EliteXC: Primetime Results
by Robert Sargent
What began with great potential ended in controversy, as a pair of highly questionable doctor and referee stoppages plagued the final two fights of the evening at EliteXC: Primetime on CBS, leaving many questions left to be answered.
The women's bout between Gina "Conviction" Carano and Kaitlin Young was an incredible battle, but Carano's failure to make weight created controversy there as well.
Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson vs James "The Colossus" Thompson
This fight was supposed to serve as another stepping stone in Ferguson's meteoric rise to stardom, but wound up derailing those plans, as Thompson exploited Ferguson's complete lack of ground game and won both of the first two rounds before a highly suspect referee stoppage in round three awarded a badly fatigued Ferguson with a TKO victory.Ferguson opened up with two hard knees to the body, but an undeterred Thompson scored a takedown. Thompson was unable to mount much offence and Ferguson got back to his feet, only to be taken down again. Ferguson squirmed out of side-control and got back to his feet, where Thompson locked on a guillotine choke. Ferguson, not in any danger, landed knees to the thighs of Thompson. Soon after, Ferguson managed to get a takedown of his own, working for a neck crank, but Thompson got out and took Ferguson down, moving to side-control and pinning down Ferguson's arms. Thompson briefly looked for a Keylock, which seemed to be wide open for the taking, but let it go and was reversed. Ferguson took top position and landed strikes, then defended a Kimura before the bell. Thompson takes the close round.
Ferguson defended a takedown attempt early in round two and rocked Thompson with a left and a series of follow-up punches. Thompson dropped for a takedown attempt, but was met with a knee for his troubles. Both fighters exchanged knees in the clinch and Ferguson trapped Thompson in a guillotine, dragging him to the mat. Thompson managed to escape the choke and moved to side-control, landing weak strikes to the face. After a moment, referee Dan Miragliotta bizarrely stood the fighters up, even though Thompson held side-control and was working to pin down Ferguson's arms. Ferguson connected with a series of punches, ending with a vicious uppercut, rocking Thompson badly, but Thompson scored another takedown. The final two minutes of the round saw Thompson land elbows and punches from side-control while trapping Ferguson's arms. Thompson takes round two.
Round three quickly turned controversial. Ferguson landed a right hook to the horribly-cauliflowered left ear of Thompson, splitting it open and making a mess of the left side of Thompson's face. Ferguson landed a quick combination, then a hard uppercut and three more punches, which clearly dazed Thompson but had him in no more trouble than in the previous rounds. The referee jumped in to stop the fight, with Thompson still standing and seemingly fine. The crowd booed as an exhausted Ferguson collapsed to the mat, having been just given a gift in the form of the stoppage.
The controversy stems from what appeared to be a very obvious referee bias in the fight. In round two, Miragliotta stood the fighters back up when Thompson held side-control and was working to pin down Ferguson's arms. At the conclusion of round two, after Ferguson had been battered with dozens of elbows and punches on the ground, Miragliotta could be heard saying to the cageside doctor that "[Ferguson] is all right, those shots weren't really hitting him," which is something that Miragliotta was in no place to declare. In the final round, with Ferguson clearly exhausted, the fight was suspiciously stopped when Thompson seemed to be well enough to continue, and could have scored another takedown on Ferguson. A very disappointing ending to the night.
Winner: Kevin Ferguson by TKO (Referee Stoppage) at 0:36 of round three. He improves to 3-0-0.
EliteXC Middleweight Championship
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler vs Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith
Definitely the best fight of the night, at least among the male competitors, this bout ended in controversy, much like the main event. After two back-and-forth rounds, an inadvertent finger to the eye of Smith resulted in the cageside doctor stopping the fight in round three, despite protests from Smith.The first 90 seconds of round one started slowly, with both fighters cautiously throwing punches and kicks. Lawler eventually rocked Smith with a punch, then went on the offensive as Smith tried to escaped danger. Both fighters continued to paw at each other with punches, and Lawler's jab repeatedly found the mark. Smith landed a head kick in the middle of the round, leading to a wild striking exchange. Lawler continued to land numerous punches, with Smith counter-punching in return. Lawler began to tee off with punches later in the round, then drilled Smith with a kick to the liver that had Smith in visible pain. In the final seconds of the round, both fighters landed body kicks, with Lawler following it up with a flying knee and punches. Smith was narrowly saved by the bell.
Round two was much different, with Smith weathering early punches from Lawler and fighting back with strikes of his own. Smith began to open up with kicks to the legs and upper body, keeping Lawler off-balance. A Thai clinch from Smith resulted in numerous knees to the face of Lawler, followed up by a barrage of punches from Smith. Lawler held on, then got a clinch of his own and unleashed uppercuts and hooks. Both fighters landed punches to the face and body as they clinched against the cage. Smith began to use standing elbow strikes to the top of Lawler's head, eventually cutting him badly. The final 30 seconds saw non-stop strikes from both fighters, with Smith continuing to land elbows. Smith takes the close second round.
Smith landed another solid leg kick early in round three, but Lawler began to find his range once again with jabs and other punches. Smith retaliated with a flurry of punches and a kick. Lawler then took a page out of Smith's book from the previous round and began using standing elbow strikes to Smith's forehead. Lawler continued to land jabs and hooks at will, then bizarrely went for a random takedown attempt with two minutes left in the round. Smith easily sprawled and defended the takedown, briefly locking on a guillotine. Seconds later, however, the fight was stopped after Lawler inadvertently poked Smith in the right eye with his finger, as he tried to block a punch.
Smith, as per the rules of mixed martial arts, had up to five minutes to recover from the strike to the eye, and the cageside doctor came in to check on him. Smith stated that his vision was blurry but that he would be fine after the five minute break. The doctor, for whatever reason, decided to call a stop to the fight, despite that fact that only about two minutes of break time had elapsed. As a result, the fight was ruled a No Contest and set off the chain of controversy for the night.
Result: No Contest (Doctor Stoppage - Accidental Poke To The Eye) at 3:26 of round three. Lawler is now 15-4-0, 1 NC, while Smith is 13-4-0, 1 NC.
Gina "Conviction" Carano vs Kaitlin Young
An abbreviated training camp and failure to make weight had little impact on the performance of Carano, who used effective striking and submission attempts in round one and battered Young with punches in round two en route to a doctor stoppage after the second round.Under EliteXC rules, women's bouts consist of three 3-minute rounds, and neither fighter wasted any time in letting their hands fly. Both landed kicks and punches in the opening seconds, with Carano effectively using a push kick to keep Young at a distance. Carano scored a takedown, but Young got right back to her feet. Both fighters traded hard right hooks and Carano landed another front kick. Young landed two kicks of her own and scored a takedown. Carano immediately went for a gogoplata, and actually managed to lock it on, but could not get her leg fully under Young's chin to secure the choke. Young eventually got up and landed a punch, then more kicks. The final 10 seconds saw both land punches, with Young throwing leg kicks and Carano landing two more front kicks. An extremely close round that could have gone either way.
Both women came out swinging in round two, each scoring with punches and kicks to the legs and body. Young landed a solid knee to the midsection and the fighters clinched. More knees to the body from Young were met with punches and a front kick from Carano. Young landed a series of kicks to the legs and body, then tried for a spinning back kick. Carano, already beginning to tire, fought back with counter-punches. A hard punch from Carano left Young wincing, and Carano rushed in with more punches. Young clinched and landed two knees to the body. Carano responded with a punch that dazed Young and left her on the defensive. Carano unleashed a flurry of punches, then knocked Young to the ground with a front kick. Carano quickly took Young's back and tried for a rear naked choke, but the bell rang to end the round.
The cageside doctor came into the ring to check on Young's left eye, which was very badly swollen and bleeding from punches late in the round. Deeming that Young could not continue with the lack of vision, the doctor called a stop to the fight. Young did not appear to have asked the doctor to call a halt to the fight, but did not protest the decision. Carano, despite questions surrounding her dedication to the sport and her inability to make weight, looked very impressive in victory.
Winner: Gina Carano by TKO (Doctor Stoppage - Cut) at 3:00 of round two. She improves to 6-0-0.
"Smokin'" Joe Villasenor vs "The New York Bad Ass" Phil Baroni
Baroni's typically extravagant entrance lasted longer than this fight did, with Villasenor trapping Baroni in a guillotine early on and finishing the fight with strikes seconds later.Baroni landed a couple of quick punches to start the fight, then caught a high kick attempt from Villasenor and pushed Villasenor to the mat. On the ground, Baroni unleashed a flurry of rights to the face of Villasenor, but Villasenor used up-kicks to get back to his feet. The fighters clinched, with Baroni landing punches to the body and Villasenor landing an elbow. Villasenor dazed Baroni with a left hook, then defended a takedown attempt by trapping Baroni in a guillotine. Baroni managed to escape, only to be met with a knee and four hard punches. Baroni dropped to the ground, took one more punch from Villasenor and the referee stopped the fight.
Winner: Joe Villasenor by TKO (Punches) at 1:11 of round one. He improves to 26-6-0.
Brett "The Grim" Rogers vs Jon Murphy
This short fight opened up the main card telecast, with Rogers scoring yet another early knockout victory.Murphy landed a leg kick and two good punches early on, and Rogers replied with knees to the body in the clinch. Both fighters landed punches and Rogers finished a flurry with a pair of uppercuts. After three more knees to the body from Rogers, the fighters separated and Rogers landed a trio of punches. Seconds later, Rogers scored with a right-left-right combination that dropped Murphy to the canvas. The referee stopped the fight.
At the post-fight press conference, Rogers called out Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson after Ferguson's poor performance against James Thompson, the same man that Rogers had knocked out in less than two minutes earlier this year. If this night is any indication, Rogers could make short work of Ferguson.
Winner: Brett Rogers by TKO (Strikes) at 1:01 of round one. He improves to 7-0-0.
Undercard Fights:
Chris "The Story" Liguori, a veteran of a number of top promotions including the UFC, defeated Jim Bova by TKO (Doctor Stoppage - Cut) at 4:31 of round two. Liguori improves to 8-7-0.Carlton Haselrig defeated Carlos Moreno by TKO (Moreno Did Not Answer Bell) at 5:00 of round one, when Moreno decided not to come out for round two, despite appearing to be fine. Haselrig improves to 2-0-0.
Matt Makowski defeated "The Mad Monkey" Nick Serra - brother of UFC fighter Matt Serra - by TKO (Refusal To Stand) at 3:57 of round two after Serra completely gassed, flopped to his back and refused to get up. Hopefully, he will never be a part of a major show again. Makowski improves to 3-0-0.
Wilson Reis defeated Justin Robbins by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:06 of round one. He improves to 4-0-0.
James "Binky" Jones defeated Calvin Kattar by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:49 of round one. He improves to 7-6-0.
Zach Makovsky defeated Andres "Gigueto" Soares by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-26, 29-26) after three rounds. He improves to 4-1-0.
Joe Sampieri defeated Mike Groves by TKO (Strikes) at 4:58 of round one. He improves to 1-2-0.
While the night certainly wasn't a complete failure, and had its moments of brilliance, questionable doctor stoppages and officiating put a dark cloud above mixed martial arts' debut on primetime television.
