to see the real outcome. If they didn't stop it when his brain was getting bounced around inside his head without him even trying to protect himself, they should have let Thompson try to recover.
That said, I will watch every MMA event I can. I hope it continues to be allowed to become mainstream. Our society needs a little reality, amongst all the sensitivity and political correctness we're force fed on a daily basis.
Right, they fixed the fight; did they stage Thompson's ear exploding too? Kimbo isn't a master martial arts fighter, but he is exciting to watch.
Before you get all bent out of shape, you should consider why you don't like Slice, because the answer probably rests on your ego more than it does a guy that's just trying to make his way into MMA.
CBS and EliteXC is more mainstream than UFC? did you smoke crack before writing that post I likey mma? because you make no sense. Kimbo would never last 3 fights in the UFC because he would lose all 3. As for CBS and EliteXC, all they accomplished was showing how not to put on a MMA primetime show. Having a fight on "free TV" does not make it mainstream. CBS and Kimbo did have something in common last night: They both showed they have no business trying to get into the real MMA business. Think about it.... EliteXC is MMA, but it is like watching high school basketball and saying it is better than the NBA, and the high school players are more talented and better than the stars of the NBA. You can say it all you want but, that won't make it true. CBS can show all the EliteXC they want,to, but calling it the best wont make it the best.
you guys must be crazy.. i cant believe the hate that is going on against kimbo...even though he was highly hyped u have to take into consideration that he only had two professional mma fights before this one against guys that were at or around his size. thompson's name isnt "collosus" for no reason.. the 6'5 thompson towers the 6'2 slice and he still managed to land a ridiculous over hand right, and then an unanswered 4 punch flurry...if you look closely, thompson's eyes were rolling. he was out on his feet and without the stoppage he definitely would have been ko'd with a couple of power shots from slice. Also when on the ground there was no stoppage because the shots that thompson were throwing had no effect and did no damage. All in all that was a pretty good televised debut..
I'm sorry but I like to watch mma all the time but what makes me more ticked about elite xc is the poor ref decisions to stand fighters up even when they are busy kimbo was a beaten man on the ground ref says get busy punches are flying moving for better position and the ref stands them up were their golden boy slice has a chance to win that was bs sure looked like the odds were stacked against the better fighter sure his stand up is good but this is mma ufc has defined that will watch elite again cause one bad fight vs some other good ones but i will change the channel if kimbo fights again if i hear he is ko'd ill watch the replay other than that ufc all the way just more profesional I am surprised that thomson was so pissed he smacked the ref out of aggravation that flurry was no better than the flurry he took the round before just my 2 cents
I think kimbo is crazy enough not to tap haha, crazy being the keyword