Source: Submit To MMA On May 31, 2008, MMA aired on network prime time television for the first time when EliteXC found its way to CBS. We're talking about a Saturday Night of Fight's at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, folks. Oh yeah, and in case you didn't know there was this guy by the name of Kimbo Slice on the card.
So, let's get to this review Submit To MMA style.
Brett Rogers vs. Jon Murphy : The Next Contender?
"I come to fight and I come to win," Murphy said before this bout. Unfortunately for Murphy, things didn't work out the way he was hoping.
In sum, Murphy did land one nice shot early on that seemed to dizzy Rogers for a moment. However, soon after Rogers landed a severe right that dropped Murphy to the canvas. Moments later, the referee was forced to stop the bout.
Brett Rogers wins via TKO at 1:01 of round one.
Phil Baroni vs. Joey Villasenor
"I'll be watching that fight (Lawler- Smith) after I put Smokin' Joe Villasenor on ice," said Baroni before his bout against Villasenor. Confident or cocky?
Looks like it was the second one on this night.
Joey Villasenor landed a very hard left hand that dizzied his opponent early in the initial stanza. After a missed but dangerous standing guillotine attempt, Villasenor hit home with a few more punches that left Baroni on the canvas with the referee waiving his hands above him.
Joey Villasenor wins via TKO at 1:11 of round number one. Not a very good night for Phil Baroni.
Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young : Girl's Night Out
"A fight's a fight and once you get in the cage, everything goes away and it's just you against that person," said Gina Carano regarding the hoopla surrounding prime time network television's first female MMA match.
Bottom line is that when Gina Carano speaks, one should listen. In other words, this was definitely a fight, and a heckuva one at that.
Both fighters traded takedowns during the first round. However, Carano landed a lot of front kicks that did damage. That said, Young was tough and landed some shots of her own.
Still, the first round went to Carano.
In the second, Carano was aggressive but, "a little sloppy," in her own words. Along with this, Young landed some very hard low kicks. But that would only seemingly serve to anger Carano, who almost immediately began to answer the call with a flurry of powerful strikes that over the course of time did their damage. It was a body kick, however, that eventually put Young down.
Though Carano was unable to finish the fight with a rear naked choke before the end of the stanza, the doctor did stop the fight between rounds as Young was visibly beat up and unable to continue.
Gina Carano takes it home after the second round by way of TKO.
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith : EliteXC Middleweight Championship Fight
"If I win this belt, it's going to change my whole life," said Smith coming into this fight. Of course, the 'if' was the word to ponder. So, let's get to it.
After a feeling out process, Lawler connected with a right hand that hurt Smith and continued to land several punches in succession after that. But Smith is known for his toughness for a reason; thus, he recovered. Later in the stanza, Lawler connected with several jabs before landing a devastating body kick. When the bell tolled, Smith had absorbed a flurry of punches and collapsed in his corner.
A round for Lawler.
The second stanza saw Smith start connecting with low kicks and hard knees in the clinch. He followed that up with some hard punches from a distance. Still, Lawler eventually conducted a lesson in his own version of the clinch by holding Smith's head and continually battering him with uppercuts.
The end of the stanza saw an awesome back and forth struggle with both fighters landing punches and elbows in rapid succession.
This was a close round.
The third round started with Lawler landing a lot of jabs. However, as he battered away at his opponent, a stray thumb caught Smith in the eye.
And that's when things got really crazy.
Despite Smith's clear desire to continue to fight and his seeming ability to do so, the doctor stopped the bout.
In other words, a doctor-not the fighters-decided this one. Well, that actually wasn't totally true, either, as neither fighter won this one.
It was ruled a no contest.
Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson : The Main Event
"Kimbo, I'm coming all the way from the UK to give you a good old fashioned British beatdown," said Thompson before the fight. Now that was one possibility. The other?
You know as well as anyone.
Thompson looked for the takedown early and absorbed some knees on the way before getting it. Slice got up for a moment only to be deposited on his back once again. Eventually, the two got up again with Thompson looking for the standing guillotine unsuccessfully and taking some knees for his effort.
A big elbow by Slice followed and then some separation. Thompson landed a low kick but was then surprisingly taken down by Slice, whose decision to look for the neck crank allowed his opponent to turn him over, trap one arm, and start looking for a kimura himself.
Slice then showed off some of his newfound ground skills by turning Thompson over, following that up with some elbows.
A competitive round.
Slice started the second stanza off well, landing punches and knees that rocked his adversary. However, a guillotine attempt by the former internet fighter failed and allowed Thompson the top position on the ground. Still, the action was minimal on the canvas, prompting the referee to stand things up.
Several hard shots by Slice in succession followed. Thompson then did what he had been doing the entire fight; he looked for the takedown and got it. From there, the fight was almost stopped as Thompson delivered multiple unanswered punches and elbows along the wall before the bell.
A clear round for Thompson due to how it ended.
Slice literally popped Thompson's swollen (cauliflower) ear in the final round with a hard punch and followed that up with a shot that left his British adversary looking uneasy on his feet.
Unfortunately, this preceeded what was probably another too-early stoppage when the referee waived Slice off. Yes, Thompson was hurt. Yes, he may have been about to go to sleep. But he was not done yet.
Another good fight that ended in disappointment.
More from Submit To MMA: Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta Preview and Prediction On the night
-Kevin "
Kimbo Slice" Furgeson def.
James Thompson by TKO at 0:38, R3
-Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith ruled a No Contest (Doctor Stoppage) at 3:26, R3
-Gina Carano def. Kaitlin Young by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 3:00, R2
-Joey Villasenor def. Phil Baroni by TKO at 1:11, R1
-
Brett Rogers def. Jon Murphy by KO at 1:01, R1
-Chris Liguori def. Jim Bova by TKO (Doctor's Stoppage) at 4:31, R2
-Carlton Haselrig def. Carlos Moreno by TKO (Unable to Continue) at 5:00, R1
-Matt Makowski def. Nick Serra by TKO (Unable to Continue) at 3:57, R2
-Wilson Reis def. Justin Robbins by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:06, R1
-James Jones def. Calvin Kattar by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:49, R1
-Zach Makovsky def. Andre Soares by Unanimous Decision at 5:00, R3 -Joe Sampieri def. Mike Groves by TKO (Strikes) at 4:58, R1
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