Afterthoughts: Elite XC and WEC



Over the weekend, Elite XC and WEC held their latest events. I was going to write an article for each one but thought it’d be more interesting comparing the two.

Elite XC went mainstream on Saturday by having their event air on CBS. An estimated 4 million viewers watched the lengthy event and CBS considered it a success. But will the viewers keep watching Elite XC?

Then on Sunday, WEC had Faber vs. Pulver. The number of viewers won’t be close to Elite XC’s but overall, which event was better.

Production Value:

Elite XC had strong production value. Even though the strippers were still in attendance, the commentating crew was better than previous events. That’s because they got rid of the annoying Bill Goldberg. Along with Mauro Renallo, they added Gus Johnson and Frank Shamrock to the commentating team. Gus Johnson did the play by play and overall, the team did a good job. Lighting on the cage was also good, much better than their previous efforts. I just wished there were less commercials.

Elite XC’s commentating might have been good but nothing can top WEC’s: Todd Harris and Frank Mir. They have good chemistry and they don’t overhype the fights. They call it as it is. Mir was in a bad mood during the McCullough/Aleksander fight because neither fighter showed up to fight. He called it as it is and criticized both fighters. Something you won’t hear in many professional organizations(not just MMA but NBA and MLB as well). WEC could have had better lighting outside the cage but I read the arena was pretty full.

Winner: WEC by a small margin

Now let’s get to what MMA is about-

The Fights:

Elite XC showcased Kimbo Slice against James Thompson in the main event. It became an embarrassing fight for CBS because the two fighters lacked real skills. It reminded me when UFC first started: Two unskilled fighters going at it. Don’t get me wrong Kimbo has powerful punches and he has heart but he is far from being a complete MMA fighter. It also didn’t help that the ref had a hard on for Kimbo. We can probably thank Elite XC’s promoter, Gary Shaw for this. The ref stood up the fight in the second round when Thompson was on top of Kimbo. Many also said that Kimbo tapped to a guillotine and the ref didn’t stop it. To tell you the truth, it looked like Kimbo tapped at first but his reaction seemed to suggest he was just telling the ref he was fine. Fast forward to round three and Thompson is getting rocked(Joe Rogan style). Ref stops the fight after the third hit even though Thompson was still standing up. Thompson was definitely hurt but the ref should have given him a chance to recover. Even the commentating team said it was a controversial win.

The Robbie Lawler/Scott Smith fight was epic but it ended in a crappy way: doctor stoppage. These doctors need to chill out and start listening to the fighters. Smith said he couldn’t see at the moment but after the 5 minute rest, he might continue. So what does the doctor do? Stops the fight right away and doesn’t give him the chance to recoup. Both fighters were obviously bummed afterwards with the fight being called a no contest.

It also doesn’t help that Elite XC’s postergirl, Gina Carano can’t make weight. It makes the sport less credible when your famous fighter can’t follow the rules. She did look impressive against Caitlin Young but I wonder if she would have still won if she made weight.

The rest of the fights were okay.

WEC started on a bad not as well. Like I mentioned before, the overrated McCullough put up a snoozefest against Aleksander. Then we continued we a match that lacked skill but at least it ended in a tko.

The third fight was pretty good. COWBOY, COWBOY(fighter from Tapout show) tapped out his opponent. Finally, we’re getting on the right track.

Then Torres and Maeda put up the potential fight of the year. Crazy strikes that went back and forth and ground game that ended in crazy positions.

To tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed with the Faber/Pulver fight. The first two rounds were exciting but it slowed down afterwards. It was still a good fight but it was obvious that Pulver didn’t have a chance after the second. Which meant, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat.

Winner: WEC

Conclusion
If Elite XC doesn’t make changes, viewers will be turned off by the product and lose viewers. Once viewers see the bias towards certain fighter, they’ll see the organization as a joke. Elite XC has to make themselves a real sport organization instead of a professional wrestling organization. They’re sending MMA backwards with their current strategy.

WEC’s viewers won’t be as much as CBS but they’ll make it because they have hardcore fans and financed by Zuffa(UFC). The main events for Elite XC and WEC showed you the difference between the organizations: WEC has real skilled fighters while Elite XC has hype.