I figured since I wasn’t going to write up a full and detailed preview of tonights EliteXC show on CBS I’d go to CBSSportsline.com to see what they had to say. Their article includes five contributing MMA writers covering each of the main card fights. Here are predictions from each writer for each fight.

Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson by Denny Burkholder
Kimbo claims he wants to show off more ground skills, and Thompson says he would like to take the fight to the ground. Don’t listen to either of them. Once the fight begins, they’ll both be throwing bombs. Kimbo is being cultivated as EliteXC’s superstar fighter, and Thompson was recently knocked out by Brett Rogers. It’s not a coincidence that Thompson’s glass jaw earned him a spot in the main event. Kimbo will flatten Thompson in the first round, and we’ll still wonder about his ground game come Sunday.

Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith by Sam Caplan
Scott Smith is an easy guy to root for, but he faces an opponent in Robbie Lawler who has really come into his own. Lawler is not the same fighter he was in the UFC, as he’s become more well-rounded. As for Smith, he’s been training on the ground longer than his standup, but we’ve rarely seen those all-around skills. I expect this to be another brawl, and while Smith has a puncher’s chance, I believe the percentages are in Lawler’s favor of walking away the winner. Lawler via first round TKO.

Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young by Gregg Doyel
Kaitlin isn’t the name of a fighter. Kaitlin is the name of a kindergarten girlie with pigtails, or a baby-sitter with braces. Nobody named Kaitlin can beat Gina Carano, that’s for damn sure. If you wanted better analysis than this, sorry. I can’t get into women fighting. Am I sexist? Perhaps.

(more…)

Last night 20/20 had a segment dedicated to kids and their involvement in mixed martial arts. It’s a fairly balanced and typical MMA story with plenty of UFC clips of fighters getting KO’d and the token politician speaking out against the sport. What’s great is to see the next generation of fighter. Imagine the quality of fighters we’ll see in the next decade when we have 20 year old mixed martial artist s with years with 15 years of training under their belt.

Let’s be honest, young children have been taking karate lessons for decades and mixed martial arts is just another form of self defense. For those who have a problem with kids participating in MMA, as 20/20’s John Stossel would say, “give me a break.”

Leading up to the big EliteXC show this weekend the press has been all over the fighters. MMA Rated.com caught up with the lovely Gina Carano. Gina doesn’t have much to say and the interviewer is a bit awkward. I wish this video provided some amazing insight into her fight (or any EliteXC fight), but what the hell, it is Gina Carano and she’s easy on the eyes.

Here are the numbers from UFC 84 care of MMA Payout.com. Check these guys out, solid insight into the money-side of mixed martial arts.

The total disclosed payroll for UFC 84 (including disclosed bonuses) was $1,323,000. Assuming $8,990,000 in pay-per-view revenue (400,000 pay-per-view buys at $44.95 with 50/50 revenue split with pay-per-view companies) and including the $3.7 million live gate, the event would generate $12,690,000 in total revenue for Zuffa.

That would put the disclosed payroll at roughly 10.4% of revenue generated. However, it is important to note the company regularly pays substantial undisclosed bonuses.

Unless otherwise noted all winner’s payouts reflect a 100% win bonus:

* B.J. Penn ($250,000) d. Sean Sherk ($35,000)
* Wanderlei Silva ($225,000*) d. Keith Jardine ($10,000)
* Goran Reljic ($81,000#) d. Wilson Gouveia ($93,000#)
* Lyoto Machida ($100,000) d. Tito Ortiz ($210,000)
* Thiago Silva ($50,000) d. Antonio Mendes ($4,000)
* Rousimar Palhares ($85,000^) d. Ivan Salaverry ($20,000)
* Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou ($80,000) d. Kazuhiro Nakamura ($20,00O)
* Rich Clementi ($40,000) d. Terry Etim ($10,000)
* Yoshiyuki Yoshida ($12,000) d. Jon Koppenhaver ($8,000)
* Dong Hyun Kim ($40,000) d. Jason Tan ($3000)
* Shane Carwin ($12,000) d. Christian Wellisch ($10,000)

* - $150,000 base pay plus $75,000 bonus for KO of the Night
# - includes $75,000 bonus for Fight of the Night
^ - includes $75,000 bonus for Submission of the Night

And so too is Rich Clementi for that matter. After UFC 84, a few of the fighters made their way over to the Palms for a pool party. Looks like 3 girls for every guy, oh my.

CombatLifestyle.com caught all the action. Click here for tons of photos from the party on their site.

That’s what he’s gunning for these days. Mr. Bald is Beautiful, UFC Prez Dana White recently did a photo shoot for Men’s Fitness magazine and reveled his work-out routine.

From the Men’s Fitness article:

Before preparing for our cover shoot, White weighed 217 pounds. By cycling his carb intake and intensifying his workouts, he dropped over 20 pounds in four weeks, weighing in at 196 on the day of the shoot. “I’m glad Men’s Fitness came along,” he says. “I need a reason to work out. I’ve been boxing my whole life, so I get bored with it sometimes. When I get bored of boxing, I’ll get more into lifting weights. We’re trying to get my bench to 315 now.”

Here is Dana’s full routine:

RING CIRCLES:
Skips laterally around a boxing ring for a few minutes to warm up.

SHADOWBOXING:
Three rounds.

PAD WORK:
Throws punch combinations on focus mitts for four to six rounds.

MILE RUN:
White runs on the treadmill.

JUMP ROPE:
Nine minutes.

WEIGHT TRAINING:
White focuses on chest, shoulders, and triceps one day, then back, legs, and biceps another, alternating heavy and light days. “Chest day takes a long time,” he says. “We’re big into fuckin’ benching.” [Laughs].