Pavlik vs. Taylor II, a boxing match, ran at the same time as EliteXC but if the empty boxing bars were any indication of a winner, EliteXC scored the TKO. Kimbo Slice Vs "Tank" Abbott was the headline for EliteXC and the crowd was restless for some action in Miami. Kimbo delivered the KO and the fans were exuberant in their support for their Internet street brawler turned MMA professional.

Kimbo Slice is best known for his highly publicized street brawls featured on YouTube. He championed the "Chill Dawg" ruleset and even lost to a MMA fighter in his pre-MMA professional days. Recently, Kimbo went pro and with Bas Rutten's help, he hasn't bothered to look back.

This weekends match against "Tank" Abbott was a homage to his street fight days where two street tough professionals were sure to meet in the ring, eskew ground fighting, and bang until one was KO'ed. Kimbo delivered in spectacular fashion although it should be noted that Tank is a shadow of his former self.

Kimbo dominated from the first punch. Both came out striking with Kimbo appearing the cleaner of the two. His sick punching power sent Tank to the canvas on the first exchange but some errant punches to the back of Tank's head gave the aging Abbott a second chance at redemption. That chance was squandered as Kimbo used some very timely head movement, body punches, hooks to the head, and a straight right to send Tank to the canvas permanently.

The crowd was electric for their hero and EliteXC clearly has a cash cow on their hands. The street fighter has yet to challenge a viable fighter (Tank = over the hill, Bo Cantrell = Dive, Ray Mercer = over the hill boxer) but the crowd still loves him. The rumor mill has him facing Ken Shamrock next but The NHB Show thinks that Brett Rogers would be a better matchup for the brawler turned professional.

Speaking of Brett Rogers, the mohawked gentleman was in fine form this weekend when he battled James "The Colossus" Thompson. James utilized his patented "Gong and Rush" technique to immediately advance and clinch with Rogers as soon as the bell rang. Instead of standing and banging, he went for the single but was unsuccessful as Brett fended off the shot with his great takedown defense. Brett remained calm and eventually was able to open up the distance and deliver a nasty combo to Jame's chin which felled "The Colossus" and maintained Brett's undefeated record.

Transitioning from Heavyweight to Lightweight, Yves Edwards, a Houston native who practices his own form of martial arts called "Thug-Jitsu", was also on the card fighting a very game opponent James Edson Berto. The two put on a spectacular show as they started with a clinic up-top, transitioned to the ground where Yves escaped a tight guillotine and tried for his own Kimura, and then ended the match with a spectacular jumping knee from Yves that KO'ed Berto as he tried to hold onto a single. This victory marked the third straight for Yves after he joined American Top Team and started to fight for EliteXC.

Kyle Noke, an Australian who was on a first name basis with Steve Erwin, fought UFC veteran Scott Smith on the card and ended their match with a bang! Kyle Noke was coming off a huge win against Nick Diaz and Scott was looking for vindication after losing in the UFC against Ed Herman. Both circled trading jabs but neither wanted to engage.

The crowd was unhappy with the apparent circling and showed their ire by booing the participants. This heated response by the onlookers elicited the quote of the night from Stephen Quadros during the commentary, "I think some of these fans are thinking that each fight will be a street fight and they need to realize that this is mixed martial arts."

Although the fighters weren't staying engaged, the power was still there as both showed nicks on their faces and wear and tear from the hard jabs. The second round ended as quickly as it started with Scott Smith scoring a laser right hand to Noke's chin in mid-combo and immediately felling the Aussie. Scott followed Kyle down and landed an unabated shot to the head before the referee could impose himself between the contestants. Luckily, the Aussie was able to rise after being revived but it showed the power that Scott has in his hands to end a match.

Another heavyweight match of the night was Antonio Silva vs. the ex-UFC champion Ricco Rodriguez. Both these giants traded blows throughout a three round war that alternated between the feet and the ground. Antonio was game during the first round but Ricco eventually got the takedown and worked his GNP. The second round was Silva as he dominated the ground war and the third round was a back and forth affair. The match ended with Silva eeking out a decision and winning out the night.

Despite a pleasant evening of fights there was one glaring issue. The referees were very skittish about the ground game. They were showing a propensity to break the ground action too soon and constantly warning the fighters to stay active, even if they were being active. Having seen Gary Shaw berate an athletic commission numerous times at an event because of the ground fighting, one has to wonder if that was impressed upon the officials for this card. The fighters WERE noticably more active for this event and there wasn't one instance of inactivity on the ground that warranted the skittish behavior by the concerned officials.

Regardless of the one slight issue, Gary Shaw knows how to keep people entertained. Kimbo Slice v Tank Abbott was a fanboy's dream and the rest of the fights were very well matched making it a pleasant evening.

Full Results:

Kimbo Slice defeats Tank Abbott by KO at 0:43, R1
Antonio Silva defeats Ricco Rodriguez by split decision, R3
Scott Smith defeats Kyle Noke by KO at 0:07, R2
Yves Edwards defeats Edson Berto by TKO (referee's stoppage due to strikes) at 4:56, R1
Brett Rogers defeats James Thompson by KO at 2:24, R1
Rafael Feijao defeats John Doyle by TKO at 2:17, R1
Yosmany Cabezas defeats Jon Kirk by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:58, R2
Dave Herman defeats Mario Rinaldi by TKO (strikes) at 0:33, R3
Eric Bradley defeats Mikey Gomez by Unanimous Decision, R3
Mike Bernhard defeats Lorenzo Borgameo by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 4:11, R2
Moyses Gabin defeats Jirka Hlavaty by TKO at 2:32, R1