Elite XC debut on CBS

Thumbs in the middle.
Best fight: Gina Carano's fight
Worst fight: Kimbo's fight

Well, after the Gina Carano fight was done, I thought the Elite XC show was going to be a big thumbs up. Unfortunately, by the time it ended, it was a thumbs in the middle show due to the no-contest between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith and then Kimbo being totally exposed as a bad fighter (yes, we're all shocked ... ) in the main event. And there's no excuse for such terrible time management on such an important show. Running almost an hour overtime is inexcusable, particularly given that this was the kind of show a lot of MMA fans would just set on the DVR and watch later tonight or tomorrow.

In the end, this really did remind me of the old late 1980s AWA or early 1990s WCW trying to run a big show pretending they were major league when they so obviously were not. The announcers (Mauro, particularly) constantly referring to Pride and UFC didn't help matters any. It was entertaining (mostly) but in the end, it's not going to change anything in the MMA world.