Thumbs Up
Best Match: Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith
Worst Match: None of the fights sucked so, EXC & CBS Not Hyping the Diaz/Noons Feud

There may not have been any star power on the second EXC-CBS show, but it was a solid night with good fights. All of the winning fighters came off like stars afterwards plus they have some key direction in the near future. Cyborg looked tremendous and a definite threat to Gina Carano. Loved the post-fight interview with Gina where you could tell she was a bit cautious. Now let's see if she trains more than a few weeks and can make weight for a possible title fight in October. Sucks that the budding lawyer (and Bryan Danielson look alike) lost in seconds but Jake Shields was dominant. Only problem, does he have anyone to fight? He can ask for GSP or Fitch, but it looks like he won't be having any big fights in the near future. Nick Diaz came off like a big babyface for the first time in a long time. I wonder if they didn't want K.J. Noons to get boo'd out of the building because otherwise, it made no sense to not hype their match in September. They dropped the ball on that front. Kimbo Slice is still great, who cares if he gets gassed quickly or can't do anything on the mat. It makes no sense to put him up against Antonio Silva in October, so will it be Brett Rogers or someone else? The main event was great. Robbie Lawler was a bit slow in the first round although his jabs were working well. Smith looked in control but wasn't doing much damage until those brutal elbows in the second round. Good night for Ranallo/Shamrock/Gus as they noted Smith's size. Looks like he gassed and wasn't willing to finish the fight even though he did the most damage up to that point. Lawler's knees were as brutal and he looked like a champ. So, they have two fights set for the fall plus Kimbo Slice. They should be fine for at least the rest of 2008. They desperately need more talent for 2009 though.

Jonathan Solomon

Dave,

Best Match: Nick Diaz vs.Thomas Denny.

Worst Match: None.

THUMBS WAY UP. Awesome show. Hate to say it but this show was better than any of the shows (overall) from last weekend. EliteXC now has me as a fan. Every fight I seen (CBS portion only) was great in its own way. The Baszler vs. Cyborg was simply awesome in every way and easily could have been the best match on the show. I would put the Cyborg vs. Carano match as the co-main event on the October show as that will be the match I will want to see the most. Only thing I would like to see improved upon is the post fight interviews. They need to get someone to reel the fighters back in and have them talk about their fights instead of their friends and sponsors. But overall, I loved it. I can't wait now for the next show.

Eric Ryan

Thumbs Up (Only the CBS show, I don't get Showtime)
Best Fight: Lawler/Smith
Worst Fight: N/A
 
Real cool show from top to bottom.  While this show's rating might be 
down, this was an extremely important show to help set up the next CBS 
show, because Carrano/Cyborg could be awesome.  My only question was 
why they did not build up the diaz/noons fight.  Denny really 
impressed me by coming all out in a fight designed for him to lose.
 
Mike Thomas

 {plug}