DaytonDailyNews.com

Saturday's May 31 "EliteXC: Primetime" event on CBS, the first mixed-martial-arts

event to air on major U.S. network television, was a landmark event for the sport — even if the final product didn't necessarily live up to the tremendous hype.

However, one baffling byproduct of the show has been a flood of conspiracy theories. Some are the result of misunderstanding. Others can only be attributed to lunacy.

Take for instance the night's main event between former bare-knuckle brawler Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and veteran fighter James Thompson. Ferguson (arguably EliteXC's biggest star) barely survived the second round, but after he staggered and bloodied Thompson with a vicious punch early in the third, he was awarded the technical-knockout victory.

Some called it a premature stoppage, which is a reasonable gripe. Others called it proof of a fix, which is simply absurd.

In what was a typically chaotic post-event press conference, EliteXC promoter Gary Shaw told the media Thompson was on his way to the hospital and was unavailable for interviews. However, the fighter appeared in the press area moments later.

The kooks point to it as proof EliteXC officials were in cahoots with the athletic commission and/or referee Dan Miragliotta, and were concocting stories to silence Thompson. That begs the question: Why would they?

Many in attendance, including undercard fighter Bret Rogers, said they saw Ferguson "tap out" in the second round from Thompson's repeated strikes. However, not only did Thompson say Ferguson never tapped out, he also said he "understood" the stoppage.

So much for the conspiracy and the need to hush Thompson.

And yes, he went to the hospital immediately after the conference.

'TUF' Report

Matt Brown, a 27-year-old Xenia resident who trains in West Chester Twp. with Team Jorge Gurgel, was eliminated from "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest" during last Wednesday's episode of the reality series. Good news for Brown, though. He's been slotted to fight on the undercard of the show's June 21 live finale. Only a select few cast members got the invitation.

Among the six remaining competitors, former Ohio high school wrestling champ C.B. Dollaway is the only one with area ties. His quarterfinal fight airs at 10 p.m. Wednesday on Spike TV.

Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com, a content partner site of Yahoo! Sports. Check out mmajunkie.com for the latest EliteXC and MMA news.

Vote for this story!