Yo, yo, yo and away we go! (Sorry, I feel as though that is the most appropriate way to get this thing kicked off). So, we finally made it to beautiful Newark after surviving some hellish NYC traffic coming into the garden state. And, if you read my last live blog (the HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon show in December), you will enjoy the fact that the MMA media Gods have NOT smiled down on me again. Basically, they stuck me behind a hard camera in the corner of press row. Heck, I would have been content with this location if I were in the first row but, wouldn't you know it, I'm sitting in the second row. Oh well, at least they let me in (I'm looking at you, UFC). Not a lot of fans in the house right now but we are enjoying the sight of Robbie Lawler going through the motions in the cage. Other than that, I just finished a nice conversation with HDNet's Ron Kruck. Great guy and a pleasure to meet in person for the first time. He too is happy that Elite XC is at least letting him cover the show (again, I'm looking at you, UFC) In case you're wondering (probably not though) the media meal is a nice blend of variously cooked hot dogs. I passed. The last time I attended an event at the Prudential Center was for UFC 78 so it will be interesting to see whether this event feels the same. I am expecting a smaller yet more amped up crowd. This is probably the right time to let you know who is fighting tonight. Be sure to check out CBSSports.com or ProElite.com for the weigh-ins, or just stick with me here because it's kind of lonely in this second row. Fight Card: Kimbo Slice vs. James “The Colossus” Thompson Elite XC Middleweight Champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler vs. Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith Joey Villasenor vs. Phil “The New York Badass” Baroni Gina “Conviction” Carano vs. Kaitlin Young Brett “The Grim Rogers vs. Jon Murphy Carlos Moreno vs. Carlton Haselrig Chris Liguori vs. Jim Bova Nick Serra vs. Matt Makowski Wilson Reis vs. Justin Robbins James “Binky” Jones vs. Calvin Kattar Zach Makovsky vs. Andre Soares Mike Groves vs. Joe Sampieri Let's talk about the main card for a second: I think the Elite XC matchmakers put together the best card possible given the fact that they are trying to appeal to the Joe Schmo Sports Fan. In other words, no BJJ experts here. By the way, feel free to drop us with your predictions or thoughts throughout the evening and after the fights we will be uploading some post-fights video interviews so that should be exciting. Elite XC did not do a good job with the stage for this one. Sure, the dragon was a horrible failure in show #1 on Showtime, but this time around they went with just black drapes with a small projection screen over them. It looks like a Ring of Honor show if you're familiar with that set up. The more I see other MMA blog types waltz in the more pissed I get about the seat I am sitting in. Far be it for me to tell anyone how to cover a show but I think we did as good a job, if not better, than anyone in covering this bad boy. I'm kind of hurt. (BTW, there may be some grammar mistakes along the way here so bare with me. I will try to correct as much as possible but in the effort of providing you, my most valued audience, the best coverage possible, I will be posting quickly without reading over what I just wrote. Consider this a small price to pay for five hours of live blogging madness. So, we just had a little online lovefest. Sam Caplan, Luke Thomas, Mauro Ranallo and Mike Chiappetta were some of the notables. Hey, Mauro, best of luck tonight but if you ever give me a hard time to score an interview with you again we may have problems. Just kidding...you will always have a spot in my heart, rock the mic tonight. Kind of a downtime right now so let me give my predictions for the main fights: Kimbo over Thompson, less than one minute in Round 1 Lawler over Scott Smith, TKO round 1 Carano over Young, submission round 2 (I know I will get some flak for that one but I just have a weird feeling about this one) Villasenor over Baroni, TKO round 2 Rogers over Murphy, KO round 1 Thoughts? Impressions? I have just talked to the head honchos at the site and if you correctly predict the main card tonight (not the finishes just winner and in which round) you will received a special MMARated.com gift. Seriously, a real gift. I kid you not. So predict away. Two things to report: the PA announcer who is getting the crowd hyped up is quite good-looking (at least from my crappy vantage point). A much better-looking Lillian Garcia type if you know what that means. Secondly, Eddie Alvarez and Jake Shields are signing autographs at the main concourse in the arena. I know that if you are reading this you are probably not here but I just thought I should let you know anyways. Oh, damn. The fights are starting. We begin with... 155 lbs: Joe Sampieri vs. Mike Groves A battle of winless fighters as Sampieri is 0-2 and Groves is 0-1. Sampieri is from Manhattan (represent baby) so he may have the hometown edge. Ok, he appears to have the hometown edge as he is being cheered pretty loudly. So, this PA lady (anyone know her name?) announces the fighters like this "from the blue corner" so-and-so fighter. Kind of weird but whatev. I just noticed someone named "anonymous" gave predictions. Remember, it will be hard to give you a prize if we don't know who you are. Anyways, the fight has started... 30 seconds and not one punch has been thrown. BTW, I forgot to look who is who and both guys are wearing the exact same thing so this is a tough one. The guys sitting next to me have no idea either. Ok, I figured it out, Sampieri is the fighter controlling the fight. He's in guard right now and in the process of raining down some pretty tight elbows. Oh, nice reversal by Groves and now he is dictacting the pace in guard. Good call by the ref to stand both fighters off. Joe lands a nice right hand which rocks Groves and is now working from the mount raining blows until the ref stops the fight with less than ten seconds left. Winner: Joe Sampieri via TKO (ref stoppage) @ 4:48 in Round 1 Congratulations on your first win buddy! We ain't wasting any time as we are on to our next fight: 135 lbs: Zach Makovsky vs. Andre Soares I wonder if Soares is related to Ed? By the way, I just realized that the first two fights are not being televised on the Internet so you should feel really luck right about now. I am pretty excited for this one. It's not always that you get to watch 135 pounders. And we're off... Nice battle going on between these two. On a side note, there is an overhead wire cam on top of the cage which, I may be wrong on this one, but I don't think the UFC uses one of those. Gus Johnson is in the house. I must say that while I am quite happy and honored to be attending this event, I am kind of bummed that I am not watching this on TV. A fight is a fight but this one's special because of TV. Needless to say, I'll be watching it tomorrow first thing in the morning. Back to the action and not much going on right now as we enter the seoncd round. Makovsky, the Philly native, is dictating the pace. 1/4 of the arena is blocked off due to the entrance but it looks like, other than that, it will be packed (and papered) house. Meanwhile, Makovsky just nailed Soares with a nice left and then waited for him to stand up...hmmm. End of round 2 and he's definitely up 20-18. The Elite XC cage girls are out and if you've never attended an Elite XC show you may want to know that they use multiple ladies to signify the start of a round. They just stand around and shake their hips instead walking around. Frank Shamrock has joined Ranallo and Johnson cageside. What a great trio that is. Again, pretty cool sight seeing Johnson at an MMA event. Makovsky continues to push the pace on the feet. A barrage of punches dropped Soares again and, again, Makovsky waited for his to stand up. I guess he's not too comfortable on the ground. Hey, I just noticed that Mickey's is a sponsor tonight. Way to be Mickey's. UFC loss is Elite XC's gain. I think. I have actually never tried Mickey's so I can't confirm that statement. By the way, all the journalists (I think they're journalists) sitting next to me aren't even working. They are just watching the fights and chilling. Meanwhile, I am actually developing a crap in my right hand and neck due to all this typing and having to look around the stupid camera blocking my view. Someone at Elite XC must not like us. End of round 3. I think Makovsky's got this in the bag, 30-27. Stay tuned. I still can't tell if the ring announcer is good-looking so if you see here on the internet telecast let me know. Speaking of ladies, the one good thing about sitting in this crappy seat is that the Elite XC cage girls stand next to us. The guy to my right just took a picture of them with his camera phone. Nice. They appear to be stalling as instead of announcing the winner they reminded us that Shields and Alvarez are signing autographs. They must be as lonely as I am. Winner: Zach Makovsky via unanimous decision Antonio Silva is standing right in back of me and told some fans that he is fighting on the next Elite XC card. Is he fighting in Hawaii? I don't think so but I may be wrong. Oh snap, he just told them that he is getting the winner of the Kimbo fight?!? What? That can't be right can it? I will try to get some kind of confirmation on that but he definitely said that. There is a marching band in the cage and the lady ring announcer has been replaced by a quasi-strip club DJ sounding type. Weak. The Internet broadcast is upon us. The Nitro Girls, I mean, the Elite XC girls are dancing their bottoms off. Up next... 155 lbs: Calvin Kattar vs James "Binky" Jones "Binky" might be one of the ebst nicknames in the game. Wasn't there a football player nicknamed "Binky" back in the day? Ken Pavia in the house, who doesn't love that guy. And we're off...Oh, they just started the fight then told them to go quickly back into their corners. Weird. Failed spinning backfist by Kattar. Binky is a lot thicker. Both men have no interest in going to the ground. Check that, Binky just took Kattar down. Isn't there some unwritten rule that you shouldn't wear a baseball hat if you are sitting in press row. I guess that would be akin to some MMA journalists wearing Affliction t-shirts nowadays. But, well, never mind... Solid performance by Binky as he wins the bout with :10 seconds left via rear-naked choke. He completely dominated the bout. Pretty impressive for a guy with a 7-5 record. Winner: James "Binky" Jones via submission (rear naked choke) @ 4:45 in Round 1. Holy bejeezus, Jared Shaw is doing the post-fight interviews!!! Wow, I can't wait to see how much the Internet hates this decision. Furthermore, they are IDing him as "Skala." Holy crap. This is a huge development. Speaking of developments, I can't wait to see Busta Rhymes walk to the cage alongside Brett Rogers. I haven't heard from Busta in many years but I can assure you that he has been missed. In fact, he used to be one of my favorites back in high school. There is a fight in one of the higher sections in the arena and it's taking security seemingly forever to break it up. Meanwhile our next is upon us... 140 lbs: Justin Robbins (12-3-1) vs. Wilson Reis (3-0) Reis is the truth or so I hear. Never seen him fight live. He came out with a rapper singing beside him but it wasn't Busta Bust. And we're off...Eddie Alvarez is looking for a place to sit on press row. Maybe I should hook push the guy doing nothing next to me away and we can hang out. Wow, what a fight. Reis locked in a sure-fire armbar which eventually Robbins got out of...someway, somehow. At that point, I ran into the host of MMA Live on ESPN.com (actually I just noticed he was sitting right beside me), Jon Anik. Great guy. So, I missed the official announcement as I was talking to Jon but Wilson won and looked super impressive. Up next: 170 lbs: Nick Serra vs. Matt Makowski Serra got a great reaction and, yes, he came out wearing the mask. That guy is great. Of course, we interviewed Makowski a couple of weeks back and just yesterday we talked to Serra so this one has MMARated.com written all over it. I think it will be a good one. (Jeffrey, the prize is TBD and yes you are eligible. We don't pay you enough so you deserve anything you can can get. Predict away!) Serra actually is actually looking like a monkey as he is just chilling on Makowski's back trying to slip in the RNC. Makowski is doing a pretty good job defending it and eventually dropped Serra on his head. Considering his Muay Thai background he wants no part of Serra's ground game so he politely asks him to stand up. Serra, on the other hand, is trying to get Makowski to join him on the ground but to no avail. Serra looks a little dazed as Makowski nailed him with a couple vicious blows. 10-9 Makowski. Makowski's a great striker and definitely having his way with Serra. Wow, the crowd is completely turning on Serra as he keeps flopping! And the fight is called! Wow, this is like that Robert Villegas incident at the HDNet Fights show. Exceptional showing by Makowski, not so much by Serra but we have no idea what kind of injury (if any) he sustained. Winner: Matt Makowski via TKO in round 2 It's amazing how quickly this crowd turned on Serra and rightfully so. Up next... 265 lbs: Carlton Haselrig vs. Carlos Moreno NFL fans may remember Haselrig from his NFL days playing for the Steelers. I sure as hell don't. Anyways, Mark Coleman leads Haselrig to the ring. These are some big boys but, ummm, I was expecting a nice little slugfest. Instead, we're getting Haselrig trying to accomplish lord knows what. Thank God this fight isn't being televised as they would probably ban MMA from TV forever. And, on that note, Moreno refuses to start the 2nd round declaring Haselrig the winner. So, Gary Shaw is no in the cage telling them to hurry up in getting the next fight started. They've got 30 minutes before the telecast starts so I think they are good to go. Next up... 160 lbs: Chris Liguori vs. Jim Bova Sorry, I missed the beginning of this fight as I had to go meet someone. I did Frank Shamrock run somewhere and I wished him good luck. Kind of a dull first round. The ring girls are a little annoying as they just bop up and down and the one closest to us is holding the sign sideways (its a circle so its understandable). So, the most interesting action is not taking place in the cage, no, its the fact that Mauro, Gus, and Frank are about to get ready to do their intros. What a team. Oh, and Chris Liguori just won. Alright friends, this is it. History is upon us and I have goose bumps. This is dedicated to Bob Meyrowitz, the entire Gracie family, Tank Abbott, Ken Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Oleg Taktarov, Pat Smith and all the other "human cock-figters" that appeared on the first UFC shows. Whether we like it or not, we owe this moment to the UFC and all those guys. Who knows what kind of rating this show will generate how many of sports fan can say they were there when their sport first premiered on network television? Not many. I'm looking at Gus, Mauro and Frank get ready, and call me a softy, but I'm actually getting emotional. I never thought we would see the day that MMA would be televised on network television and, yet, here were are. Truly an amazing moment. Right now they airing the Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons fight on the big screen. Wait, why? That was solid fight but it ended in controversial fashion and both men aren't even appearing on this card? Why not show Kimbo's fights? It would only take a minute and a half. At this time, I would like to welcome all those that are joining us on FOXSports.com. Welcome to history. The Elite XC press folks just handed out a press release for the 6/14 card from Hawaii. Interesting lineup: KJ Noons vs. Yves Edwards, Nick Diaz vs. Mushin Corbbrey, Rafael Feijao vs. Wayne Cole, Murilo Rua vs. Tony Bonello and Dave Herman vs. Ron Waterman. So, I guess Waterman made it to Elite XC after all. Ok, JL, I admit I am sorta, kinda crying. Anyways, they just turned off the Diaz-Noons fight midway through the first round. Makes sense. AAAANDDD WE'RE OFF! They are airing the CBS tease narrated by Gus. A job well done. Kimbo got a huge pop when he appeared on the big screen. The girls are dancing, no one is really cheering. Sweet. Gus is doing his intro and Frank (off camera) to his right has his eyes closes and appears to be meditating. Pretty cool to see. Anik mentions that he is treating this one like a fight. It seems that way. Just reiterate what I said earlier, I am trying my best to really paint the most accurate picture here so if there are some spelling mistakes here and there I apologoze (I misspelled that on purpose). Geez. They just blasted an extremely loud pyro. I almost jumped on Anik's lap. I would love if anyone reading would keep me up-to-date with what is happening on CBS. Clearly, they are in a commercial as the girls have been dancing for the last 10 minutes (or so it seems). So, hook a brother up! Jon and I just had an interesting discussion re: Kimbo. I said I don't mind seeing him fight tomato cans for now but I think he only has one left in him. I also don't think Antonio Silva is the right opponent for his next bout. The plot thickens but, meanwhile, "The Colossus" awaits. Question: Would a Thompson victory be viewed as a bigger upset as Douglas over Tyson? I know it sounds crazy at first but just think about it... Thanks for the update JL! Up next: 265 lbs: Jon Murphy vs. Brett Rogers Oh nice, here comes Busta Bust. Great idea having him come out first. Definitely smarter than having Krazy Horse walk out while talking on a cell phone. Nice, Busta just gave Rogers the rub by introducing him. I don't know how it looks on TV but his entrance is pretty cool. By the way, the upper deck at the Prudential Center is fairly empty. I'm guessing there are 10-11,000 people here. Those pre-fight video packages on the fighters are pretty slick. Much better than the ones on the Showtime telecasts. One strange note is that the photo that they are using for Murphy is one of him with long hair. He looks completely different in it. I don't like mistakes like that. Jimmy Lennon Jr. is in the house. What do you guys think, Lennon or Buffer? I dig both of them but give the nod to Buffer because one time I saw him at a fight walking around with a gold-tipped cane with, I believe, a snake's head at the top. Friends, one day Jon Murphy and Brett Rogers will be the answer to a trivia question so remember those names. Brett Rogers is for real!!! Vicious KO to end the fight. At first, I thought it was stopped too early but I Murphy has yet to stand up so definitely the right call. Somewhere, Gary Shaw is smiling. They are showing the replays on the big screen and what a KO that was. Some might say it was a KTFO (I know that wasn't used correctly but you know what I mean). Murphy appears to be ok and Rogers is on cloud nine. Winner: Brett Rogers via TKO @ 1:01 in round 1 Wait a tic, Gus is doing the post-fight interviews? That makes no sense. The play-by-play is in the cage? Why not Mauro!?! No disrespect to Gus but this one makes no sense. Rogers camp is throwing hats to the crowd. A really nice scene. The commercial breaks are kind of killing the crowd. We've had 61 seconds of fighting in almost an hour. God bless those cage dancers as they are definitely working for their money tonight. Up next... 185 lbs: Phil Baroni (10-9) vs. Joey Villasenor (25-6) Baroni needs this fight. He can't fall to 10-10. Actually, both guys really need this one. I like Villasenor's entrance, it looks like he is praying to Allah...or someone. The moment Baroni's mug was shown on the big screen the crowd got pretty excited. I can't wait to see what he wears to the ring. Ok, pretty standard for the NYBA but he is looking good dancing with those girls. I can't help but feel happy for vets like Baroni and Smokin' Joe. I bet they never thought they would be fighting on CBS. Baroni is loving every minute of this. This is one of the longest ring entrances of all time. Pavia is in Baroni's corner. Show me the money! Only in MMA would an agent corner his fighter. This should be a great staredown. Ok, maybe not. I was hoping for some Rampage-Eastman stuff. Apparently, these guys aren't paid by the hour. Villasenor wins via TKO as, expectedly, both men come out swinging. Joey eventually secured a guillotine choke which I thought would be Baroni's undoing but a knee and a couple of righs later is what did it. Baroni is pissed! He walked out of the ring before he was called back. Bad performance by Baroni as I thought he would have performed a little better and came out a little more focused. Winner: Joey Villasenor via TKO @ 1:01 in round 1 Glad to hear Gus and co. are doing a good job. I wonder, given the quick finishes which undercard fights will make the telecast. I'm guessing Wilson Reis vs. Justin Robbins. Up next... 140 lbs: Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young Poor Gina, she's been receiving some heat on the net for not making weight. There's definitely an argument to be made against her but I really think we need to understand that, at times, when there are woman involved we need to consider other factors when it comes to the weight discussion. Not saying that was the case here but you never know. Anyways, I just hope both competitors represent women's MMA in the right way. A Karin Bryant-Gina Carano interview is being show in the big screen. I saw Gina after the weigh-ins and she looked very de-hydrated. Not the case here. Shaw and co. must be happy thus far but if Gina loses that would be a huge blow to what they are trying to accomplish. Plaxico Burress is in the house. Regardless of what happens tonight, Kaitlin Young has gained a whole new fan base tonight. She has handled all the drama surrounding this fight like a true pro. BTW, I think both ref stoppages were fine. Murphy and Baroni were definitely out. But you guys are right, they might have told the refs to be extra cautious. Meanwhile, Gina looks pissed off. Someone keeps screaming at Gina to have his baby. I'm not sure if she hears him. Gina is getting a great reaction from the crowd. Apparently, these aren't the haters on the Internet. Gina's muay thai skills are definitely on display. Both women look good early on trading blows. The crowd just broke into a heavy "Gina, Gina" chant and just as they started Kaitlin took her down. Gina eventually got up and and landed some nice rights. 10-9 Carano. Carano doesn't look tired at all. She just landed a nice combo that got this crowd VERY excited. She is by far the most over fighter on the card, thus far. Tremendous front kick by Gina! She tries to go for the rear naked choke but Kaitlin does a good job defending it. Both women look tired and Kaitlin looks beat up. The fight is called! Gina wins. Um yea, so much for that all hype talk. Big props to Kaitlin. She handled this whole situation like a pro and represented the sport extremely well. Winner: Gina Carano via TKO in Round 3 I love how someone from Elite XC tried to put one of their hats on her and she took it off! Yea! This crowd loves Carano. They just showed her dad hugging Jared Shaw. Once again, somewhere the Shaws are smiling. The Karin Bryant-Kimbo Slice interview was just played on the big screen and Newark loves Kimbo. That should be quite the entrance. Personally, I hope Thompson comes out to "God Save The Queen." Up next... Elite XC Middleweight title (185 lbs): Robbie Lawler (c) vs. Scott Smith I just realized it's 10:25 and we have two fights left! What if this fight goes the distance?!? For our newbies out there, that be 25 minutes of fighting not to mention the entrances and all that jazz. This should be interesting. Anik just mentioned that most sporting events go over their alloted time. Duh. I guess I have been watching too much wrestling. It is a little weird, though, with all those early finishes that they are dragging a bit but commercials probably are to blame for that. Here comes Scott Smith. From TUF 4: The Comeback to a title shot on the first ever MMA show on network TV. Well done. If he can pull off some Pete Sell like drama in this one he will have a place in this sport for many years. Sadly, I think he is in for a long night. Both men are stalling big time and the crowd is getting restless. Definitely didn't expect that from these two. Both men feel each other out until around the two minute mark when Lawler starts to bring it with a flurry. Lawler nailed Smith with a liver shot which definitely messed up Smith (he had that Pete Sell fight look in his eyes). Lawler missed a golden opportunity though as Smith was ripe for the taking at the end of round 1. 10-9 Lawler. More feeling out in round 2. Lawler definitely needs to take this up a notch as Smith looks like he wants no part of him right now. Wait a tick! Smith just turned into Anderson Silva with a sick muay thai clinch follwed by some knees to the face. Then Lawler says, "yo, I ain't no Rich Franklin," and applies and inflicts some offense in his own clinch. This is a pure muay thai fight. This is a tough one to call in terms of who won the round but I am going with 10-9 Smith. More trading of punches in round 3. Smith tries for a nice looking superman punch but it misses the mark. Eventually, Smith pushes the pace and lands a nice combo as Lawler back-peddles towards the cage. Breaking news: Lawlers shoots! Wow, I am shocked. Sadly for him, that didn't work out so well except for the fact that he appears to have poked Smith in the eye. Smith looks a little dazed. They just showed the replay on the big screen and his eye was definitely poked. The fight is called! Tough luck for Smith. This crowd is chanting something that rhymes with bullspit. It's hard to tell how badly that eye was damaged from this vantage point but, regardless, that doctor is not feeling the love from this crowd. Jared Shaw is the cage acting like a peacemaker. Lawler should not be pleased with that performance. I was happy to see this viewing audience get a longer fight but Elite XC can'e be happy with a controversial finish. Matt Hughes is in the ring looking all happy. I wonder if he will have that smile on his face in exactly one week. I fear not. Ugh. What's taking so long! No more commercials! I wish they would present the next CBS telecast (if there is one) like a soccer match where specific portions of the card are presented by a sponsor. That would make me very happy. Winner: No contest The rules state that a championship bout must go three rounds to go to the judges' scorecard so it's a no contest and Lawler retains. The doctor is getting booed out of the building. Shaw tried to be the nice guy and announces that both fighters will get the winning purse. Nice gesture but the crowd didn't care. Smith has won over this crowd as the sympathetic character. Both men are visibly upset. Rematch anyone? Up next, the moment we've all been waiting for (just admit it)... 265 lbs: Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson They just showed a cool Thompson-Kimbo teaser. This crowd is going to blow when Kimbo comes out. Oooh look, the announcers are standing up again and facing that annoying camera that is blocking my view. For the record, two judges scored the Lawler-Smith fight a draw after two rounds while the other had it 20-18. I would definitely rule that one a draw. Let me take this opportunity to remind everyone that we will be attending the post-fight presser and will try to get video interviews with everyone. There's a lot of press here but I don't think most have them are doing the video thing so we should get some good ones. Here comes Thompson. I wonder what Brett Rogers thinks about him headlining this bout. Nevertheless, I hope he decides against going balls out from the get-go. That would be a major faux pas in this one. This crowd is dying for some Kimbo. I wonder what Dana White is doing riiiight now. Everyone is on their feet including press row. This is quite the scene. Why is Jared Shaw standing behind Kimbo? I just hate stuff like that. Ken Pavia is back this time in Thompson's corner. This might turn out to be a bad night for the Pavia family. Kimbo is huge in person. The guy looks like a super hero of sorts. For the record, the paid attendance is 8,033. Initially, I expected more but considering the lack of local buzz leading up to the event that sounds about right. Kimbo looks determined! I feel bad for Thompson. Should be a fun staredown. Here we go... Consider me shocked. Thompson has stiffled Kimbo and has been succesfful in taking him down only problem is that Thompson can't do anything on the ground. Eventually Kimbo gets up but back down they go and Thompson is in side control! I never thought I would type that. Kimbo the reverse and is now in Thompson's guard. Who would have ever thought we would see this? No big punches thrown. I can't believe I am writing this...10-9 Thompson. This is a story in itself and Thompson's camp deserves a whole heap of credit. Kimbo lands some big shots in round 2 off the bat while Thompson continues to try and take him down. He even lands a couple of vicious knees. Kimbo guillotine! The crowd is going nuts but Thompson is able to slip out. Kimbo's BJJ skills are weak at best. The better think twice before matching him up with Antonio Silva. They're back up and Kimbo lands a beautiful combo that rocks Thompson? Is this it?!? No. Wow, James f'n Thompson is nailing Kimbo with some vicious elbows. He is stealing this round! I swear to the lord almighty NO ONE predicted this. To be honest, I am having a hard time even typing here. This is nuts. Not because Kimbo is some Mike Tyson like figure but no one expected him to look this vulnerable. How in the world does one scores this round? I need some help here. Thompson was effective at the end but Kimbo landed some great shots at the top but I am going with....10-9 Thompson. Third round starts off like the other two with a Kimbo flurry. Wait, what?!? The fight was called? Holy geezus that is a horrible decision. Thompson wasn't more dazed than he was at any point in the fight. Wow. I am speechless. I don't like how any of these main fights except for the Rogers win ended. H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E. C.A.L.L. I can't stress that enough. That fight should have never ended in tha fashion. Kimbo looks spent. He is now talking with Gus Johnson. The crowd is booing their hero! He even tried to shout them out and, still, boos. What a story. First, Thompson dictates the pace, then the controversy and now the boos. Winner: Kimbo Slice via TKO in round 3 Alright, thanks for joining me everyone. This was a lot of fun. I'm off to the PC to find out what the hell is going on here. Check back in a couple of hours for the interviews. Good night! Ok, forget that...I'm back. I will liveblog the PC for all of you. Too much controversy. Keep it locked... There are rumors flowing that Kimbo tapped?!? Anyone notice that? According to the NJSACB's Nick Lembo, Scott Smith said something to the effect of "I can't see, let me clear my eye." That's why they stopped the fight. Weak. This will be one interesting PC. No one has come in yet but the place is buzzing. Someone just yelled "press conference is cancelled" but no one is budging. That can't be, right? Stay tuned... Gary Shaw has arrived and he looks a little shaken, not stirred. Joey Villasenor is in the house and looks very happy without a scratch on his face. Shawne Merriman, Brad Penny and some other athletes are at the press conference. Weird. Gary Shaw is addressing the press. He is thanking the press and especially the web sites that believed in Elite XC. You're welcome, Gar. Shaw is giving props to all the fights and mentions the women too. He thanks all the big wigs at CBS. "CBS is the best partner we can have." This press conference is packed. Gary Shaw is ripping on the Nielsen ratings. He says he doesn't know anyone that has a Nielsen box. Actually, neither do I. Shaw: "I think we proved today that the UFC isn't the only game in town." "Now I say to Dana White, when you are driving in your car look out your right rear bumper and you'll see Gary Shaw waving and smiling at you." Robbie just inadvertently nailed Shaw in the nuts. Shaw: "Watch my nuts." Shaw is losing this audience, he is dragging this out a bit too long. Scott Smith's right ankle looks extremely swollen. James Thompson was taken to the hospital. He is having trouble breathing. Hopefully, he is ok. Robbie Lawler is up first and gets a nice hand from the crowd. He's not happy with the way it ended. "I look forward to doing that again, let's run it back. Word." Shaw says they will get a chance to run it back. Whatever that means. Thompson is going to address the crowd in a minute. Smith is now addressing the crowd. He has a broken foot. Whoa, Thompson's ear is the size of one of those super balls. Smith mentions how appreciative he is of Gary Shaw giving him the winning purse because he is a single father. Gary Shaw is giving Thompson major love. He even compared him to Buster Douglas. I think I mentioned that 6 hours ago. Thompson is great. He is so humble and addresses the people saying he wasn't deserving of this chance. Thompson said they stopped it because his ear was bleeding. What? Baroni then said it's better than "it's better than stopping it due to diarrhea." Nice. Brett Rogers is up. "Kimbo Slice, that was just garbage man." He then said this is bullshit when referring to Kimbo's performance. Basically, he ain't impressed with Kimbo. Jon Murphy is up next and is short on words. He is upset and looks to rebound. We're talking Baroni, Villasenor next. Baroni is texting on his phone. Joey Villasenor is talking now and says he respects Baroni because in his toughest moments Baroni was there for him. Villasenor is giving everyone love. He is coming off like a great guy. Here comes the NYBA and he wrote a speech. He is talking like he just won an Academy Award. It kind of sounds, at first, like he is saying goodbye but let me hear him out. He is currently thanking everyone under the sun. Baroni endorses Trevor Prangley and says Gary should fork over the cash to sign him before he goes to Japan. Baroni thanks Mark Coleman... And now he is crying. Coleman triggered the emotions. He is all choked up. Man, it seems like this is it for Baroni. Baroni has regathered himself and is thanking, seemingly, ever sponsor he's ever had. "I really want to come back here and prove myself to the fans." I guess that means he isn't done. "I'm only 29 this year so I think I have some more fights left in me. I want to prove myself again." Gary says to the NYBA: "Phil we're not sending you a cut letter. You are a part of our team and a part of our family." Gary is introducing Gina to the crowd. Her left thigh is bandaged. "All the positive people, you touched my heart." She says that some of her inspiration are the other fighters. Gina says she only had three weeks to train for the fight and thanks God. She thanks her family for her support. Baroni is back and thanks his fiance, Angela. Cool, thanks. Kimbo is in the house and is wearing sunglasses. It's tough to tell due to the shades and the beard but he looks beat up. Especially his left eye. Shaw on Kimbo: "I still believe he is a superstar." Shaw says that he has put a tremendous burden on Slice. "I've set the bar so high that anything beyond a spectacular performance may seem like a let down...Kimbo carried this promotion...I'm not making excuses for Kimbo Slice. But I'm just telling you that he carried this promotion (in the weeks leading up to the event)." Kimbo goes to shake Brett Rogers hand and Brett wants none of it. Wow, Brett is doing a nice job of building himself. Kimbo comes up to the podium and breaks his sunglasses. "It was a tough ass fight. I never underestimated James." "I wasn't threatened. I kept telling the ref, 'I'm good, I'm good.'" "Not one time did I tap. Not one time did I make any gesture of tapping...Tapping is not part of my repetoire." "When it's time for me to fight again, I will be back." Shaw doesn't want Kimbo to fight on every CBS card. "There was fighter's before me and fighter's after me." "I can take a little ground and pounding...I won't be smoking as much because I have a lot of training to do." Kimbo says he wasn't threatened by Thompson's elbows at the end of round 2. Kimbo says that popping Thompson's ear was part of his gameplan. When asked about Sean Gannon Kimbo says: "Who?" Kimbo is cool with fighting Brett Rogers but didn't have much to say about his performance. Kimbo is being a little evasive with his answers. Gary Shaw says that Thompson was a little bit on "queer street" and is ok with the stoppage. Brett Rogers is now talking and calling Kimbo out! "It was garbage...you did tap out. I was right." Oh man, there is a pull-apart!! Kimbo: "That sounds like a challeng, G!" Kimbo's people: "Rogers, you're a hater." All the fighters are pulling Rogers and Kimbo apart. This is quite the scene. Everyone is cool now but there is some tension in the air. Gina is now talking and says the reason she didn't make weight was because she stopped sweating. She says she was ready to get defeated due to everything that happened yesterday. Gary says Robbie and Scott may fight again. 3:50 am EST update - Sorry for ending the PC report abruptly. We ran to get some one-on-one interviews with everyone so I had to drop everything. Stay tuned for words from Villasenor, Baroni, Shaw and, of course, Brett Rogers. Thompson wasn't available for comment and Kimbo didn't really talk to anyone after the press conference. We also have some fantastic footage from the drama at the press conference so check back in a few for it all.