EliteXC: "Unfinished Business" Results
by Robert Sargent
EliteXC's second foray on CBS featured much better fights than its debut show, but suffered a considerable drop in the ratings. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, Jake Shields and "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler all came away with championship belts.
In what was arguably the most exciting fight of the night, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos battered "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler, en route to a second-round stoppage.
EliteXC Middleweight Championship
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler vs Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith
After their first meeting ended in controversy due to an inadvertent poke to the eye of Smith, both fighters had something to prove in this rematch. Smith started very strong, but broke his hand while throwing a punch in round one and could not defend an onslaught of knees from Lawler in the second stanza.Smith, a notoriously slow starter, came out aggressively and pushed the pace in round one. He used quick punching combinations and low kicks, while Lawler replied with a few high kicks. A high kick landed for Smith, and Lawler taunted. Both fighters landed punches, with Smith finishing the flurry with a hard right hook. The fighters traded elbows and knees in the clinch, and Smith rushed forward with another combination. Lawler finally managed to string together a solid combo that rocked Smith, but Smith came back punching. Smith came forward with big rights and elbows, which had Lawler backpedalling, but he held on and survived another flurry from Smith. Smith wins round one.
Lawler pushed the pace early in round two, coming forward with kicks and punches, but Smith once again used the clinch to land vicious elbow strikes to the top of Lawler's head, cutting him exactly the same way he had in their first fight. Lawler, bleeding profusely from the top of his head, sensed that he needed to finish the fight quickly, and he came forward with four straight left hooks to the jaw of Smith. The fighters clinched again and Lawler exploited Smith's apparent weakness - shots to the body - by landing a series of left knees to the ribs and liver. Smith crumpled to the canvas, and Lawler landed some follow-up kicks and punches before the referee stopped the fight.
Winner: Robbie Lawler by TKO (Knees & Punches) at 2:33 of round two. He improves to 18-4-0, 1 NC and remains the EliteXC Middleweight Champion.
Nick Diaz vs Thomas "Wildman" Denny
Denny, a journeyman veteran of King of the Cage who was clearly sent in to this fight to make Diaz look good, surprisingly got the better of quite a few of the striking exchanges in round one, but succumbed to the relentless pressure from Diaz in the second round.Denny came rushing forward with strikes, then threw Diaz to the ground and landed punches. Diaz got back up, but Denny continued to land strikes. Denny took Diaz down and Diaz attempted a Kimura, then an armbar. Denny got back to his feet and both fighters landed combinations, with Denny mixing up his strikes. Diaz came back with a punching flurry and the fighters clinched again. Diaz seemed to have Denny rocked, but Denny continued to push forward with punches. A Superman Punch landed for Denny, and Diaz replied with a left hook. Late in the round, Diaz landed a big left, then came forward with a series of lefts and rights, as a game Denny valiantly swung back. Both fighters landed punches before the bell, with Diaz holding an advantage and winning round one.
Diaz rocked Denny early in round two, sending Denny back into the cage. He continued to land punches at will as Denny tried to fight back. Diaz dropped Denny with a series of punches, then followed it up with three more strikes before the referee called a stop to the fight. An impressive comeback for Diaz after a slow beginning to round one.
Winner: Nick Diaz by TKO (Punches) at 0:29 of round two. He improves to 18-7-0, 1 ND.
EliteXC Welterweight Championship
Jake Shields vs Nick "The Goat" Thompson
Many months in the making, EliteXC finally crowned its first Welterweight Champion, as Shields made surprisingly quick work of the veteran, Thompson, with a quick submission in round one.Shields scored a takedown early in round one and moved straight to mount. Thompson tried to buck to escape, but Shields kept his balance. Thompson rolled to his side to get up, but Shields locked on a guillotine choke with one arm and forced Thompson back down to the mat. From mount position, Shields sunk in the guillotine choke with his right arm, while using his left arm to elevate himself and apply pressure. Thompson could not escape, and was forced to quickly submit. Extremely dominant and impressive display from Shields.
Winner: Jake Shields by Submission (One-Arm Guillotine Choke From Mount) at 1:03 of round one. He improves to 21-4-1 and becomes the new EliteXC Welterweight Champion.
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler
In what was thought to be a #1 contender's bout to face Gina "Conviction" Carano for the first-ever EliteXC Women's Bantamweight Championship, Santos overpowered and battered Baszler, scoring a second-round knockout victory.Santos came forward with strikes, then clinched and landed knees to the body before muscling Baszler to the mat. Baszler ended up on top, however, and tried for a kneebar, then a toe hold. Santos held on and landed punches from above. Santos stood up and landed two diving punches, but Baszler locked onto a leg and tried for a submission. Despite having her leg twisted completely the wrong way, Santos remained on top and landed punches before the bell, taking the first round.
Baszler began round two with a kick, and was met with a flurry of punches for her efforts. Santos used a Thai clinch to push Baszler back to the cage, then landed a knee. Baszler tried unsuccessfully for a takedown and Santos drilled her with more punches. A knee staggered Baszler, and Santos continued to put on pressure with strikes. A lightning-fast punching combination from Santos dropped Baszler to the mat. Santos, thinking the fight was over, leapt onto the top of the cage and began celebrating before referee Steve Mazzagatti managed to overcome the language barrier and convey that the fight was still on.
Confused, Santos rushed forward again, landing more punches that forced Baszler to the ground. Baszler got back to her feet, only to be met with one final barrage of punches that dropped her face-first to the canvas. This time, the fight was over, and Santos celebrated her crushing victory as Gina Carano looked on.
Winner: Cristiane Santos by KO (Punches) at 2:45 of round two. She improves to 5-0-0.
EliteXC Heavyweight Championship
Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva vs Justin Eilers
While Eilers put on a decent showing, he was no match for Silva, who perservered through a point deduction in round one and scored a quick stoppage victory early in the second round, becoming the first EliteXC Heavyweight Champion.Both fighters landed quick one-two combinations early in round one, and Silva landed a pair of kicks soon after. Stiff jabs landed for both fighters, and Silva scored a takedown. Eilers turtled and Silva landed a knee to the body, then punches and hammerfists that referee Herb Dean judged to be illegal strikes to the back of the head, penalising Silva one point. Silva knocked Eilers down with a grazing punch, then tried for an Anaconda Choke. Eilers got up and Silva landed a trio of punches. Silva scored with knees and punches in the clinch, then stepped back and landed a one-two. Both fighters landed strikes in the final seconds, with Silva winning the round, but round one was 9-9 due to the point deduction.
Round two ended quickly, as Silva rocked Eilers with an early punch, then rushed in with knees and punches as Eilers turtled against the cage. After Eilers fell to the mat, Silva relentlessly threw punches until the fight was stopped. Silva becomes the first EliteXC Heavyweight Champion in dominant fashion.
Winner: Antonio Silva by TKO (Punches) at 0:18 of round two. He improves to 11-1-0 and becomes the new EliteXC Heavyweight Champion.
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante vs Travis "The Gladiator" Galbraith
This fight marked another impressive victory for the extremely highly-touted Cavalcante, who had UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in his corner to witness his first-round stoppage of Galbraith.Cavalcante landed a kick and clinched against the cage, and both fighters landed knees. Galbraith landed a standing elbow, but Cavalcante replied with knees from the Thai clinch. Cavalcante then used a quick hip toss takedown, but Galbraith quickly returned to his feet. A big punch landed for Cavalcante, who followed it up with more Thai clinch knees and punches. Galbraith, clearly rocked, desperately tried to clinch to recover, but Cavalcante dropped him with more knees. Cavalcante followed up with punches on the ground, as Galbraith turtled, and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Rafael Cavalcante by TKO (Knees & Punches) at 3:01 of round one. He improves to 7-1-0.
Undercard Fights:
Wilson Reis defeated Bryan "Kid" Caraway by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 5-0-0.Anthony "El Toro" Ruiz defeated Jeremy Freitag by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 21-11-0.
David Douglas defeated Marlon Matias by KO (Punches) at 0:12 of round one. He improves to 4-1-0.
Carl Seumanutafa defeated Mike Cook by KO (Slam) at 1:21 of round one. He improves to 4-0-0.
Drew Montgomery defeated Brandon Tarns by TKO (Doctor Stoppage - Cut) at 4:23 of round three. Montgomery was incredibly lucky that the doctor stopped the fight, as he was also cut and was badly losing the fight on all scorecards. Why the doctor decided not to let the final 37 seconds go ahead is rather puzzling. Montgomery improves to 5-3-0 with the victory.
While the quality of fights was much better this time around, and there was little or no controversy, EliteXC's second show on CBS was rather disappointing in the television ratings, so EliteXC's October show will likely determine the promotion's fate for the future.
