After being TKO'd in 14 seconds by the virtually unknown Seth Petruzelli, the world officially knows that Kimbo Slice is nothing but a well-marketed can. Whatever was left of his mystique is dead.
EliteXC could have recovered from Kimbo losing to Ken Shamrock. Ken is old and battered, but he is a seasoned MMA veteran with a big name. But Kimbo's lightning-fast loss to Seth Petruzelli was literally a worst-case scenario for EliteXC.
They have made Kimbo the cornerstone of their CBS cards, and he just got destroyed by a light heavyweight taken off the undercard at the last minute to replace the injured Ken Shamrock. And it's not like Petruzelli caught Kimbo with a wild overhand right. Petruzelli was basically laying his hand out there and Kimbo sort of ran into it. Forget about glass jaw. Kimbo has a paper jaw.
Okay, enough about Kimbo, let's move on to other lessons learned from EliteXC: Heat on CBS:
Jake Shields Should Go to the UFC
Gotta give credit to Paul "Semtex" Daley. He hung in there with Shields a lot longer that I thought he would, and with improvement in his ground game, he will be a real contender. However, Jake himself needs a step up in competition, and to do it, he'll have to move to the UFC and take on tougher guys. There, he can work his way up to fights with the big dogs at 170 like Georges St. Pierre, Josh Koscheck, and Diego Sanchez. I don't think Jake is top 5 yet, but he does have the potential.
Female MMA Fights Need Five Minute Rounds
There is no reasonable justification for women to be forced to three minute rounds in a combat sport with a grappling element. It simply makes the women look like amateurs to the average viewer and ultimately works against the growth of female MMA. Why don't they just call the women's matches exhibitions? Because with three minute rounds, they certainly don't feel like real matches. When the match finally gets made, I want to see Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg fight for a full 15 minutes!
CBS and EliteXC Need a Better On-Air Team
I have nothing against Gus Johnson but he is absolutely, positively not an MMA guy. He sounds more scripted than Sarah Palin and has zero natural enthusiasm for the sport. I mean, did he really call Kimbo's loss the biggest upset in MMA history? And who the hell is Karyn Bryant, walking around with Grandma's big-ass jewelry? She seems even more out of place than Gus and is probably wondering who she pissed off to get assigned to MMA.
and finally...
Affliction is Almost done
There were a number of ads for Affliction's Fedor Emelianenko clothing line during the show tonight. All this advertisting undoubtedly cost a whole bunch of money. However, there is a major problem here in that the average American has no idea who Fedor is. On top of that - THEY DID NOT SHOW THE CLOTHES IN THE AD! You can't sell a product by showing a guy people don't know, and then not showing the product. By the time people other than serious MMA fans know who Fedor is, Affliction will likely be out of business as a result of this ongoing silliness.
P.S. I bet Dana White and the Fertitta brothers are breaking out the bubbly right now!
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What do you guys think? Post a comment below!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
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4 comments - click to add yours!:
I like to think that all real MMA fans knew that Kimbo was a joke, and only watched to see when he would fall. I do agree that women need 5 minute rounds, perhaps we would have seen Gina Carano's weaknesses (other than the scales) finally exposed. As far as the broadcast team for CBS, and the whole feel of the Elite XC card, just seems like another minor league building ground before going to the big dog, the UFC. Elite XC needs to ask Dana for some pointers on how to turn around a lackluster promotion I think. Good article, great points.
You know it's funny - I can no longer tell if the UFC is really good or if everyone else is just really bad. Dana is probably still laughing his ass off.
EliteXC could improve, but the clock is running out on their ability to generate profits. It would take huge amounts of money to bring in sufficient talent at this point.
However, I am really looking forward to seeing Eddie Alvarez vs. Nick Diaz. I see Alvarez dominating.
I saw you pimp your site and thought Id give it a try.
4th rate writer aping 3rd rate ones.
Generic, drab, bland, predictable.
I cant even gather anything up and call you names, it was so uninspiring. At least you didnt try to be funny. Those are the fucking worst. Keyboard jockeys who think they're witty.
Keep plugging and try to find your own voice.
All martial arts is good. MMA, vale tudo, shooto, Pancrase, K-1, ADCC, BBJ, Judo, TKD.
you are a brand warrior, in love with the product that is manufactured like it it was American Idol. you find security in knowing that 'your' brand, like 'your' team is doing well.
martial artists realize that the more outlet there is, the better it is for all martial arts. the kicking arts were predominant and not it is the newaza arts which are the in thing. if you cared about 'teh MMA', you'd realize that the only way for true promotion of MMA is thru the setting up of national and international organizations and championships. California is at the forefront of the world Pankration which is basically MMA during the original olympics. You seen to think that the Big Brands will always be there and that's not always true in business.
Maybe will be back.Probably not.
Anonymous,
I agree 100% that "martial artists realize that the more outlet there is, the better it is for all martial arts."
However, much of the UFC's competition including EliteXC are not putting together compelling fight cards, and don't have the financial strength to stick around long enough.
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