CBS has seen the future (or at least the ratings) and its name is Kimbo Slice. Or maybe it's Regis Philbin. Or conceivably both, after a look at the weekend ratings that established both EliteXC Saturday Night Fights and Million Dollar Password as the network's summer programming to be reckoned with — nauseously, perhaps, and only after sizable narcotic consumption, but no doubt inevitably. Philbin strung together an audience from the 60 Minutes window preceding him Sunday evening, winning the night with nearly 11 million viewers. But bare-knuckle Mixed Martial Arts superstar Slice fared surprisingly well in an even more sepulchral Saturday-night slot, pulling an average of 4.3 million viewers nationally between 9 and 11 p.m.

Well, ultimate fighting is now officially an acceptable sport for mainstream America. Tomorrow night, CBS is showing a live fight featuring none other than the Miami headcracker, Kimbo Slice. He's an ex-bouncer who's risen to fame, fortune, and respectability solely through brutal, bare-knuckle fight videos of him on YouTube. A true American success story for our modern age. Half of you are saying, "Who?" The other half are saying, "My favorite was when that guy in the backyard kept trying to pause the fight, but Kimbo knocked the hell out of him anyways." Though there will be some halfhearted controversy over CBS' decision, we're calling it right now: ultimate fighting is no longer a trend, or an oddity; it's a part of the sporting establishment that families can watch together. Two of Kimbo's YouTube classics are after the jump. America will have its blood: