The night MMA crashed network TV—Kimbo Slice, a brawler, and a whole lot of chaos.
EliteXC: Primetime main card aired live on CBS, marking the first time a MMA event aired in primetime on major American network television. The most hyped fights was Kimbo Slice vs James Thompson, Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith and Gina Carano vs Kaitlin Young.
Production
CBS primetime production values on a wild MMA card.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was MMA's first primetime network broadcast—two years before UFC landed on FOX. The experiment failed spectacularly: EliteXC folded months later after accusations of fixing fights to protect Kimbo.
James Thompson's cauliflower ear literally burst during the Kimbo fight, spraying blood everywhere. The ref stopped it—controversially—and Thompson later said he was fine to continue. FREE
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