CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights to debut May 31
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) will make its primetime network television debut on CBS, Saturday, May 31st at 9:00 PM ET. CBS and EliteXC have announced a partnership to broadcast four MMA Saturday Night Fights each year, and they will be available in 1080i high definition.
Mixed Martial Arts is (apparently) the fastest growing sport in the U.S., at least according to the all of the fans who email us about the need to add these events to our guide. The CBS MMA fights will be produced by SHOWTIME sports, which also airs regular EliteXC matchups. In addition, NBC recently started airing a late late night MMA highlights show, Strikeforce, every Saturday from 2 am to 2:30 am ET.
The 2 hour CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fight on May 31 will feature:
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith (for EliteXC Middleweight title)
Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young (140 lb. weight class)
Phil Baroni vs Joey Villasenor (Middleweights)
Brett Rogers vs Jon Murphy (Heavyweights)
“In terms of recognition and perception, I believe May 31 is the biggest and single most important MMA fight card ever. It will forever change the landscape of the sport and how it is perceived,” said Gary Shaw, EliteXC Live Events President.
So mixed martial arts fans, spread the word. Tell us why we should be looking forward to this?
Tags: MMA
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April 21st, 2008 at 6:30 pm
With the NBA Playoffs on against this, I just don’t see this being the best time to bring MMA to the masses. I saw EliteXC on Showtime a few months ago, and was impressed, but it defintely falls into a “last resort” category for me.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:24 pm
This is a tough draw, since it is going up head to head against Shane Mosley vs Zab Judah which is on pay per view that night. Wonder what they were thinking choosing that night? There has to be a huge overlap in the fan base for MMA and boxing.
May 31st, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I will definately be watching!!! Kimbo needs this win for people to take him seriously.
May 31st, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I guess this turned out to be a pretty good time with the NBA playoffs on hiatus until Thursday and the PPV boxing canceled. I’ll be watching… (but it is still a last resort)