Denny Burkholder

On May 31 from 9-11 p.m. ET, CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights will break new ground -- not just for MMA, but for major network television.
There are multiple factors surrounding the May 31 event that could help steer the course for MMA's future. Among them:

• Exposure to new eyeballs. The key word here is "new." The MMA diehards are tuning in for this show no matter what. You had them at hello. But with the scope of the CBS audience, EliteXC and its fighters will likely be seen by plenty of people who haven't given MMA a chance until now. They don't subscribe to Showtime, they don't flip over to Spike TV for The Ultimate Fighter, and they have yet to purchase a PPV. They might not even know who Chuck Liddell is.

EliteXC is in a position to create a new horde of MMA fans. On the flipside, if EliteXC makes a lackluster showing before a bunch of first-time viewers, they could turn those people off to ever watching MMA again.

This new audience represents a huge growth opportunity, so long as EliteXC avoids making costly mistakes. I'll get to that topic in a minute.

• Name recognition. EliteXC stands to have greater name value with CBS exposure. More importantly, the fighters on the card can significantly raise their profiles by appearing on network TV. A no-name fighter, even if he loses, could become a star if his performance is memorable.

For a UFC parallel, look no further than Clay Guida. He's become a massive crowd favorite, despite an unimpressive 2-3 record in the UFC. Why? Because people remember him for his look, his personality, and his gutsy performances in the cage. Fans respect Guida as a warrior and as a person they like to cheer for. If an EliteXC fighter puts that kind of effort into his CBS debut, the sport -- and that fighter's career -- will benefit.

• Business model. Right now, both EliteXC and the UFC are set up to make most of their profit from PPV buys. While the UFC does fine on Spike TV and has sponsors like Budweiser to help pay the bills, the financial success of the UFC largely depends on PPV profit. If EliteXC finds success on network TV, that could change the game for everyone.

Big ratings, in theory, yields big advertising dollars. If the ad sales pick up -- and granted, that's a big "if," since many advertisers are still ignorant to MMA or altogether put off by it -- it could result in the first ray of hope for a fight promotion (including boxing) to succeed financially without putting all of its eggs in the PPV basket.

It's not as far-fetched as it might sound. The UFC has attracted sponsors like Burger King for its Spike TV broadcasts. If that's possible on cable, it will be interesting to see the caliber of advertiser EliteXC could attract with the promise of prime time network exposure for their brand.

• Fighter pay. Virtually all fighters supplement their income by selling logo space on their attire and acting as a walking billboard for a company. The idea is to make MMA fans aware of a product. With CBS having the potential to reach a bunch of new customers (who didn't just blow $50 to see the show in the first place), surely it ought to be worth a bit more to have their logos seen on the network, right?

For UFC fighters like Josh Koscheck or Andrei Arlovski, EliteXC now gives them a true alternative if they don't get the offer they're looking for from Zuffa. Even if EliteXC doesn't match or beat the UFC's dollar figure, a number in the same ballpark -- coupled with the chance to get themselves over as star on national television -- might ease their worries about leaving the UFC. And you can bet that any UFC fighter with a name will get TV time if they jump to EliteXC.

Those are some of the positives that could come out of EliteXC's CBS debut. But the benefits are almost completely dependent on EliteXC making a respectable showing of itself, and that is not a lock by any means.

EliteXC needs to put its absolute best foot forward on May 31. Everything from the production to the commentary to the fights themselves need to be superior quality, if they are to convince first-time viewers to come back for more.

Things that may need fixing, based on EliteXC's past efforts:

• Ditch the dancers. There are enough MMA skeptics out there who claim the sport appeals to the lowest common denominator. Don't give the naysayers another thing to criticize. The dancers are over-the-top eye candy at best, and it's hard to imagine any harm done by their absence that couldn't be solved by flipping over to Cinemax once the EliteXC broadcast is over.

• And the DJ, too. Seldom do I listen to a postfight interview and think "Man, this really needs sound effects added." I also think it would be helpful if Jimmy Lennon Jr. didn't have to compete with the DJ to be heard during fighter introductions. The DJ is annoying, it's unnecessary, and it threatens to narrow EliteXC's demographic at a time when they really ought to work on expanding it.

• The commentary. This is a tricky one, because they need a play-by-play man who knows the sport well. Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros both fit that bill perfectly. First-time viewers may not grasp the strategies the fighters use and they won't know the name of every hold, but they need to trust that the commentators do. If a fighter uses a D'Arce choke or a gogoplata, the move needs to be called properly. You can't just shoehorn a generic sportscaster into an MMA broadcast. Unless they've been a closet fan of MMA, they won't get it. And then, neither will the new viewers. If the viewers don't get it, they probably won't watch it anymore.

If Ranallo and Quadros are not on the CBS broadcast, their replacement needs to be just as knowledgeable, or the first-time viewers may not be convinced that there is strategy involved in MMA. And if that happens, they're just one snap judgment away from mislabeling the sport as a glorified street fight, as so many critics have done.

That said, Ranallo and Quadros should be careful with overhyping fighters and forced delivery of one-liners. Hype is a slippery slope. The right amount helps fans to fully appreciate a fighter. Too much hype, and viewers will recognize the sell job for what it is, and reject it on principle. Once they do that, you've lost their trust as a broadcaster. When they see you as a carnival barker, your credibility is shot.

I'm actually not as bothered about Bill Goldberg on color commentary as some critics are. But I do agree that he's a little too green as a broadcaster to be featured heavily on CBS. Again, they need to put their absolute best foot forward this time. Goldberg still flubs the occasional line and hasn't perfected the art of the subtle wisecrack enough to use it as frequently as he does.

There is a lot on the line on May 31. A strong CBS debut could strengthen the fan base of the entire sport, including the UFC.

Here's hoping the fighters leave it all in the cage, the production is the tightest it can possibly be, and EliteXC gives the DJ the rest of the year off.