Worst TV Show of the Week Brought to you by the Parents Television Council WARNING: Graphic Content!!! Do NOT push play if you don't want to see the explicit video!!!

EliteXC Saturday Night Fights on CBS

Bringing the bloody and violent sport of Mixed Martial Arts to prime time, CBS’ July 26^th airing of EliteXC Saturday Night Fights (9:00 p.m. ET), has earned the title of Worst TV Show of the Week

In 2005, the premium cable channel Showtime became a subsidiary of the CBS corporation. In 2006, a partnership between ProElite Inc. and Showtime Networks Inc. created Elite XC (XC standing for “Extreme Combat”), the second-largest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization in the world. On May 31^st of this year, CBS aired EliteXC: Primetime. With CBS airing Showtime’s original series Dexter, following the exploits of a “good guy” serial killer, this marks the second instance of CBS importing premium cable channel content intended solely for an adult audience into broadcast prime time.

At the start of this episode of EliteXC, dried blood could be seen splattered beneath the fighters. In the main bout, heavyweight fighter “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler kneed his opponent Steve “Hands of Steel” Smith repeatedly in the face. Towards the end, both men’s faces were covered with blood. With techniques known as the “ground and pound,” and the “rear naked choke,” Mixed Martial Arts contains a level of violence previously unseen in broadcast network sports.

With an encore showing on Showtime at 11 p.m., the EliteXC Saturday Night Fights will likely receive more monthly showcases on sister network CBS, indicating the porous barrier between the graphic sex and violence of premium cable network Showtime and the ostensibly regulated CBS.

For its graphic violence, EliteXC Saturday Night Fights deserves to be the Worst TV Show of The Week.