MMA's second foray into the Saturday night living rooms of mainstream America will indeed take place on July 26. Contrary to previous expectations of a St. Louis venue, however, the organization will instead be traveling to Stockton, Calif., home of EliteXC lightweight Nick Diaz (17-7).
EliteXC made the official announcement on Tuesday.
The evening's televised bouts will begin with a one-hour slot on Showtime and will feature the organization's first-ever heavyweight title fight. In a perhaps-surprising revelation for Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson enthusiasts, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (10-1) was the only competitor announced for the bout.
The CBS portion of the card will be headlined by the resumption of May's middleweight title clash between EliteXC champion Robbie Lawler (15-4) and challenger Scott Smith (13-4). Their initial meeting, marred by a hotly contested doctor's stoppage resulting in a no contest, was shaping up to be the highlight of the CBS-debut telecast.
Welterweight Jake Shields (20-4-1) will finally get his shot at the EliteXC welterweight title. EliteXC confirmed Shields' opponent as UFC veteran Nick Thompson (36-9-1). Riding a 12-fight win streak, Thompson takes the place of Shields' original opponent Drew Fickett, who fell out of the good graces of the organization earlier this month. Fickett withdrew from a June bout with Shields, only to take a fight one week earlier with the Arizona-based Rage in the Cage.
The CBS portion of the card will also see the hometown, and controversial, Diaz make his network television debut. Despite the build-up at EliteXC's "Return of the King" earlier this month, Diaz will not yet get another shot at lightweight title holder KJ Noons.
Instead, long-time veteran and California native Thomas Denny (26-16) will step in as Diaz's opponent. "The Wildman" has fought extensively for King of the Cage, and he made his debut for EliteXC with a disqualification win over Thai-boxer Malaipet at a March ShoXC event.
The broadcast team of Gus Johnson, Frank Shamrock, Mauro Ranallo and Karyn Bryant will call both the CBS and Showtime broadcasts.
Tickets for the event, to be held at the 12,000-seat Stockton Arena, are scheduled to go on sale Friday through StocktonTickets.com (www.stocktontickets.com)
