Fighters.com's sixth-ranked middleweight and EliteXC Champion "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (15-4) and "Hands of Stone" Scott Smith (13-4) sizzled in three-and-a-half-rounds of stand-up in Newark, outside of New York City, Saturday night in the prime time network premier of mixed martial arts. In the main event, "Colossus" James Thompson (14-9) exposed "Kimbo Slice" Kevin Ferguson (3-0) in a third-round stoppage loss. Former Ultimate Fighters Lawler and Smith fought to a controversial no contest halted when Smith absorbed a finger in his right eye from a defending Lawler. Smith protested the end of a fight that was building into the primetime MMA era's sequel to Griffin v Bonnar, while Lawler hung his head in disappointment. "Hands of Stone" opened round one of his title challenge establishing his high kick.  Lawler was cagey in defense, pawing a jab and feigning a takedown. It wasn't long before the fireworks shot off and didn't end.  Lawler countered a Superman punch from Smith with a straight right.  Smith belted back with a right high kick, backing up the champion.  Lawler threw haymakers in defense, then clinched up to throw hooks to Smith's head.  The warriors traded body kicks to end round one. Lawler established his jab in round two, setting up an uppercut.  Smith defended with Thai clinch in which he landed knees and elbows as Lawler struggled to free himself.  The fighters crashed into the cage and dirty boxed, Lawler landing uppercuts while Smith countered with elbows. The fireworks came to an anti-climactic end in round three as doctors inexplicably called an end to the fight after Smith took a Lawler finger to the eye. ...

EliteXC has announced the official fight card of its 31 May CBS debut called CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights. The main event, reported last week by Fighters.com, will match "Kimbo Slice" Kevin Ferguson (2-0) versus "The Colossus" James Thompson (14-8) in a heavyweight scrap sure to end before the final bell. "The Grim" Brett Rogers (6-0) earned a spot on the broadcast card when he knocked out "The Colossus" in February, though it evidently wasn't enough to challenge "Slice" in the main event.  He'll fight Jon Murphy (4-2), who comes off of a KO over Dave Huckaba (4-2) last August. Also previously reported, Fighters.com's number six middleweight "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (15-4) will defend his EliteXC championship versus "Hands of Stone" Scott Smith (13-4). Finally, "New York Bad Ass" Phil Baroni (10-9) will try to bounce back from his recent TKO loss to Icon Middleweight Champion Kala Kolohe Hose (6-1) versus "Ninja" Murilo Rua (15-8-1), who last crossed the Atlantic to pickup a stoppage in CageRage after Lawler knocked him out in his EliteXC debut. "In terms of recognition and perception, I believe May 31 is the biggest and single most important MMA fight card ever," said Gary Shaw, EliteXC Live Events President.  "It will forever change the landscape of the sport and how it is perceived." Given the pedestrian fight card and spectacle of a main event, let's all hope not. The card will air live in America at 9:00 PM EST/PT. ...