ELITE XTREME MAKEOVER

ELITE XTREME MAKEOVER

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By Ron 'The Yacman' Yacovetti

make·o·ver (māk'ō'vər) Pronunciation Key
n. An overall treatment to improve the appearance or change the image.

Last night's EliteXC CBS / Showtime event came on air with the expectation and burden to not only produce a better fight card and sustain ratings, but also to streamline the production.

Many MMA fans have been griping since the early EliteXC shows on Showtime, that the dancing girls, rappers and frills defamed the sport. Those at the helm of the promotion promised we would see none of that this time around. They certainly kept their word.

This show had very well-matched fights, three title fights and from start to finish had the polished look of an NFL game on CBS. Two things are clear as a result of this:

1. EliteXC did the sport a service in its movement to go mainstream by presenting it like it belongs mainstream.
2. Haters will find something else to bash about it. After all, they are haters. Anyone surprised? I think not.

The production makeover was a nice thing to see. At the least, the blueprint for MMA shows being on network television looks pretty good.

However, the dark lining to this silver EliteXC cloud seems to be the overnight ratings.The following is being reported by tvbythenumbers.com:

That airing back on May 31, 2008 scored 4.3 million viewers and a 1.9/6 among 18-49 year olds and since the Kimbo Slice bout for that airing aired past primetime (11p) the most viewed portion wasn’t included. But lacking any Kimbo anticipation, last night’s fights pulled a mere 2.62 million and a 1.0/3 from 9pm-11pm.

Considering a Saturday night in the summer usually does not garner immense ratings for anyone, this should not be so big a deal. The only break out production for the night (and by breakout, I mean barely) was FOX's tried and true combo of COPS and AMERICA'S MOST WANTED, as they pulled a 1.5/6 Rating/Share with Adults 18-49 and were the only one of the big four networks (CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC) to reach over 4 million total viewers.

Adding another item to the plus column, MMAPayout.com reported that ad sales for this event were strong, mirroring the same scenario the historic first MMA on CBS card did on 5/31/08.

What this all means and adds up to for the promotion remains to be seen. Any fan of MMA had to enjoy what they saw last night on CBS and Showtime, as some of the best in their given weight classes were on TV battling.

The feeling from the first network show up until now, is like an emotional pendulum. At first it swung too far one way, with the glitz and hype being overplayed and the sport itself not being made to stand on the merits that caused it to bloom. Then, the mallet swung back to where the event was all professional, all action and top level fights.

The next show in October should bring the pendulum front and center. It will have the Carano and Kimbo hype and the formatting displayed on this second CBS Saturday Night Fights. That should be the right mixture to dole out enough satisfaction to casual and hardcore fans.

- Yacman