For the very first time ever, a primetime channel will broadcast a live mixed martial arts event. Thats right, CBS will be the first channel to present MMA on national television. When will it happen? On Saturday, May 31st, EliteXC will be presenting EliteXC:Saturday Night Fights.
Here’s an excerpt from the Senior Executive Vice President of CBS, Kelly Kahl:
"We’re excited to introduce broadcast television viewers to America’s fastest growing sport with this prime time event…EliteXC is putting together a lineup card that showcases the unique
personalities, world-class athleticism, and raw power and emotion that
characterizes mixed martial arts."
On that first fight card, we’ll be able to enjoy popular fighters including former UFC fighter Robbie "Ruthless" Lawler, Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith and Florida-based underground street fighter Kimbo Slice. The rest of the card for this event will be announced in the next few weeks.
Here’s a snip from Gary Shaw, the President of EliteXC:
"I am very happy for the highly trained fighters, who will finally get
the kind of exposure they deserve, and, of course, the viewers, who
will get the opportunity to learn that MMA is truly a sport that
requires an abundance of skills, both mentally and physically."
The parent company of EliteXC, ProElite, had partnered up with CBS earlier last month. Their goal is to televise at least 4 live MMA events along with replays of past events throughout the year. This television broadcast on CBS will also be presented by Showtime sports. The news sounds pretty good for the sport and we’ll just have to see how this will look when the time comes. We can only wonder what could be going through Dana White’s mind at this point.
