EliteXC: Primetime

EliteXC: Primetime was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Elite Xtreme Combat taking place on May 31, 2008 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

EliteXC: Primetime
Information
PromotionElite Xtreme Combat
DateMay 31, 2008
VenuePrudential Center
CityNewark, New Jersey
Event chronology
EliteXC: Street Certified EliteXC: Primetime EliteXC: Return of the King

Background

In February 2008, it was announced that EliteXC had reached an agreement with CBS to broadcast live shows on Saturday nights. This marked the first show of the agreement.[1] The main card aired live on CBS, marking the first time a MMA event aired in primetime on major American network television.[2]

As with earlier EliteXC events, the preliminary card aired for free online at Proelite.com.[3]

Carlton Haselrig was originally scheduled to face Jarrod Bunch. However, Bunch was removed from the card and replaced by Carlos Moreno.

Results
Main card (CBS)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight Kimbo Slice def. James Thompson TKO (punches) 3 0:38
Middleweight Robbie Lawler (c) vs. Scott Smith No Contest 3 3:26 [lower-alpha 1]
Catchweight (144 lbs) Gina Carano def. Kaitlin Young TKO (doctor stoppage) 2 3:00 [lower-alpha 2]
Middleweight Joey Villasenor def. Phil Baroni TKO (punches) 1 1:11
Heavyweight Brett Rogers def. Jon Murphy KO (punch) 1 1:01
Preliminary card
Lightweight Chris Liguori def. Jim Bova TKO (cut) 2 4:31
Heavyweight Carlton Haselrig def. Carlos Moreno TKO (corner stoppage) 1 5:00 [lower-alpha 3]
Lightweight Matt Makowski def. Nick Serra Referee Stoppage (Refusal to get up from butt scoot) 2 3:57 [lower-alpha 4]
Bantamweight Wilson Reis def. Justin Robbins Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 4:06
Bantamweight James Jones def. Calvin Kattar Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 4:49
Bantamweight Zach Makovsky def. André Soares Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–26, 29–26) 3 5:00
Bantamweight Joe Sampieri def. Mike Groves TKO (punches) 1 4:58
  1. For the Middleweight Championship; Lawler inadvertently poked Smith in the eye.[4]
  2. The ringside physician stopped the bout between rounds 2 and 3.
  3. Moreno's corner stopped the bout between rounds 2 and 3.
  4. Serra refused to get up from the ground, resulting in the referee ending the fight.

[5]

Television ratings and coverage

In terms of ratings, the show averaged 4.85 million viewers and peaked during the main event at 6.51 million viewers,[6] making it the most watched MMA show in television history until UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos.

However, not all CBS stations carried the program at the scheduled time. At least five – WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio, KXJB-TV in Fargo, North Dakota and three stations in Montana – aired a telethon to benefit the Children's Miracle Network instead.[7] All those stations aired the EliteXC card early the next morning. Also, WFMY-TV in Greensboro, North Carolina and the surrounding Triad area refused to air the program because they disliked the sport – it was passed on to a low-powered independent station, WGSR-LP.

See also

References
  1. "EliteXC expected to announce deal with CBS". MMA Junkie. 2008-02-27. Archived from the original on 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  2. "UFC Not the First on Network TV, but Can It Learn From Others' Mistakes?". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  3. "Report: EliteXC "Saturday Night Fights" prelims to air online". MMA Junkie. 2008-04-28. Archived from the original on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  4. "CBS "EliteXC: Primetime" Saturday Night Fights Live Results and Updates". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  5. "EliteXC: Primetime". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  6. "CBS scores with initial ratings for EliteXC's "Saturday Night Fights"". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  7. See our works Archived 2008-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
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