Why do people keep saying if it was a different promotion?? I'm a huge boxing fan and would have never watch if it was not for Kimbo Slice... All of this fighting seems to be worthless and very savage with no skill. I had to fast forward through the whole show to get to Kimbo.. Good thing I set the DVR to go over an hour. Lets be honest if it had been a different promotion with no Kimbo than even less people would have watched. One of my buddies stop watching two fights before Kimbo came on... So I think the sport should be thankful for Kimbo, because just like boxing and Mike Tyson, once he's gone back to the dark alleys it goes..

Thoughts on the WEC event from Sunday? I thought the Torres-Maeda bout was very entertaining, with solid stand up and very active work on the ground. The main event, though entertaining, to me only showed that Faber may not be the force that some MMA fans believe him to be. He couldn't finish Pulver, who looked tentative the whole bout and blatantly was checking the clock and rubbing the mouse he sustained on the right eye.

If this event (with these two fights) had been shown to the CBS audience there could have been a surge in interest akin to Griffin-Bonnar 1 from the first TUF finale. In my opinion MMA missed out.

Wow, the comment from Malik was completely divorced from reality. I'm only a casual MMA fan, but I know that it's been growing steadily since its inception (it's the world's fastest-growing sport) and that that growth has had nothing to do with Kimbo Slice, since he only came onto the MMA scene last year. Slice will help bring in some new fans, but the sport would continue to grow and get huge without him.

Further, Malik ignores the commentary in the editorial and repeats the fallacy that MMA is savage and without skill. Savage? A medical study found that brain injuries are more likely in boxing than in MMA. Only one MMA fighter has died in sanctioned competition. Whereas in boxing, I read that on CBS broadcasts alone, three boxers have died on the air.

You don't see the skill because you don't understand the sport, and also because these weren't the most skilled fighters in MMA. Still, they displayed skill. If you paid close attention, you would see this. It's not supposed to look like WWE or Jackie Chan.

As for the EliteXC event, overall I enjoyed it, but it certainly could've been better.

Skylights great points. Malik is just off base on so many levels.

Kimbo Slice has NOTHING to do with the rise of popularity in MMA. He's benefited greatly, but there were a lot of mainstream media outlets catching onto the UFC and MMA in general before Kimbo Slice.

Reality is boxing has been on air for 20 years plus. This stuff made its way to TV recently.

And most the fights did not make it out of first round. They being with stand up boxing and then go the ground.

Reality is I dont know many people who are fans so I doubt its the fastest growing anything. Fastest growing among who? Even Jim Rome says its not his thing. I bet he represents a good portion of his listeners.

Please explain the skill more in depth, because I thought CBS did a good job with the start of their broadcast?

I saw alot of skill when the guy had Kimbo against the cage and was just punching him in the head. It showed tons of skill, Kimbo did not black out or lose his senses.

So how am I off base?

i never even got to see the kimbo fight-evidently because it ran too long the main event was cut off.
worst production job i have ever seen in my life

Malik, your a "huge boxing fan" but you think it has only been on air for 20 yrs? Boxing has been on tv for at least 40 yrs. As previously posted you watched an event with low to mid level talent. The best fighters on the card were probably Villasenor, Carrano, Lawler and Smith. Villasenor didn't need to show any skill because Baroni is now a spectacle and shadow of himself. Did you watch Carrano work for a submission? The reason a different promotion would have been better is you would have seen real MMA fighters not just sluggers. And if you are fan of boxing this should be up your alley, most of the fights were boxing but with actual action. The stand up in MMA is twice as impressive because they have to think about kicks and takedowns, boxers don't have to. Just do us a favor, and do some research. Watch some UFC, or WEC or heck IFL they are on all the time. And as far as the fastest growing sport, its true. Look at some numbers. UFC does more in PPV $ than boxing. Its gone from nothing to now on prime time tv. Video and merchandise sales are up over 50 fold from 5 years ago. So just becaus it isn't in your inner circle doesn't mean world wide it isn't the fastest growing. Just do some research before you talk.

Doing a search on google with the term "fastest growing sport" and the result was... Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the United States.

ok I have wasted enough time on this. And Im a young guy so your right I dont know boxings TV history.

and also fastest growing sport is Bull Riding, Nascar, Cricket, Golf, Rugby and table tennis then MMA... Hahahahahah

Thats google results

Hey Mailk, all you're proving is that anyone can call their sport "fastest growing" and it will show up on a google search. Nothing more.