I’m not sure how many people caught the ShoXC event Friday night on Showtime, but if you did watch, you were “rewarded” with one of the weirdest endings I’ve seen in an MMA fight in a while.

In the main event, Thomas “Wildman” Denny faced off against Malaipet,  a decorated Muy Thai fighter from, well, Thailand. Malaipet’s only 3-1 in MMA competition, and likes to stand-up with punches and kicks. Denny obviously knew Malaipet’s weakness was his ground game, and took the fight to the ground near the start of the first round.

Denny dominated Malaipet on the ground, quickly locking in a rear naked choke.  What came next was pretty amazing–Malaipet, who according to Mauro Ranallo (or Stephen Quadros, I can’t remember which one said it) apparently learned submission wrestling from video tapes, managed to work his way out of the choke. I was shocked–he looked like he was dead to rights. It was a pretty amazing display of will, in fact. As the two fighters stood back up after Denny landed some ground and pound on Malaipet, I was excited for the direction this fight was heading: a lethal Muy Thai fighter trying to beat a MMA vet who could dominate him on the ground.

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EliteXC has announced that it’s first MMA event on CBS will take place on May 31. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler will defend his Middleweight Title against Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith, who most recently knocked out Kyle Noke in round 2 of their fight at EliteXC: Street Certified on February 16.

The headliner for the card will be Kimbo Slice, but his opponent is yet to be determined. That begs an obvious question: who will Kimbo face?

Rumors of a Kimbo Slice v. Ken Shamrock clash seemed to have died down since Ken got knocked out by Robert “Buzz” Berry. Berry himself might end up fighting Kimbo on CBS.

This is a real dilemma for EliteXC, and I’m not surprised they haven’t announced Kimbo’s opponent yet. They need a big name to face Kimbo, but they also need a competitive main event to keep viewers coming back for more.

Personally, I’d love to see Shamrock get a shot at redemption after his last fight and face Kimbo. Shamrock is a big name, and I think it’s a win-win situation for both fighters. If Shamrock pulls the upset, he’s back in a big way, and if Kimbo knocks Shamrock out, he’s beaten one of the greats of all-time. I don’t think a Kimbo Slice-Buzz Berry contest is the way to go at this point, because Berry has little name recognition outside the UK.

Plus, if not Shamrock or Buzz Berry, who would Kimbo actually face?

Holy crap. The outspoken Frank Shamrock is at it again. In an interview with mmamadness.com, Frank claims that Ken has used steroids ‘his whole life’.

It’s a huge statement to make and the fact that Ken has never failed a drug test while in the UFC makes the statement an even bolder one. Here’s part of the interview:

Why do you think that his mind is so fried? Why do you think he crumbles before the big fights? He’s got no psyche. He let steroids give him a false sense of security and the moment that stuff is gone he’s no longer superman. He’s just a regular man. But without all the hard work and without all the belief in himself that a regular man would have if he got up to that point. He’s the only guy that I’ll tell on, because he’s always in trouble anyway.

In an interesting development of the possible Ken Shamrock VS. Frank Shamrock:blood brothers PPV fight, mmafightline.com is reporting that the fight is now off.

Apparently Frank Shamrock has stated that potential financial backers were concerned with the defeat Ken suffered at Cage Rage 25. They obviously believe his defeat to Robert ‘Buzz’ Berry has harmed potential PPV buys.

Myself and Lex asked Ken just a couple of weeks ago on the PWB Podcast about the fight and it was something Ken believed would definitely happen in the future.

So what now for Ken???

Let’s review. We’ve got EliteXC signing a deal with a major broadcast network, CBS, to air live MMA cards. Strikeforce just announced a deal with NBC to air highlight shows after Saturday Night Live. A deal sending UFC programming to FOX is most likely in the wings. Of course, we’ve already got UFC on SpikeTV, WEC on Versus, Pride reruns on Fox Sports Net and HD Net Fights on, well, HD Net. The amount of MMA on TV is multiplying by the day.

A question I’ve been posing is this: will MMA reach a critical mass? Is it risking overexposure? Before you laugh at me, think back to another sport that had been labeled the “fastest growing sport in America” just a few years ago: NASCAR.

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First, it was EliteXC signing a deal with CBS. Now MMAJunkie is reporting that Strikeforce, which co-promotes events with UFC, is on the verge of signing with NBC:

As part of the NBC deal, fight footage from past Strikeforce events will likely be shown in “highlights” shows, not unlike the Pride Fighting Championships shows that currently air on Fox Sports Net. The first Strikeforce show is expected to air in mid-April.

The program will likely air on late Saturday nights (early Sunday mornings) either immediately after or soon after the hit NBC series, “Saturday Night Live.”

Although unconfirmed, there’s speculation that the deal could possibly lead to live or, at the very least, tape-delayed Strikeforce events airing on NBC. However, other than the weekly highlights show, few other details of the deal are known at the time.

While this isn’t quite as big as EliteXC’s deal with CBS, it’s still big. It looks like networks are starting to jump on the MMA bandwagon. The real question is, will FOX or ABC take the leap?

At the end of February, when EliteXC signed with CBS, rumors were flying that FOX was negotiating with the UFC.  FOX would be a natural fit, but I don’t see ABC signing any MMA organization since they generally destroy the other stations in terms of ratings.

Let’s just hope all these TV deals don’t lead to over exposure for MMA.

MMAFightline is reporting that Fedor Emelianenko’s people are now in negotiations with the UFC to bring Fedor in for one fight.

I guess the presumption is that he would be facing Randy Couture, but why just sign him for one fight? If I were the UFC, I’d try and lock him up for at least three. If this deal does go down, it would be huge, as the talent war between the UFC and EliteXC looks to be heating up.

Wow. That was quick. Just yesterday, Gary Shaw did an interview where he didn’t respond to Dana White’s recent belittling comments. Guess Gary hadn’t heard the interview yet. He did respond today when chatting with Wrestling on Tap (via MMA Fightline):

“Dana is the type of guy that if he owned a gas station, he wouldn’t want any other gas stations in America, that’s just the type of guy he is. That’s the type of ego he has.”

“As far as Dana saying that I was never a fan of mixed martial arts, ask him to produce articles or tape on me saying the things he said I said. It can’t happen. I was watching mma with my son back when Dana was selling used cars or whatever he was doing before the UFC. I never belittle any sport or organization, that’s not my style.”

I think Dana said all he had to do was “go and search Gary Shaw and mixed martial arts (on the Internet),” and you would find Shaw ” saying five years ago that mixed martial arts was a joke” When I Google “Gary Shaw + Mixed Martial Arts,” all that comes up for me are multiple interviews featuring Dana White bashing him!

This battle between UFC and EliteXC is getting SERIOUS. Now it looks like we might get a bidding war over Fedor Emelianenko. Shaw said this in the same Wrestling on Tap interview:

“We would love to have Fedor with our organization. But Fedor and his people need to be realistic about what they are asking for. He hasn’t had a top fight in awhile. He needs to get back to fighting top competition. In the United States out of sight is out of mind.”

So who wants to pay Fedor? Will EliteXC offer him more money, or will the chance of fight Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell lure him to the UFC, regardless of money?

You know, one other thought. A lot of people complain about White and Shaw sniping back and forth at each other. I’ve seen them called “babies” multiple places on the Internet. But think about it this way: how much more interesting does their bickering make things? Exactly.

In an interview with MMA Weekly, EliteXC promoter Gary Shaw said that EliteXC’s first MMA card on CBS will be sometime between April and June.

Shaw didn’t address yesterday’s comments by Dana White. Not that I would expect him to.

Dana White was his usual talkative self in an a Boston Herald interview yesterday. White addressed several topics.

On EliteXC’s deal with CBS:

“The next company that was going to take me out has been coming for the last eight years,” White told the Herald last week. “Every time somebody puts something new together, it’s been ‘Oh, these guys are gonna kick Dana’s (expletive) and put his ego in check.’ There ain’t anybody kicking our (expletive). It isn’t going to happen this year with CBS and Elite XC or any year…”

“It’s a lot trickier than people realize,” White said. “The reality is that Elite XC didn’t sign a deal with CBS, that’s not what happened. CBS bought Elite XC — big difference. I don’t think it’s a great deal at all. I’ve talked to every network, including CBS. The thing is with me — I say it all the time — I’m not going to cut a stupid deal.”

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