In case you were wondering, the public seems to like Kimbo Slice just fine, thank you. And that also apparently holds true for Joey Villasenor, Phil Baroni, Gina Carano, “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler, Carlton Haselrig, Kaitlin Young and others, all who had the honor of being a part of history.

The May 31 show in Newark, New Jersey marked the first time that MMA had appeared live
on network television and ProElite made the most of it by increasing the CBS ratings by three
times over its Saturday night season’s average and winning the key young adult and
young men’s demographic.

The card featured many of the top MMA fighters in the sport, including notable former UFC
athletes, and featured fighting legend Frank Shamrock in the broadcast booth.
Shamrock, recovering from an injury suffered in a loss to Cung Le in StrikeForce, promised
that he’d be returning to the cage within the year and appearing on CBS as a fighter and
not just as an announcer.

While victories were posted in the key matches by Slice, Carano, and Villasenor, and Lawler
and Smith fought to an exciting “no contest” due to a cut to Smith via an accidental finger
to the eye, the impact of the show goes far beyond mere wins and losses. This single event
established ProElite as a mainstream player in the sport and suddenly gives athletes a viable
alternative to appearing on cable stations or on pay-per-view. Don’t be surprised to see many
athletes from other organizations, recognizing the tremendous media exposure they can get
now from ProElite that is unavailable from any other fighting organization. On hand to take in
the action was top ProElite promoter Terry Trebilcock of King of the Cage
fame, along with former KOTC 205 lb. and 185 lb. champion James Lee.
Shug Knight also made an appearance in the crowd.

With such a strong showing in their first event, expect ProElite to make a big push. Only one
show could be first to hit network TV with a live broadcast, and forevermore that show will be
remembered as ProElite.