It appears as if the Johnny Knoxville/Great Khali bit that was done on Knoxville’s internet show was indeed a work. As announced on Raw last night, Knoxville will be appearing live on next week’s Raw broadcast to confront Khali concerning the incident.
Mixed martial arts free agent Tito Ortiz recently told MMAJunkie.com that he is going under the knife. âIâm getting surgery ⦠for my lower back,â Ortiz told MMAJunkie.com. âIâve had a problem for the last five years, so Iâm finally going to get the surgery done. Iâll be out for about six months, but Iâll be back to fight for another six years. Iâm really excited.â
Ortiz went into further detail about the procedure, and how he expects for the surgery to help bring him back to his old championship form. âI have a bulging disc between L4 and L5 and S1, so theyâve got to go in and fuse it,â Ortiz stated. â(Itâs) the same thing that Nate Quarry got. So I get it done, and Iâll be able to wrestle the way I used to wrestle.â
Assuming that his surgery goes successfully, Ortiz will be out of action for at least six months, however that doesnât mean that a deal canât be made for his services before then. In fact, Ortiz stated that he is in serious talks with EliteXC and something could be finalized within the month. âWith EliteXC and CBS and Showtime backing me on this, itâs a possibility that we might get something finished before the monthâs over,â Ortiz said. âAnd the UFC actually has the option to match [any offer]. If they match it, fighters are going to be even more happy because Iâll do it with the UFC. But if I donât do it with the UFC, Iâll do it with EliteXC and CBS.â
According to TVByTheNumbers.com, Elite XC drew 4.38 million viewers last night â” an increase of nearly 1.5 million from âUnfinished Businessâ in July. This number is a lot better than their prior show back in July, which was considered a major disappointment. Here’s the ratings history of EliteXC’s live events on CBS:
May 31 – âSaturday Night Fightsâ: 1.9/6 share (4 million viewers)
July 26 – âUnfinished Businessâ: 1.0/3 share (2.62 million viewers)
October – 4 âHeatâ: 1.8/6 share (4.38 million viewers)
The success of “Heat” should be enough for CBS to air a fourth event in 2009. On a sour note, all three of EliteXC’s live events on CBS were beat out by âAmericaâs Most Wantedâ (FOX) in the 18-49 demographic.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
