MMA Elite Xc

Frank Shamrock is 35 years old and clearly past his prime as a fighter, but in this interview with MMA Rated, he makes clear that he's got plenty of fights left in him:

Shamrock said he expects his next fight to be in October against the winner of this month's EliteXC Scott Smith-Robbie Lawler rematch. But he then detailed a long plan in which he said he'll keep fighting into 2009, 2010 and perhaps beyond.

UFC President Dana White appeared this week on Dan LeBatard's radio show, ostensibly to promote UFC 86. But thanks to LeBatard's persistent questioning, they spent more time discussing Kimbo Slice than they spent discussing Quinton Rampage Jackson or Forrest Griffin.

White was clearly annoyed that he even needed to discuss Kimbo, and he repeated his assertion that his own lightweight champion, B.J. Penn, could defeat Kimbo. White said he would like to arrange a Penn-Kimbo fight, "So I can start watching him on YouTube again. ... I want to banish this guy back to YouTube. That's where he belongs. He belongs on YouTube."

In other news, White acknowledged that UFC's heavyweight division is in a rebuilding phase, but he said the reason he hasn't signed Fedor Emelianenko is that Fedor doesn't want to fight any high-quality fighters.

When Gina Carano failed to make weight for her EliteXC fight on CBS last month, I wrote that it was totally unacceptable, and I was surprised by how many MMA fans tried to make excuses for her. So I was glad to see that Carano herself isn't making excuses:

"There's really no excuse, I don't think, to not make weight," Carano said. "There's no excuse. I just didn't make it and so I'm going to have to try harder next time."

Carano also said she agreed with her opponent, Kaitlin Young, that their fight should have gone on, despite Young's badly bruised face: "In guy fights, they don't stop it until it's cut," Carano said.

Carano said she expects to fight next in October.

UPDATE: Carano previously responded to my criticism in this interview with Dave Hollander.

Over the weekend, MDS opined that it looked like Elite XC's second show on CBS would be better than the first. They released the particulars of that card, set for July 26 in Stockton, California, and it is indeed a good show.

As expected it will be headlined by a rematch for the middleweight title between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith. The first fight, on the initial CBS telecast, ended too early when doctors ruled Smith couldn't continue after Lawler's thumb found its way into his eye. Lawler looked like the better fighter last time but Smith was holding his own and, hopefully, this time we'll get a satisfying finish.

Interestingly, Elite XC chose not to pit Nick Diaz against K.J. Noons in a lightweight title fight. Diaz, who is from Stockton, will fight Thomas Denny instead and one would hope the match is intended to wet whistles for a card centered on a title fight down the road.

There will be two other title fights, however. Jake Shields will meet Nick Thompson for the vacant welterweight title and Antonio Silva will meet someone for the vacant heavyweight belt. It's a shame that none of the fine heavyweights fighting for Affliction the week before will be an opponent for Silva as the best that Elite can offer aren't really worthy of a title fight.

It will be interesting to see how the show fares in the ratings without Kimbo Slice. There's better MMA but no crossover star to anchor the affair.

The first EliteXC mixed martial arts show on CBS got solid ratings but disappointed most hard-core mixed martial arts fans.

The second EliteXC show on CBS will likely see a ratings drop, now that the novelty is gone, and without EliteXC's biggest name, Kimbo Slice. But for MMA fans, it's going to be a better show.

The July 26 main event will feature Robbie Lawler against Scott Smith, a rematch of their fight last month that was well on its way to being a very good one before it was called off because of an unintentional eye poke. The undercard is expected to feature Nick Diaz vs. K.J. Noons for EliteXC's lightweight title, as well as fights involving welterweight Jake Shields and heavyweight Antonio Silva.

That means that basically all of EliteXC's most talented fighters will fight that night. And that will make the show a good barometer for where EliteXC is: If the show does well, it tells us that fans view EliteXC as an organization with enough talented fighters that it doesn't need Kimbo to draw an audience. If the show falls flat, it tells us that EliteXC is basically just Kimbo Slice and everyone else -- and Kimbo just isn't enough to keep a promotion afloat.

I'll be rooting for the show to succeed: It would be a great step forward toward MMA becoming a regular fixture on network television.

A couple of months ago we noted the rumor that Forrest Griffin, who will fight for the UFC light heavyweight championship next month, had knocked out Kimbo Slice during a sparring session.

Dan Le Batard had Griffin on his radio show today, and Griffin put those rumors to rest:

"I never knocked Kimbo out. Let's just get that clear. Kimbo's not the kind of guy you want to have angry at you. I like the guy so I'd assume not piss him off and have him try to beat me up."

Griffin also said that he thinks highly of Kimbo because he sees a little of himself in Kimbo.

"He didn't go the conventional route -- but you're talking to a guy who also didn't go the conventional route," Griffin said to Le Batard. "He wants to learn the sport. He likes the sport, he wants to do it, he wants to be a professional fighter."

Aside from the Kimbo stuff, the interview was interesting mostly because Griffin gave a lot of testy answers. When LeBatard asked him if he likes pain, Griffin answered, "That's a silly question. No. I like ice cream, I don't like pain."

EliteXC has announced that the Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith rematch will be the main event when it returns to CBS on July 26.

By scheduling another MMA show less than two months after its first one, CBS is making clear that it was pleased with the ratings that MMA delivered -- even if many MMA fans thought EliteXC's show was less than impressive.

Antonio Silva, who is widely regarded as the best heavyweight under contract to EliteXC, is also expected to fight in the July show, perhaps for the vacant EliteXC heavyweight title. Putting two fighters not named Kimbo Slice in the cage for the heavyweight belt would be the right move for EliteXC -- a gesture that would demonstrate that their organization is about more than just an unskilled fighter with a big name.

Welcome to the FanHouse live blog of tonight's mixed martial arts action, where we'll provide live, round-by-round updates of the EliteXC and Adrenaline shows.

Tonight's biggest fight will be the EliteXC lightweight title bout between champion K.J. Noons and challenger Yves Edwards. Other fights I'm looking forward to seeing include EliteXC's Nick Diaz vs. Muhsin Corbbrey, and Adrenaline's Jason Guida vs. Mike Russow.

We'll discuss them all tonight, beginning after the jump.

Nick Diaz showed up a ridiculous nine pounds overweight at yesterday's weigh in for tonight's EliteXC fight against Muhsin Corbbrey, making it the third straight weekend that a fighter in a high-profile mixed martial arts event has failed to make weight.

Diaz weighed in at 169 for the 160-pound fight. Corbbrey also missed weight, at 164, but that was because he had been told in advance that there was no reason for him to dehydrate on weigh-in day because Diaz wasn't even close to making weight anyway. They're now calling it a 168-pound catchweight fight, and giving Diaz the standard one-pound buffer. Corbbrey's manager John Blanken explains why Corbbrey agreed to fight anyway:

"We need to take this fight. This fight makes my guy's career. We need to fight him and beat him, so that's what happens."

Two weeks ago Gina Carano missed weight for EliteXC's CBS show, and last week Thiago Alves missed weight for his UFC 85 main event against Matt Hughes. They and their defenders always have excuses, and none of those excuses matter. When you agree to take a fight at a certain weight, it's your responsibility to get to that weight, and fighters who don't give the sport a black eye.

Elite XC returns from its trip to network television tomorrow night with a card from Honolulu on Showtime. The main event will feature lightweight champion K.J. Noons against the veteran Yves Edwards. That match will be preceded by an undercard featuring Nick Diaz vs. Muhsin Corbbrey, Murillo "Ninja" Rua vs. Tony Bonello, Rafael Feijao vs. Wayne Cole and Dave "Pee Wee" Herman vs. Ron Waterman.

We'll be talking about that card at 1 p.m. today during a live chat. We won't limit the discussion to that show, however, so feel free to drop by to talk about Donald Trump's foray into the MMA world via a stake in Affliction, Dana White's still mysterious announcement, the potential demise of the IFL and anything else on your mind.

So drop by at 1 where we'll be chatting after the jump.