Elite XC Renegade

Elite XC is back with perhaps their best and at the very least most intriguing event to date. Its worth PPV money but you can see it on Showtime this weekend.

Nick "Diablo" Diaz 16-6* vs KJ Noons 5-2 Diaz is back after a sluggish return from his marijuana suspension win over Mike Aina. It took a while for Nick to get rolling, but after the long layoff it wasn't unexpected. Diaz beat Takanori Gomi and many top tier fighters on his way to being a cult hero. KJ is the striker/boxer who will also be vying for the Elite XC 160 lb. Title. KJ slipped against Krazy Horse getting KO'd in his Elite XC debut but came back with a knee KO over very talented James Edson Berto. KJ hasn't shown us any skills on the floor where Nick is ju jitsu blackbelt and it is an obvious gap in his game. If Nick is smart and takes this fight to the floor it will be over quick. However, Nick loves to strike even if its not a good idea could get caught. Diaz also promised to "put on a show" after he last sloppy outing and will probably love to trade early on. Besides that sneaking KJ KO punch, Diaz should take this fight relatively easily to become the 1st 160 lb. champ!

WINNER-Diaz by submission Round 2

Kimbo Slice 1-0 vs Bo Cantrell 10-10 If you don't know who the underground Internet warrior named Kimbo is, you need to YouTube the legendary street fighter. Kimbo just started fighting whomever was dumb enough to stand in front of him in no holds barred fights and became notorious. Then he decided at 37 to go pro and began to train with none other than the legendary Bas Rutten who cannot say enough good things about his work ethic and how fast he is picking up the MMA game. Bo comes in late as a replacement but he is a big hitter who will stand in front of Kimbo and throw. This will be over quick with the iron jawed Slice using all his new tools, or just his old badass in the street striking to end the affair with flair.

WINNER-Kimbo by KO Round 1

Jake Shields 19-4-1 vs Mike Pyle 14-4-1 Jake is Nick's training partner and is riding an 8 fight winning streak into the fight. Jake is one of the top Welterweights in the world and has beaten the very best (Mach, Verissimo, Condit, Okami, Menne). Pyle is a submission nightmare who is training with Xtreme Couture and the gang. This should be a very technical great fight with two guys who know the game inside and out. To me the difference is Jake's size and this fight should go the distance. Both fighters are so well rounded but Shields has been fighting higher level talent for a lot longer and should win the day.

WINNER-Shields by decision

Seth Kleinbeck 8-3 vs Kyle Noke 13-3-1 Seth is a hand throwing monster who likes the KO. His Light Heavyweight opponent is also a KO fighter but also has submission skills that Seth lacks. The odds say Noke but that single punch can turn any fight. I'm going with the percentages.

WINNER-Noke by decision

Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva 8-1 vs Jonathan Wiezorek 11-1 With the visa/doctor problems behind him, Antonio returns after a quick ref stoppage gave him his only lost against Eric Pele and he returned to crush the concrete headed Cabbage. The 6'4 300 lb. American Top Team beast is ready after an 8 month layoff. Jon boy is no slouch and can submit the best of them, but can he submit a giant? He has striking ability but gives up over 50 lbs. in this fight to a guy who maybe the best Super-Heavyweight in the world.

WINNER-Silva by TKO Round 2

Yves Edwards 29-13-1 vs Nick Gonzalez 13-5 Yves has been on a horrible slide after at one time being considered one of the best Lightweights in the world. He has lost 5 of his last 6 fights but has finally made the move to American Top Team to revitalize his career. Nick is the up and comer who likes to strike with his slick former boxer skills. This is a scary fight for Yves because if he loses, he might be done. He desperately needs the win against a hard to grab hold of fighter who can knock you out. I give the nod to Yves because he has to have this and has so much experience and skills over Nick.

WINNER-Edwards by decision

*We here at MMA Fight Opinion consider the Athletic Commission's decision to rule Nick Diaz's win over Takanori Gomi a No Contest to be invalid because marijuana isn't a performance enhancing drug and shouldn't even be tested for.