EliteXC Returns To CBS On Saturday, July 26, At Stockton, California
CBS and EliteXC announced today that the next CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS will be broadcast live from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif. on Saturday, July 26 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The four-fight broadcast will be highlighted by the highly anticipated rematch between “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler and Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith for the EliteXC Middleweight Title.
The night of mixed martial action will begin with three live fights on SHOWTIME (8:00-9:00 PT, ET/PT) including an EliteXC Heavyweight Championship match featuring Antonio “Big Foot” Silva.
“One venue, two networks and seven exciting world class fights adds up to an entertaining and memorable mixed martial arts event in prime time,” said Doug DeLuca, Executive Chairman, ProElite, Inc.
In a rematch of their exciting, controversial first fight on May 31 on CBS, Lawler, the EliteXC middleweight champion from St. Louis by way of Davenport, Iowa, will put his title on the line once again against hard-hitting challenger Smith of Elk Grove, Calif. Their last meeting, a fight that many called the fight of the night, ended in controversy when doctors called the fight after Smith caught an unintentional finger in the eye late in the third round. Smith claimed he was ready to continue, but the fight was stopped and declared a no contest.
In a second world title fight on CBS, two of the sports’ most talented welterweights will collide when San Francisco’s Jake Shields, who has won nine in a row, gets his long awaited shot at a world title when he squares off against Nick Thompson of Minneapolis, Minn., who has won 12 straight and 20 of his last 21 fights, for the vacant EliteXC 170-pound belt.
The world title fights are scheduled for five, five-minute rounds.
Also on CBS, hometown favorite Nick Diaz of Stockton, Calif. will face Thomas “Wildman” Denny of Hesperia, Calif. The talented Diaz, who will be seeking his third victory in three months, needs a win to stay in the hunt for a potential rematch with ElliteXC lightweight champion KJ Noons. Denny, a winner in four of his last five fights, is coming off a first-round disqualification victory over the highly regarded Malaipet on March 21, 2008.
The remaining primetime match-ups for the CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS on July 26 will be announced at a later date. The SHOWTIME match-ups also will be announced in the near future.
CBS Sports play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, cageside analysts Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo, and reporter Karyn Bryant will return as the “CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS” broadcast team and also have the call for the SHOWTIME telecast.
CBS’s inaugural mixed martial arts broadcast on May 31, 2008 dominated its time period in all key young men and young adult demographics. The total viewership increased throughout the night, peaking at 6.51m viewers for the Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson fight. The entire broadcast (9:00-11:51 PM) averaged 4.85m viewers.
The intense nature of the contests and the theatrical elements of its live events have made mixed martial arts one of the fastest growing spectator sports in the U.S. Over the last several years, the genre has seen tremendous growth in popularity, especially among the coveted 18-34 demographic.
Mixed martial arts is a sport evolved from a number of ancient combat disciplines including judo, jiu-jitsu, karate, wrestling and kickboxing. World-class athletes engage in hand-to-hand combat in a ring — both caged and traditional — and must adapt their fighting style to fit their opponent. The wide variety of styles and techniques make every event an unpredictable spectacle.
CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS will be produced by SHOWTIME Sports. The executive producer is David Dinkins, Jr.
Tags: Antonio Silva, Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Nick Thompson, Robbie Lawler, Scott Smith, Thomas Denny
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Who’s Silva fighting any clues ?
Ricco maybe ?
ill prob watch this just bc its on tv – just how i watch the other leagues on HDnet when they are on (which is how i discovered Ryan “Real Deal” Ford) but that it….not a fan of elite..this card looks boring…just curious to see if they make changes…like axe the dancing girls.. and the celeb camio’s
YEAH SAME HERE I’LL JUST WATCH IT CUZ ITS ON
they have to be making crap loads off the duel networks. do they have a full fight card yet for that event anyone local besides diaz?
Don’t know if I will watch or not. guess it depends on the full card cause that last one well we all know about it…
i am excited anytime that i get to see Nick Diaz fight…
Maybe i read this wrong, but why show the heavyweight title fight on Showtime instead of on CBS? If they really want to establish themselves I would think they would want to get all their belt holders the most exposure as possible.
because of greed… CBS owns showtime. CBS wants more showtime subscribers.
How the hell does this card sound boring? Your on crack lol I can’t wait to see shields fight I have never saw him fight but hear great things and watching lawler and diaz fight is always exciting!!!
anyone looking forward to the gilbert melendez fight???
I’ll watch…….How else can I properly bash Elite if I don’t pay attention to their every move? Pissed off I am that Elite has certain fighters I enjoy watching quite a bit. Elite gives off a crappy vibe to me. Must have something to do with dancers, rappers, Kimbo being the face of the promotion, Gary Shaw being a complete moron as far as MMA goes and me being negative.
Ehh I would waych it but I will be at Sound & Fury so I just hope Nick Diaz wins.
i am not a kimbo fan at all he was a great backyard bare fist brawler but i would not want to watch him in a controlled sport i dread the day he pulls off his first submission lol i am not sure if bas ruten can get through that beard. nick diaz will do some damage. also the last time i saw scott smith he didnt do that well (TUF) however i did like him in the finale against pete sell. robbie lawler is always entertaining i would like to see nick diaz vs robbie lawler again.
This is a good (not great) card… but it’s free to watch so any MMA fan not watching it out of spite is a moron.
If your a California native like myself you have to love this card. Diaz is a Stockton CA native, Scott Smith of Elk Grove CA, Jake Shields of San Francisco CA. I will be in the fith row hyping my local CA fighters up. Anyone who hates on Elite XC is trippin a fights a fight even the most underated fighters can give the crowd a show. And just imagine if they announce that Silva will fight Kimbo Slice for the heavyweight title WOW!!!!!!!!! You better watch this fight I have a feeling it will be worth it.
does anyone know of where i could watch the full airing of the fight? i recorded the shotime instead of the cbs fight the other night.
is the cbs fight going to be replayed? can i buy it somewhere on the internet?