Recently in ProElite Category

from mmaweekly:
MMAInsider has just learned from Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker that the deal to purchase Pro Elite assets has closed.

Check back on MMAWeekly.com for details as they become available.

Ted's Take: So, what does this mean? Well, for starters, we'll be seeing some of the same fighters who fought for Pro Elite, like Robby Lawler, Scott Smith, and Gina Carano. Do I really have to say, "Hopefully not Kimbo Slice?"

Of course there are tons of questions. I wonder if Strikeforce will call it Strikeforce, or if they'll keep the Pro Elite brand separate, but then just share fighters? What about belts between the two organizations? Will they try to unify them, or keep them separate? Will Strikeforce get the same deal that Pro Elite had with Showtime and CBS? I could go on, but I'm sure it will all come clearer in the weeks to come.

from bloodyelbow:
After a number of deals falling through at the last minute, it appears Pro Elite has either been sold or is in the very final stages of being sold as of this morning. Under the terms of the sale, the buyer would likely return to CBS television with live events this year.

The most likely buyer is Strikeforce. The other leading contender was King of The Cage, but industry sources have suggested that Pro Elite fighters are much more willing to fight for Strikeforce than KoTC, and the ease of signing new contracts may have played a part in finalizing this deal.

If the buyer is Strikeforce, the contracts are probably not transferrable, but the vast majority of fighters will likely be happy to just move over and fight there just to get on with their lives.

This is great news for fighters who are finally free from limbo to pursue their careers. If Strikeforce is the buyer, every fighter will have a choice to either move over to the new organization or pursue free agency. As the UFC learned when they bought Pride, personal service contracts are generally not transferrable, especially in a right to work state like California.

[UPDATE] by Nick Thomas: Announcement coming tomorrow or Friday according to Sherdog Radio

from Sherdog.com:
Showtime Networks Inc. on Friday put the brakes on plans for the "public sale of personal property of Pro Elite Inc. and certain subsidiaries" that was scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles. Among the assets that were to have been auctioned were the contracts of more than 80 mixed martial artists still signed to the capsized company.

Chris DeBlasio, Director for Sports Communication at Showtime, declined to comment on why the auction was "adjourned" and about whether or not it would proceed at a later date. Remaining Pro Elite management and agents representing fighters under contract moved last week to block the fire sale.

Will Kimbo get his bread with a new ProElite boss?

by Steve Sievert, mmajunkie.com
What's left of ProElite, Inc. will head to the auction block later this month.

Showtime, which owns a 20 percent stake in the company, has authorized the sale of ProElite's assets. Showtime and CBS made the announcement Tuesday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing outlined Showtime's intention to sell ProElite's "tangible and intangible assets" to the highest bidder at a public auction on Nov. 17.

ProElite Chairman Chuck Chairman did not return messages left by MMAjunkie.com
The auction will take place in Los Angeles.

The sale will include contracts with a number of EliteXC fighters, including Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, Gina Carano, Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, Frank Shamrock and many others.

The filing officially quashes any rumor of EliteXC's possible resurrection in 2009.

by Loretta Hunt, sherdog.com
Though it had a platform that rivaled all others in mixed martial arts, EliteXC and its parent company, Pro Elite, couldn't stop themselves from falling off the ledge.

Launched in December 2006, Pro Elite entered a booming market and quickly established a place behind perennial leader, the UFC, with the sheer magnitude of its size and scope. However, it was a combination of mismanagement, runaway personalities and frivolous spending that led to its demise, said one of its consulting executives, T. Jay Thompson.

"Mismanagement, it was mismanaged by people that didn't know MMA, that didn't have the proper years of experience," said Thompson of the company's cease of operations Monday after only 22 months in business. "It's not an exact science. There's not a book that you can write to learn how to promote shows."

from sportsnet.ca:
The alleged "match-fixing" between Seth Petruzelli and Kimbo Slice undermines all the recent efforts of trying to make MMA an mainstream sport.

After years of trying to legitimize the sport of MMA to the mainstream media and the general public, all of that hard work to educate the masses appears to have taken a hit over the past seven days.

The worst stems from a match-fixing scandal that alleges Elite XC promoters tried to bribe Seth Petruzelli to prolong his fight with Kimbo Slice. Petruzelli, a last-minute fill-in to fight Slice last Saturday, won the bout 14 seconds into the first round. In a radio interview conducted with a Florida radio station on Monday, Petruzelli said: "The promoters kind of hinted to me, and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him. They didn't want me to take him down, let's just put it that way. It was worth my while to try to stand up and punch with him."

At the risk of sounding like a total perv, I heard Gina had to "disrobe" to make weight. Insert Butt-head snicker here - heh-heh, heh-heh.

According to Sherdog.com, Daley and Shields started shoving each other and had to be pulled apart.

A svelte Arlovski vs. a ... um, not-so-svelte Nelson.

Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice

Kelly Kobold vs. Gina Carano

Benji Radach vs. Ninja Rua

One of the true ambassadors and brains in the sport of MMA, Frank Shamrock, breaks down how his adopted brother, Ken, can win Saturday against Kimbo Slice.

I don't know what the big deal is about this interview. So Kimbo threw a few curse words in there. Wow, Dana White says more than that in your average TUF episode. The only thing I thought was a littel strange was Tony Kornheiser saying he didn't know much about MMA. I disagree - he's been criticizing it for years. Yeah, his and the other guy's questions were a little bit soft and stupid - "Where did you get the name Kimbo Slice?" "Is there anything Kimbo Slice is wimpy about?" but what do you expect from these ESPN guys? Anyway, see the video, you decide.

Jake Shields

Paul Daley

The war of words heats up between Paul Daley and Jake Shields, who square off at EliteXC's Heat event Oct. 4 on CBS. At stake is Shields' EliteXC welterweight championship. Like I've said before (at least I think I did), it's your classic grappler vs. striker. Shields is a BJJ blackbelt, while Daley is very skilled at knocking people out.
Here is a snippet from an interview Shilds did with soemthing called "Ultimo Round".... That's "Last Round", for all you non-Hispanic speakers:

UR: Jake, you're going to defend the welterweight title against the Cage Rage Champion, Paul Daley. Recently, He stated that:

"He won't remember much...just waking up I guess. I'm gonna be real mean in this fight, fuck Jake Shields, you're going to see. I am stronger, I hit harder, I take punishment and he will not take me down, or hold me there for long if I make a mistake. This is gonna be a shock to those Jake Shields nut huggers. Once I am in that top ten, I'm coming after everyone above me...." (Paul Daley to Fightline.com)

Please, comment.

JS: I think he has really good Muay Thai, but he's in over his head and he knows it. He's mouthing off to get over his own fear. Its's like a little dog barking.

According to Sergio Non from USAToday, here's more on the Affliction-Golden Boy alliance, which now, based on the loaning of Arlovski and Nelson, now includes EliteXC:

Under a deal worked out to co-promote bouts with Affliction Entertainment, Elite XC has added a fight between Affliction fighters Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson to the Oct. 4 show that will air on CBS. Arlovski-Nelson will is currently slated to be the third of five fights planned for the live broadcast, said Michael Cohen, chief operating officer of Affliction.

Elite XC and Affliction will also co-promote Affliction's next event with Golden Boy Promotions, now scheduled for Jan. 24, Cohen said. That fight will air either on CBS or Showtime, he said.

"We truly believe this co-promote will help the sport to become more mainstream," Cohen told me on Wednesday. "Fans should certainly look forward to seeing more fights on primetime television and Showtime."

Arlovski: the call of the wild

Nelson: rub the Buddha

from sherdog.com's Loretta HUnt:
At least two fighters will not sit on the sidelines following the postponement of Affliction's Oct. 4 "Day of Reckoning" event in Las Vegas.

Former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski (13-5) and IFL kingpin Roy Nelson (13-2) have been offered a heavyweight bout at EliteXC "Heat" Oct. 4 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. The event will be aired live on CBS.

Arlovski's management team would not comment Wednesday on the proposed bout, while Nelson's attorney, Rod Donohoo, also refrained from remarks. However, Sherdog.com has learned from separate sources that both fighters have agreed in principle to the match and that contracts have been issued for review.

Noons is probably not so cocky now, unless maybe he wanted to be a preliminary boxer all along ...

Just wanted to say I thought EliteXC did the right thing in stripping KJ Noons of his 160-pound title after he refused to fight Nick Diaz. I mean, let's boil it down here:

-- The sign of a good champion is one who fights whoever the matchmakers put in front of him.

-- The first time the two fought, Noons won by cut stoppage. Yes, he dominated Diaz, but it wasn't a KO, TKO or submission, or even a unanimous decision. Who wouldn't want a re-match to clear up any doubt as to who the better fighter is?

-- Diaz worked his way back into title contention, stringing together some wins after his loss to Noons.

-- The fight would have been on frickin' CBS. You can't get better exposure as a fighter than that.

I say ElteXC has a tournmant for the vacant title. None of this, here are the top two contenders. Get fighters from all over the world - Russia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, and of course, the US - and stage a 16-man or 8-man tournament.

This is one of the main card bouts on EliteXC's next CBS show on Oct. 4, and it's for Shield's welterweight title. Shields is on a 10-fight win streak, while Daley is on a six-fight win streak.

This fight appears to be a classic striker vs. grappler scenario. Daley, 25, who recently came out of retirement, is a pure striker, and most of his losses have come from rear-naked chokes and guillotines.

Shields, while he has won by TKO several times, seems to favor submissions - actually, that's putting it mildly - he's a black belt under Cesar Gracie. That would seem to be the smart move here against Daley, especially when the title's on the line. Sometimes fighters get caught up standing with a striking specialist - a la Tito Ortiz with Chuck Liddell - and have paid for it. However, when Georges St-Pierre said he was going to out-wrestle Josh Koscheck, did anyone think he could do it, and do it decisively? Despite his athleticism, probably not that many. But that's exactly what St-Pierre did.

I see Shields winning, either with the sub or by unanimous decision, where he will avoid Daley's bombs, and take the challenger into the championship rounds.

Diaz, Gary Shaw and Noons

from mmaweekly.com:
LOS ANGELES (Sept. 19, 2008) - KJ Noons of San Diego has been stripped of his EliteXC lightweight title. The announcement was made Friday by EliteXC Head of Fight Operations, Jeremy Lappen.

The foremost reason EliteXC is taking this action, Lappen said, was due to Noons' reluctance to defend against leading 160-pound contender Nick Diaz of Stockton, Calif.

"We are stripping KJ of his championship belt for refusing to defend against Diaz,'' Lappen said. "It's a very unfortunate situation but we cannot have belt-holders who refuse to fight the top contenders.We want champions who will fight anyone, anytime, anyplace.That's the mentality all champions should have.

First, we have this one on Showtime:

Then, there some Heat:

And Ken's adopted brother Frank "The Legend" Shamrock's predictions:

Tito and baby-momma Jenna.

from sherdog.com:
A chipper Tito Ortiz said he's still very much a free agent on Friday's episode of "Inside MMA" on HDNet.

Ortiz -- who also announced that he and longtime girlfriend Jenna Jameson are expecting their first child together -- recently satisfied a multi-fight contract with the UFC, where he has been one of the promotion's top-three draws for the last 11 years.

The popular former UFC light heavyweight champion ran down a list of promotional candidates who could snag his services in the coming months.

"EliteXC -- possibility. Affliction -- possibility. UFC -- a small chance of that happening," said Ortiz. "The things between me and Dana White, I'm shoving it off and moving on with my life.

A public feud between UFC president Dana White and the polarizing Ortiz has been well documented, to the point where Ortiz commented that he would not re-sign with the UFC on multiple occasions.

However, the Octagon still remains a viable option for the 33-year-old fighter, whose December 2007 rematch against former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell remains the highest grossing pay-per-view in the sport's history, netting a reported one million and eighty thousand buys.

"I've been doing this for 11 years now, and I still have five or six years ahead of me to compete," said Ortiz. "I want to make sure it's going to be a company that backs me, supports me, and uses me [in] the best [way] that I've been working this far to get."

Ortiz (15-6-1) dropped a unanimous decision to Lyoto Machida (13-0) at UFC 84 "Ill Will" on May 24 in Las Vegas for his second loss in three fights.

Noons bloodied Diaz in their first fight.

from mmajunkie.com:
EliteXC lightweight champion K.J. Noons, who's currently embroiled in a public spat with EliteXC officials after his management team refused to return phone calls requesting an Oct. 4 rematch Nick Diaz, has issued a formal statement on the matter.

Noons emailed the statement to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), and we today confirmed its authenticity with Noons himself.

Noons alleges EliteXC officials of a variety of misdeeds, including poorly publicizing his career, breach of his confidentially agreement, poor pay, threats of a lawsuit, and instigating a now-infamous in-ring scuffle between Noons' and Diaz's camps during a June event in Hawaii.

In the statement, Noons claims the problem isn't with Diaz and, instead, stems from two years of the sub-par treatment from the organization, specifically ProElite CEO Chuck Champion and Vice President Jared Shaw.

powered by ODEO

Tom Joyce and I talk about the latest Rampage news, Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock and call Biff Walizer for an exclusive interview. Biff fights in his second pro bout Saturday night in Kentucky. Just after we get Biff on the line Tom has to take over, as I get called out to a police stand-off in York (Gotta do the cops reporting when there's breaking news).

Here's an excerpt from a statement (from fiveouncesofpain.com) released by Brett Rogers, who was hoping to get a shot at Kevin "KImbo Slice" Ferguson, or as Rogers now calls him, "Fergi."

As for Oct 4th; that was our spot. Shamrock with his name and giant ego butted in line to get a slice of Kevin. At 103 years of age Ken usurped our rightful place against the YouTube champ. Our sincerest hope is that Ken whips Kimbo and then we can finally euthanize the "World's Most Dangerous Man" and relegate him to some MMA dinosaur exhibit. Maybe taxidermy him and (Dan) Severn and place them on a rotating pedestal where they can endless circle each other.

If Ken proves to be more sham [than] rock and Fergi beats him, then the Slice hype grows even greater. Dude is already more myth [than] Sasquatch, Chupacabra and a [expletive] unicorn combined. Kevin is the black Yeti.

Caught between a Shamrock and a hard place, Kevin has chosen the old over the new; the past over the future. But Fergi ... the hard place is coming. By putting us off, making us wait will only make matters worse. There is nothing business about it anymore. Kimbo made it a point to go frontin' to our boys at Big Black. But that street thug B.S. might work well with the fan bois and the Internet dorks who think your street cred means something; but Son ... Brett comes from Cabrini Green; the worst 12 blocks of America. compared to that your street is Sesame Street.

So you can say it is very personal between Brett and Fergi. So go ahead and make us wait while you fight Tank (Abbott) and Shamrock. Hell, why not fight (Keith) Hackney, Harold Howard, Fred Ettish and the rest of Jurassic MMA? And while your shuckin' and duckin' we will be hustlin' and muscilin' and when the bell finally tolls the only real question left is: do you wake up looking at canvas or arena lights?

from proelite.com:
After much speculation about who Kimbo Slice would be locking horns with on the October 4th CBS card, it has been confirmed that Kimbo Slice will be facing MMA legend Ken Shamrock at EliteXC "Heat".

Adding the high-profile, well-known name of Ken Shamrock to a card that already includes superstar Kimbo Slice and cross-over sensation Gina Carano creates an event that is certain to appeal to the casual MMA fan-- a group that help generate the record-setting viewership for a mixed martial arts broadcast back on May 31st.

Ted's Take: You can look at this from a couple points-of-view. It's a great fight for visibility, i.e., ratings, something EliteXC needs desperately right now. Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson's popularity is on the rise - as long as he keeps beating up cans - and Shamrock is a legend in the sport, definitely well-known to the casual fans.

Also, it's good for EliteXC because the casual fan is not going to consider Shamrock an over-the-hill can. To them, he's probably still the jacked, shootfighting machine from early UFC, or the massive high-flying ankle-locking psychopath from the WWF. But he's not either one of those things. Not anymore.

He was, at one time, a dominant groundfighter who left the sport when it entered its dark days to earn more money. You can't blame the guy for that. When he returned years later, he found the sport had progressed. And he tried to progress with it, improving his striking game. He had an all-out brawl with Don Frye in PRIDE, when both fighters were in the twilight of their careers. But in the past few years, he's lost, and lost badly. Even to virtual unknown "Buzz" Berry. So it's good for EliteXC, because Kimbo will most likely crush Shamrock - if not for a Haily Mary heel hook - and his growing "legend" will progress.

Who suffers is the hardcore fan. Most of them want to see Kimbo get exposed: either by a skilled muay Thai striker, or a jiu-jitsu wizard. It nearly happened when James Thompson had Kimbo up against the fence and rained down numerous - and unanswered - punches and elbows. Some said the fight should have been stopped there. But I could see it the other way - there wasn't a lot behind those strikes.

So the hardcores will have to wait a little longer for that to happen. In the meantime, Shamrock has my respect - he's entering a Lion's Den, a phrase he coined for his gyms -in Slice, who despite all his hype, is a powerful puncher.

All right, things are looking great - at least on paper - in the world of MMA for the rest of the year. Here are just some the major match-ups I've heard about, most confirmed, some still just rumor, but probably will happen:

-- Matt Lindland Vs. Trevor Prangley at Affliction 2 - Day of Reckoning.

-- Jay Hieron vs. Drew Fickett, also at Affliction 2.

-- Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley at EliteXC's Oct. 4 show on CBS.

-- Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn on UFC's Jan. 31 show.

-- Also upcoming on a UFC event is Brock Lesnar vs. Cheick Kongo and Joe Steveson vs. Kenny Florian.

-- Also on the CBS show, Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobald and Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson vs. Brett Rogers.

-- And finally, another Affliction match-up, former IFL lightweight champion Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon.

Holy crap! That's a lotta MMA.

from mmajunkie.com:
EliteXC officials have distributed a fight agreement and set a deadline for EliteXC 160-pound champion KJ Noons (7-2) to accept an Oct. 4 title fight with challenger Nick Diaz (18-7).

EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw contacted MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) late Wednesday to discuss the deadline that the organization set.

"A bout agreement has been sent to KJ Noons," Shaw said. "He has until 5 (p.m. PT Thursday) to accept it, or he can face public opinion."

That public opinion has already been decidedly mixed since MMAjunkie.com reported Noons' unwillingness to commit to the bout earlier today. Shaw claims he has been unable to contact Noons' camp but hinted that the fighter may be unhappy with his contracted pay.

Messages MMAjunkie.com left with Noons and his manager, Mark Dion, to discuss the deadline weren't immediately returned.

When contacted earlier in the day about the fight, both individuals declined to comment.

In their original Oct. 2007 bout, Noons was crowned EliteXC's first-ever lightweight champion after forcing a TKO stoppage due to Diaz's multiple facial cuts.

Here's their first fight:

- Watch more free videos

from mmajunkie.com:
Antonio Silva, who was recently crowned EliteXC's first-ever heavyweight champion, has been suspended one year and fined $2,500 for his alleged use of the anabolic steroid Boldenone.

The California State Athletic Commission alerted MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) of the news today via email.

Silva (11-1) scored a second-round TKO of Justin Eilers at EliteXC's July 26 "Unfinished Business" event in Stockton, Calif., but he failed a drug test administered by the CSAC at the event.

Boldenone was developed for veterinary use -- primarily for horses -- but has been used by football players, boxers, mixed martial artists and other athletes in recent years as a performance-enhancing drugs.

Independent tests were conducted by Quest Diagnostics for Silva's "A" sample and Laboratoire De Controle Du Dopage for the "B" sample, according to the CSAC's Bill Douglas.

All other fighters who competed at the event tested clean for drugs of abuse and performance-enhancing drugs.

Silva will have the opportunity to file an appeal with the commission.

from mmaweekly.com:
It has been nine months since K.J. Noons surprised many in the mixed martial arts world, winning the EliteXC 160-pound divisional title with a TKO stoppage of Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Nick Diaz following the first round of their championship bout.

Noons followed up his title-winning performance with an impressive first round TKO finish of another UFC veteran in Yves Edwards.

Over that same span, Diaz has strung together a three-fight victorious streak, stopping Katsuya Inoue, Muhsin Corbbrey, and Thomas Denny, all by TKO. Now his camp is clambering for a rematch.

"His win over Thomas Denny was a crucial test for him. He needed to prove he could make weight and pass California's stringent anti-marijuana drug policy. Diaz easily made weight and passed the drug test," said a recent post on GracieFighter.com, a site operated by Diaz' trainer Cesar Gracie. "His recent wins have convinced EliteXC that his next fight should be a rematch with K.J. Noons at the Oct. 4 CBS show. However, it is still unclear if K.J.'s camp will take the fight."

Apparently there isn't that much of a cloud over Noons' camp after all. According to EliteXC vice president Jared Shaw, the promotion has tried to make the fight happen and wants it to happen as part of the Oct. 4 event, but to no avail.

"Nick Diaz is the No. 1 contender. K.J. Noons should step up and be the champion that we think he is and take this fight. Nick Diaz will take this fight any place, anywhere," Shaw told MMAWeekly.com. "(Noons' management) won't even return our calls.

Jared Hamman: Look everybody! I can levitate!

From Proelite:
In an inspired and impressive performance, once-beaten light heavyweight Jared Hamman (11-1) got his revenge against Po'ai Suganuma (9-2), winning by 2:34, first-round TKO in a fast-paced, exciting main event on ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series Friday on SHOWTIME at the Table Mountain Casino.

The crowd-pleasing mixed martial arts fight card, presented by Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.'s live fight division, EliteXC, aired on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT. It will be replayed on SHO 2 this Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 10 p.m. ET/PT and will be available On Demand from Monday, Aug. 18-Sept. 14.

In other SHOWTIME fights: talented lightweight contender Fabricio "Morango" Camoes (11-4) of San Diego submitted (rear naked choke) Sammy Morgan (19-11) of St. Paul, Minn., at 0:47 of the opening round; comebacking Cyrille "The Snake" Diabate (15-6-1) of Rueil-Malmaison, France, scored a dominant unanimous decision over game but outgunned Jaime Fletcher (9-4) of San Bernardino, Calif., at 205 pounds; Rosi Sexton (9-1) of Manchester, England, won an entertaining, hard-fought split decision over Debi Purcell (4-2) of Laguna Hills, Calif., in a women's match at 140 pounds, and Ray Lizama (6-5) of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., registered an upset 2:15, second-round TKO (strikes) over King of the Cage middleweight champion Keith Berry (7-3) of Las Vegas in a non-title affair.

From mmajunkie.com:
All fighters scheduled to compete at tonight's ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series event have made weight for the show.

The fighters hit the scales Thursday night.

Tonight's event, which airs on Showtime, takes place at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, Calif., and features a main-event rematch between Po'ai Suganuma (9-1) and Jared Hamman (9-1), whose original fight in April ended in controversy.

Back at an April ShoXC event, Hamman clipped his opponent with an overhand right, but Suganuma delivered a flying knee that connected. The blow floored Hamman and ended the bout. Hamman immediately sprung to his feet to protest the stoppage -- to no avail.

They'll fight again tonight on a solid ShoXC lineup.

The full weigh-in results included:

Jared Hamman (203.5) vs. Poai Suganuma (205)
Cyrille Diabate (203.5) vs. Jaime Fletcher (204)
Fabricio Camoes (161) vs. Sammy Morgan (160)
Debi Purcell (129) vs. Rosi Sexton (130)
Keith Berry (191) vs. Ray Lizama (190.5)
David Douglas (154.5) vs. Marcus Levesser (154.5)
Lucas Gamaza (169.5) vs. Kenny Johnson (171)
Jesse Brock (139) vs. Josh Rave (131)
Ralph Lopez (148.5) vs. Roberto Vargas (150)
Katrina Alendale (138.5) vs. Melanie LaCroix (139)

EliteXC's next show is Sept. 20 at the University of New Mexico's basketball arena, dubbed "The Pit" in Albuquerque, NM. I believe it will be seen exclusively on Showtime. Rumored to be on the card are Joey Villasenor, Paul "I retired at age 25" Daley, Dave "Pee Wee" Herman, and this fighter:

Michelle "The Karate Hottie" Waterson

Here's a preview of Icon Sport's latest event (Icon being owned by ProElite), featuring Phil Baroni, Kala Kolohe Hose, Mark Oshiro and Bao Quach

powered by ODEO

We're back with a vengeance ... not really, just always wanted to say that. Anyway, Tom Joyce and I give you our opinions on the latest goings-on in the wild-and-wooly world of MMA. Enjoy, dammit!

From sherdog.com:
Internet street-fighting sensation Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson will return to the cage as part of a primetime EliteXC show on Oct. 4 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. Ferguson's inclusion on the card, scheduled to air live on CBS, was announced on Saturday.

No opponent was named for the Bahamian-born heavyweight, who grew up 30 miles away in Miami, Fla.

"Fighting back at home, again, for the second time, is going to be great," Ferguson said. "Way more fans this time, way more friends. We're going to do it again, and hopefully, I'll pull off another victory ... win by another KO and have a bigger party this time. I'm not sure who I'm fighting yet, but I'm looking forward to a hard fight."

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Nick "The Strap" Thompson.

photo courtesy of CBS Sports

Complete weigh-in results, courtesy of mmajunkie.com:

MAIN CARD (CBS)

Champ Robbie Lawler (184.5) vs. Scott Smith (185) (for EliteXC middleweight title)
Thomas Denny (159) vs. Nick Diaz (159.5)
Jake Shields (169.5) vs. Nick Thompson (169.5) (for vacant EliteXC welterweight title)
Shayna Baszler (139) vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (140)
David Douglas (157) vs. Marlon Mathias (161) (swing bout)

MAIN CARD (SHOWTIME)

Justin Eilers (218) vs. Antonio Silva (257.5) (for vacant EliteXC heavyweight title)
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (203.5) vs. Travis Galbraith (202)
Brian Caraway (140.5) vs. Wilson Reis (139.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Mike Cook (232.5) vs. Carl Seumanutafa (255.5)
Drew Montgomery (224) vs. Brandon Tarn (252)
Jeremy Freitag (205) vs. Anthony Ruiz (206)

This episode features recaps of the recent Affliction and UFC cards and a preview of Saturday's EliteXC "Unfinished Business" event.

Who wants more MMA??? Better yet, who doesn't? Well, ask and you shall receive. EliteXC is having its second show on CBS live, this Saturday at 9 p.m., called "Unfinished Business."

We've got a rematch from the previous show where the middleweight title fight between champ Robbie Lawler and challenger Scott Smith ended with an eye-poke. Then, there's Jake Shields taking on Nick "The Goat" Thompson for the welterweight strap.

Nick Diaz will also see action against Thomas "Wildman" Denny. I wonder if KJ Noons will be there to put his mug on him.

Event promo:

Open workout: