As a wrestling afficionado, the use of martial arts terms for basic wrestling maneuvers drove me nuts, but I'll get over it. Kimbo has got a lot to learn about basic hip positioning when on the ground - he never should have been down there as long as he was in teh second period. A JV wrestler would have been out in 10 seconds.

Gus Johnson was surprisingly good. Gave a legitimate air to the broadcast.

CBS Sports should have done the show - way too much emphasis on entertainment and not enough on the fights. The fluff added 45 minutes of padding the show didn't need.

And I must have said to my wife at least 3 times, "I can't believe UFC didn't get this chance first. They wouldn't have screwed this up so bad."

The real hardcore mma fans are loyal to the sport of mma and not the UFC. They appreciate the competitive fights they stage but aren't fans of the organization's actions.

1. The UFC is a monopoly. Because of this Dana White determines the pay scale of the fighters and not the free market. Keith Jardine made $10,000 and Sean Sherk made $35,000 in the last show. Due to a lack of competition these purses are below true market value based on the gates, merchandise and ppv buys.

2. Dana White has tried to kill anything mma that is not UFC. He bought Pride to close it down and own its video library of fights. There is very little mma footage outside of the control of the UFC.

3. The UFC commentators are not independent. They are basically cheerleaders for the UFC and Dana White. Goldberg & Rogan would be fired on the spot if they ever were critical of Dana White's actions. It was refreshing to hear Gus Johnson independently call the fights last night.

4. There is no secret that there is a moral problem amongst the fighters in the UFC. Lack of adequate pay and respect are the main reasons. The UFC fighters also can't criticize or question anything without being thrown under the bus and made a footnote in UFC history. Watch how quickly Randy Couture has been all but erased from UFC coverage. He is only now shown in fight highlights of other fighters like last night on SpikeTV. Couture, Ortiz, Frank Shamrock, Lindland are some of the brave fighters who have stood up and demanded better treatment. The other fighters who are Dana White's puppets will supposedly hint in private about their dissatisfaction in the UFC but are too afraid to stand up publicly to the UFC machine and face being thrown under the bus.

5. The UFC productions that profile Dana White, the company or its fighters are such works of propaganda. The deception is when it is totally sports' yellow journalism but Dana White passes it off to the viewers like it is an unbiased sports documentary. I can't watch a UFC production without feeling like I am in a North Korean re-education camp.

I consider myself a serious MMA fan. I have been to a couple UFC events in Vegas. Here are my thoughts:

1) Anyone with a brain knew there were going to be quick stopages. This was MMA's first run on network TV and all the critics were out. Had the fights progressed, the press would have loved to coin this a "bloodsport".

2) I don't completely disagree with the Kimbo stopage. Noting what I said in point 1, this was about to become a bloodbath. Thompson started to bleed like a stuck pig and it was only going to get worse. Plus, at that point, it was only a matter of time until the fight either ended with a KO or worse with two guys barely being able to stand with hands on their knees

3) Gus Johnson was AWESOME. It also made me realize that I actually like Joe Rogen. Shamrock was a shill, Rogan at least has some insight. A pairing of Johnson and Rogan would be cool to me.

Some really great comments.

Bill- I agree on the UFC comment. I really think they could've done a much better job. Still, I liked Gus Johnson and you never would've had that without EliteXC selling its soul to CBS.

Derrick-All valid points. And I'm not the world's biggest Dana supporter. Still, he's such a big, big reason why the sport has progressed to the point that it has. As for money, I wonder how much of that will change once they start making real money. That's one major thing that needs to change.

Great points on the broadcasters too. I hate the shill factor. Awful. Dana is a control FREAK. No doubt.

UFC propaganda- do you mean the stuff that's shown on broadcasts or that Dana has the media in his backpocket?

Brad- Interesting point on how much worse things could've been with a bloodier finale to the main event.

It reminded me of a fixed prize fight. Instead of having Kimbo fighting a legitimate fighter, he gets a punching bag to inflate his record and marginalize the sport. Kimbo is a sham.

I hated the announcers, they were shills. Joe Rogan calls it square. He would have blasted the stoppages. Kimbo could not qualify for a contract in UFC.

last night was a JOKE! it was a horrific represantation of MMA. the fighters(for the most part), the fat bastard gary shaw trying to get his tv face time, the dancers, the production, the segments, etc were all horrific. It turned out to be a very sad day for MMA.

It wasn't that awful a representation of MMA. I've heard from a number of casual fans who were exposed to it for the first time that LOVED it, and I really believe Gus Johnson is a big reason why.

I think those fans would love the UFCs shows even more, because all the BS would be cut out and they would see much better product.

Shaw is a complete clown though, no two ways about it.

ok this is the deal about the card

first off it was a 4 hour show.. with the public only seeing the second half on CBS

UFC is and wAS an american outlet for fighting..

MMA is fighting.. UFC has most of the quality fighters.

this IS a bloodsport.. the fans enjoy blood boxing and all out fighting.. no one likes a quiter.. so get knocked out

Kimbo was the main card due to him being the most famous.. the undercards were the key to the fight

UFC bought pride for the Rampage Vs the IceMan... the ice get what the ice want..

the MMA world needs a yearly tournament... where fighters from all organizations are invited for a clear cut 'best fighter in the world title'

its time to expand.. while some may try to bash and smash eliteXC and the production.. they are doing the best they can with most of the great fighters locked in unescapable contracts..
Yet Fedor is out there and he is godlike

this sport shall survive.. it is worldwide

only in america where violence is demonized i mean guys how long did we have to watch fake shit..

Remember UFC only took off after a UF show where the WWE' guys tuned in and turned on.

well i just say its a baby sport wih an old man [kimbo] past his prime trying to bring us along... if UFC would stop thinking they are 'GODS' we might see the fighters.. they want to fight.. and they want to fight the best.. they want more fights.. it is happening

Not the worst show I've seen.

I think Dan's stoppage of the Kimbo/Thompson fight was good. If it continued it would have been same outcome much worse.

Undercard streamed live was good.

I do however think this show is proof God is a UFC fan.

Instead of lynching Shaw now I'd rather see the matchmaker fired (or shot for treason) immediately and Shaw left to squirm in the spotlight for one more show so we can feel his pain...I mean give him one last chance.

KM

As a total newbie to the sport, I was instatly hooked after Saturday night. I was at a party and they had the hockey game on with noone really paying attention to it. As soon as the channel was switched to the fight, everyone was glued to the set!

I have mixed feelings on the show. On one hand both main events ended badly. One was a war between to solid middle weights that ended with an eye poke, and the other was a sloppy tko via bloody ear. Now on the other hand the women put on a nice fight and we got to see phil baroni get his ass kicked which is always a plus. I agree the anouncers were impressive (except for the ddt comment) and Gary Shaw is a fool.

The best fight of the weekend was the WEC Uriah Faber/ Jens Pulver match Sunday night. II you missed it, you missed the best fight of month and a really great opportunity to see a first class MMA fight and production. The CBS show was embarrassing.

I was so glad to read this article and the comments that followed because I now know that I'm not the only one who thinks Gary Shaw is a complete worm. If ANYTHING is bad for this sport, it's got to be him. I'm not a big Dana White fan either, but by comparison, Gary Shaw makes Dana White look like the Duke of York.

I kept thinking to myself, "Is this guy for real?" Always up in their grill, with his XXXL "Team EliteXC" nylon jacket and 80s haircut. Like he had something to do with their performances. Please. Something smells of blood sucking leach to me. Or was that just Don King in makeup?

The Gina Carano fight is a definate con in my opinion. Despite her looks she did nothing to legitimize women's MMA or EliteXC. She was fighting a smaller opponent at a catch weight and still came in overweight. It shows her lack of dedication to the sport and was a black eye for EliteXC. If they are truly a legitimate organization how can one of their most marketable fighters not be dedicated enough or train hard enough to make weight?

The Gina Carano fight is a definate con in my opinion. Despite her looks she did nothing to legitimize women's MMA or EliteXC. She was fighting a smaller opponent at a catch weight and still came in overweight. It shows her lack of dedication to the sport and was a black eye for EliteXC. If they are truly a legitimate organization how can one of their most marketable fighters not be dedicated enough or train hard enough to make weight?