The latest installment of Elite XC’s ‘Saturday Night Fights’ on CBS was scheduled to feature the abysmal main event of Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock. In a bizarre turn of events, Shamrock received a cut to his eyebrow while sparring in preparation for the bout. The laceration required stitches, and the Florida Athletic Commission barred Shamrock from participating in the event. This left EXC scrambling for a last minute replacement to salvage the main event; they ended up pitting Kimbo against Seth Petruzelli, a lightheavyweight who was scheduled to face Aaron Rosa on the untelevised undercard.
Murillo Rua vs Benji Radach (185 lbs bout)
The televised portion of the event began with a #1 contender bout for the Elite XC’s middleweight title, which will be defended by Robbie Lawler against Joey Villasenor on November 8th. Radach came out of the gates swinging, throwing relentless hooks that staggered Rua and dropped him to his knees. Rua recovered and fired back, and twice in the first round both fighters found themselves knocked down simultaneously for a moment. Rua secured a takedown late in the round and worked for a leg lock, but Radach resisted and survived the round.
In the second, Rua seemingly figured out Radach’s stand up game, and was landing flying knees to the body of Benji, backing him up against the fence. Rua threw another flying knee; Radach countered with a jab which knocked Rua off-balance and dropped him. Rua was slow to cover up, and Radach landed several huge punches to his downed opponent, knocking ‘Ninja’ out cold. A great brawl to start off the evening.
Aftermath: Radach will go on to face the winner of the Lawler-Villasenor for the title – that is if the Elite XC organization survives beyond the November event. Rua suffers a very brutal knockout, another setback to his rollercoaster of a career.
Fight Grade: 5/5
Gina Carano vs Kelly Kobald (140 lbs women’s bout)
Carano once again has had a difficult time making weight, but finally weighted in at 141 lbs on the third attempt, after shedding all her clothes. Carano has a height and reach advantage on Kobald, which Kobald attempted to negotiate by clinching with Gina against the fence for most of the fight. Kobald dominated the clinch and a brief ground exchange, but Carano teed off on Kelly each time she was able to put some distance between them. Kobald is bloody and battered after three rounds; Carano wins the unanimous decision.
Aftermath: Carano is slated to take on Christiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos, who also won a unanimous decision tonight over Yoko Takahashi in an untelevised bout. The fight will most likely take place at 145 lbs.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Andrei Alrovski vs Roy Nelson (HW bout)
Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Alrovski was slated to face Josh Barnett in an Affliction event. With Affliction on hold, Alrovski is on loan to Elite XC, taking on Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson – the heavyweight title holder of the now-defunct IFL. Nelson wants no part of Andrei’s striking, and quickly gets the fight to the ground and passes to side control. Alrovski briefly escapes but end up on his back again. Nelson is working a kimura from side control, when the referee inexplicably orders the fighters to stand up. Nelson wins the first round, and Alrovski is looking very rusty on the ground.
In the second, Nelson seems tired and is not able to bring the fight back to the ground. Forced to trade with Andrei, Nelson stuns Arlovski with a punch, making him back up. Alrovski keeps up his attack, pummeling Nelson against the fence. Nelson falls face-down and the ref stops the fight. Nelson gets up quickly and complains, but the stoppage was justified.
Aftermath: This fight has gone pretty much as expected, and did not do much for either fighters career. With Affliction and Elite’s futures both in question, it’s not clear what is next for these heavyweights.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Champion Jake Shields vs Paul Daley (170 lbs title bout)
In a classic striker vs. grappler matchup, Shields is aggressive early in the bout and gets a takedown on his second attempt. Shields mounts Daley and attempts some ineffective ground-and-pound. Daley defends well on the ground, then sweeps and ends up in Shields’ guard, ending the round with elbows from the top position.
Both fighters look tired in the second round, and Daley is shrugging off Shield’s takedown attempts while battering Jake on the feet. Shields finally manages to secure a takedown, mounts Daley again, and forces a tapout with an armbar.
Aftermath: Both fighters looked very one-dimensional. Shields is still a big fish in a very small pond, with all the top welterweights competing in UFC and WEC there is simply no credible contenders left for his title.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Kimbo Slice vs Seth Petruzelli (HW bout)
The last-minute replacement Petruzelli is best known for his brief stint on UFC’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, as well as a K-1 kickboxing bout against Bob Sapp early in his career. Petruzelli makes the most of his opportunity, dropping Kimbo with a short right hand to the chin, then pouncing on him with strikes to the side of the head of his fallen opponent. Slice never has a chance to recover, and referee stops the fight at only 14 seconds into the first round.
Aftermath: Thus ends the farce and the hype of the ‘Internet streetfight legend’ Kimbo Slice. Petruzelli gains instant name recognition, which doesn’t change the fact that he is still a middle-of-the-road lightheavyweight without much upside in the toughest division in the sport. Perhaps his new fame will gain him another chance in the UFC.
Fight Grade: 1/5
Overall, this was an average event, save for the Rua-Radach bout and the cluster-bomb of a main event. Very predictable matchmaking seems to be the hallmark of Elite XC.