Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith To Headline Next EliteXC CBS Show

The partnership between EliteXC and CBS will be put to the test this summer when the two stage their next "Saturday Night Fights" show on July 26th.

EliteXC announced on their "Return of the King" broadcast tonight that the show would be headlined by Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith. This is a rematch of their fight on May 31st, which was declared a No Contest due to Scott Smith taking a thumb in the eye.

This was easily the fight of the night, and I'm not surprised that EliteXC chose these two fighters to headline their July 26th show. The stoppage was extremely controversial and there is definitely some unfinished business between these two fighters.

Robbie "Ruthless" Lawler is 15-4-0 in his career with one No Contest. Prior to his No Contest with Scott Smith, Lawler had won four fights in a row, including victories over Frank Trigg, Murilo Rua and Joey Villasenor. Lawler used to fight in the UFC, but left the promotion after two straight losses to Nick Diaz and Evan Tanner. Since then, Lawler has fought in PRIDE, the IFL and EliteXC.

Scott Smith has a career professional MMA record of 13-4-0, with eleven of his victories coming via knockout. Prior to his fight with Lawler, Smith had won his last two fights in a row, including knockout victories over Kyle Noke and Jeff Morris. Smith has fought in the UFC as well, putting up a 1-3 record, with his lone victory coming against Pete Sell in the Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale.

This card will be a big test for EliteXC. Their first show on CBS did extremely well, but the two headliners for that show, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and Gina Carano, will not be appearing on this card. "Kimbo Slice" had been receiving an obscene amount of publicity and hype prior to the May 31st show, so it will be interesting to see what kind of a drop-off there is when he isn't appearing on the card. How much patience will CBS have when the ratings for this second show come in considerably lower than the May 31st show (which they almost certainly will).

This show will go a long ways towards determining the long-term viability of the EliteXC product. Can they succeed without "Kimbo Slice" on the card?

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