What’s going on with each of you on this glorious weekend? I’m doing well and trying to make an ultimate conclusion on this week in mixed martial arts. I’m just going to focus on the EliteXC event from last Saturday and of course, our main man Kimbo Slice.
If you didn’t see what happened in his fight, look at it below:
Yeah, that was terrible. I actually didn’t see it live because I was working at a football game. However, at the game, I first found out that Ken Shamrock was not going to fight Kimbo because of an injury he sustained during training the morning before the fight. First, shame on Ken for getting injured. There isn’t an excuse that I can think of to make this acceptable. If this doesn’t blacklist Ken from getting another fight, I don’t know what will.
Next, at the game I find out that Kimbo got knocked out in the first round. That didn’t shock me.
And this will serve as a good transition into my bone to pick with EliteXC. I have been insulted as a MMA fan of their promotion of Kimbo and they got exactly what they deserve.
Notice that I didn’t say that Kimbo got what he deserved. From all accounts, he’s been a professional MMA fighter in and out of the ring. He trains hard, respects the sport and his opponents. He has never asked to be a main event draw and knows that he is a young fighter and understands his place. Kimbo has been along for the ride and fought who they put in front of him.
However, as much as I respect Kimbo for all of the stuff mentioned above, that performance in the ring was not good, even for a novice. He took harder shots against Tank Abbott and James Thompson and kept fighting. There is no shame in getting knocked out. You just can’t do it in less than 20 seconds
I blame EliteXC for bad business. They have continually ignored the rest of their roster which includes respectable fighters and champions like Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, KJ Noons, Diaz and some others and elevated Kimbo to a place where he shouldn’t be at yet.
This is the main difference between EliteXC and the company that they aspire to be, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. If anyone in the UFC loses their fight, it can be a positive spin for either fighter because the company builds the brand.
I’ve seen Randy Couture lose to Chuck Liddell and come back even more popular. I’ve seen Liddell lose numerous times and stay relevant. I’ve seen Georges St. Pierre lose, B.J. Penn get beaten. Even the great Anderson Silva, the man regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world in many people’s opinion, including mine (actually, I think it’s B.J. but that’s another argument for another day), has lost.
Everyone loses in MMA. No one tries to lose but if you are aspiring to be a champion, you are going to face tough competition and you will fall at least once in your career. The main thing is that fans, even the mainstream ones and especially the hardcore ones like me, understand this.
EliteXC thought that the fans couldn’t comprehend Kimbo and accept him if he lost a fight in the proper way. The organization chased the cheap dollar instead of building their brand for the long run.
So where does EliteXC and Kimbo go from here? For Elite XC, they have to recover quickly and try to build their brand beyond Kimbo. They need to promote Shilds, Lawler, Gina Carano, Cris Cyborg and some others. They have talented fighters but they need to promote them so that people get to know and eventually love them.
Kimbo isn’t going to just go away. He still has a following even though that number has been hurt of course by the fight. There are still some fighters out there he can fight, but he shouldn’t headline another event for a long time, he’s not ready. People will watch his next fight to see if he can recover and I really hope he does.
What are your thoughts on all of this? I would like to know.
If you didn’t see what happened in his fight, look at it below:
Yeah, that was terrible. I actually didn’t see it live because I was working at a football game. However, at the game, I first found out that Ken Shamrock was not going to fight Kimbo because of an injury he sustained during training the morning before the fight. First, shame on Ken for getting injured. There isn’t an excuse that I can think of to make this acceptable. If this doesn’t blacklist Ken from getting another fight, I don’t know what will.
Next, at the game I find out that Kimbo got knocked out in the first round. That didn’t shock me.
And this will serve as a good transition into my bone to pick with EliteXC. I have been insulted as a MMA fan of their promotion of Kimbo and they got exactly what they deserve.
Notice that I didn’t say that Kimbo got what he deserved. From all accounts, he’s been a professional MMA fighter in and out of the ring. He trains hard, respects the sport and his opponents. He has never asked to be a main event draw and knows that he is a young fighter and understands his place. Kimbo has been along for the ride and fought who they put in front of him.
However, as much as I respect Kimbo for all of the stuff mentioned above, that performance in the ring was not good, even for a novice. He took harder shots against Tank Abbott and James Thompson and kept fighting. There is no shame in getting knocked out. You just can’t do it in less than 20 seconds
I blame EliteXC for bad business. They have continually ignored the rest of their roster which includes respectable fighters and champions like Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, KJ Noons, Diaz and some others and elevated Kimbo to a place where he shouldn’t be at yet.
This is the main difference between EliteXC and the company that they aspire to be, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. If anyone in the UFC loses their fight, it can be a positive spin for either fighter because the company builds the brand.
I’ve seen Randy Couture lose to Chuck Liddell and come back even more popular. I’ve seen Liddell lose numerous times and stay relevant. I’ve seen Georges St. Pierre lose, B.J. Penn get beaten. Even the great Anderson Silva, the man regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world in many people’s opinion, including mine (actually, I think it’s B.J. but that’s another argument for another day), has lost.
Everyone loses in MMA. No one tries to lose but if you are aspiring to be a champion, you are going to face tough competition and you will fall at least once in your career. The main thing is that fans, even the mainstream ones and especially the hardcore ones like me, understand this.
EliteXC thought that the fans couldn’t comprehend Kimbo and accept him if he lost a fight in the proper way. The organization chased the cheap dollar instead of building their brand for the long run.
So where does EliteXC and Kimbo go from here? For Elite XC, they have to recover quickly and try to build their brand beyond Kimbo. They need to promote Shilds, Lawler, Gina Carano, Cris Cyborg and some others. They have talented fighters but they need to promote them so that people get to know and eventually love them.
Kimbo isn’t going to just go away. He still has a following even though that number has been hurt of course by the fight. There are still some fighters out there he can fight, but he shouldn’t headline another event for a long time, he’s not ready. People will watch his next fight to see if he can recover and I really hope he does.
What are your thoughts on all of this? I would like to know.
2 comments:
1. I love watching Gina fight...in more ways than one. haha. First, and foremost, she is a great fighter. Secondly, she is a stone cold fox. It is kind of a shame, cause she will probably always be looked at as a beauty first, fighter second - but that woman really knows her way around the cage well. The "chick fights" as they are known by my friends, have actually been as good or better than that of the preceeding/following guy's fights.
2. Kimbo got thrown into a crappy situation, but that was his claim to fame - fighting anybody, anywhere, anytime. Now, Petruzelli isn't a horrible fighter, but as you mentioned, everyone expected it to last longer. I think the knockout was good for Kimbo, as it put him in his place and hopefully take some of the spotlight off of him. The longer he trains with Bas Rutten, the more he will become familiar with MMA fighting and eventually I think he'll become a good all-around fighter. I like Kimbo, I hope he sticks around and stays with it.
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