Sho XC recap and final thoughts for 'Reis vs Cullum'

Sho XC 8 is in the books, and Wilson Reis is the first-ever Elite XC featherweight champion. The event took place at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif., and aired live on the Showtime premium cable channel.

Some of Elite XC's top prospects competed on the card and the event did not disappoint. Here's how it all went down.

In the first fight of the night Erik "Bad" Apple took away Matt Makowski's kicks and strong stand up game by keeping him on his back for most of the match. Apple pretty much dominated with control from the top position.

He was eventually able to work his way to a full mount midway through the second round. Makowski's only defense was to give up his back, and Apple capitalized with a fight-ending rear naked choke.

Apple's game plan was solid and he executed it to perfection.

Giva "The Arm Collector" Santana didn't collect any arms tonight. He did, however, show his arsenal was a little more diverse than his record of 10 of 11 wins by armbar would suggest. He demonstrated decent Muay Thai and controlled most of the first round.

But he lost a lot of gas in that first frame and his lack of experience fighting in the later rounds caught up to him. Jaime Jara was able to push the pace a little more in the second and third rounds, and he did enough to win over two of the three judges for a split decision.

It was a razor close fight that could have easily gone to Santana as well, but in the end it was Jara with his hand raised.

David Douglas came out on fire against Malaipet Team Diamond. He was relentlessly trying to finish the Muay Thai specialist early. The fight looked dangerously close to being stopped on a couple of different occasions, but Malaipet weathered the storm and David Douglas' load appeared to be blown.

He looked like he couldn't even stand late in the first round and the momentum was clearly turning towards Malaipet. But to Douglas' credit, he dug deep and used his size to take the fight to the mat where he was able to either rest or gain a dominant position. From there he laid down enough ground and pound to overwhelm the smaller Malaipet and get the late stoppage.

It wasn't pretty for the Cesar Gracie student, but a win is a win. He pointed to his waist after the fight as to say he wanted a shot at a title. His performance wasn't overly impressive tonight, but if he works on his cardio, he's a very difficult match up for anyone at 150 pounds.

Shane Del Rosario vs. Carl Seumanutafa was expected to be a classic heavyweight slug fest, but instead turned out to be a submission battle early on. Del Rosario looked to have a triangle choke sunk in at one point, but Seumanutafa defended it well and wound up looking for an armbar of his own.

Neither attempt worked, and the round ended with Seumanutafa on top working the ground and pound.

In the second round, Seumanutafa was a little gassed and Del Rosario took advantage. He landed two nasty knees to the body, and finished him off with three or four devastating strikes. His jiu-jitsu was much improved and if he can continue to develop his all around game, he could turn out to be a future contender in the Elite XC heavyweight division.

He moved his record to (6-0).

The main event was a very entertaining fight. Both Wilson Reis and Abel Cullum showed great jiu jitsu transitioning. Reis stayed busy with takedowns and submission attempts while Cullum used sweeps and escapes to gain position for ground and pound.

But that's the style of fight Wilson Reis prefers and he used his jiu-jitsu black belt and natural athleticism to win over the judges for a unanimous decision and become the first-ever Elite XC featherweight champion.

Abel Cullum was a game and worthy opponent, but to beat Wilson Reis, someone is going to have to figure out how to keep the fight standing and out strike him. Of course, that's a lot easier said than done since nobody has shown they can successfully defend his relentless takedowns.

Wilson Reis is going to be a very difficult fight for any 145 pounder that Elite XC puts in front of him. At 23 years old, he could be holding on to that belt for a very long time ... or at least as long as Elite XC stays around.

Overall this was another quality Sho XC event for Elite XC. The company continues to build its up-and-coming stars through the "Challenger Series" in the way the UFC uses "The Ultimate Fighter."

Tonight there were a few blue chip prospects on display and we'll be seeing a lot more of guys like David Douglas, Shane Del Rosario, and of course Wilson Reis on plenty of future Elite XC cards.

Next up for Elite XC is "Saturday Night Fights on CBS III," which will take place at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida next Saturday night (October 4) and will air live on CBS beginning at 9 p.m. ET.