Why The Mainstream Media Hates EliteXC

Saturday night's EliteXC show on CBS was fun and entertaining. It was also a success as ratings were high and CBS will broadcast a second show later this year.

The mainstream media and all the sports talk radio shows were talking about the show today. Most of them were bashing EliteXC and Kimbo Slice, the Youtube fighting legend.

Most of the writers and talk-show hosts knew nothing about MMA but still decided to bash what they saw on Saturday night.

A few of these "professionals" are biased and clearly have an agenda. Yahoo Sports columnists Kevin Iole and Dan Wenzel wrote very negative articles on EliteXC. What they didn't disclose to its readers was that Yahoo has a partnership with EliteXC's rival, UFC. Iole has even been on UFC preview shows. Wenzel was on a sports talk show this morning and said that EliteXC was a "joke" and the "minor leagues" of MMA.

From what I have seen so far, EliteXC is a very professional organization ran by a very successful boxing promoter, Gary Shaw. Shaw has given fans what they wanted to see. Fights such as Frank Shamrock vs Cung Le might not have happened if it wasn't for Shaw.  Kimbo Slice would probably not grace the latest cover of ESPN's magazine either.

The only reason media members such as Wenzel and Rome are talking about MMA and jumping on the bandwagon is because MMA is getting popular and it is "cool" to talk about it. Wenzel admitted that his MMA articles are more popular than his articles on other sports.  Some journalists are writing stories on MMA and referring to the sport as "ultimate fighting." That is how ignorant most of the media are about MMA.

I was very entertained by the show on Saturday. None of the fights ended in decision and we got to watch some knockouts. What more can fans ask for? Would fans rather watch Kimbo Slice fight or the dull but undefeated  UFC light heavywight fighter Lyoto Machida?

Kimbo Slice's fight against James Thompson was exciting, compelling, and filled with lots of drama. Would this Internet superstar lose for the first time in the cage or would he be able to come back from near defeat in the second round?

The media can continue to bash EliteXC and Kimbo Slice but they cannot deny how successful the ratings were for the show. Slice is one of the most marketable fighters in MMA today and one of the most popular..

If Slice is headlining the next CBS show, it will be do well again. Slice's fans will want to see him knock his opponent out while his detractors will watch to see if he will get exposed and lose for the first time.

Saturday night's fights  were filled with lots of action and knockouts and I can't wait for the next EliteXC show on prime time television.

If you don't want to watch MMA on a Saturday night, you can go out and watch "Sex in the City" instead but I'll be home tuning into EliteXC's Saturday NIght Fights on CBS.