“EliteXC is a desperate promotion that’s hemorrhaging money. It’s willing to sell anything, even a false portrait of its sport, to succeed. Kimbo is a guy with unexpected and most likely fleeting earning potential; understandably he’s willing to cash in even if it means tomato-can opponents and an image so unfortunately stereotypical. CBS is so focused on quick television ratings, it will present a cheap trick, lowest common denominator show. This, rather than an introduction to a sport that if treated with respect and patience could grow into a powerful property. Everyone is using. Everyone is getting used. In the end, what will be left from this experiment?… Will MMA on CBS just be a short-run, freak show discarded by all, left to return to its true roots and better promotions after the circus has left town?… Saturday’s card is not set up to show the best of mixed martial arts and introduce America to a sport it would likely embrace. If CBS was trying to build serious interest in football, it wouldn’t trot out an unproven pro team against a doomed high school squad and call the ensuing blowout the best the game offers. It’d get the New England Patriots and the New York Giants and let people see the real deal. But neither the network nor EliteXC are treating the sport or Kimbo Slice as anything but disposable programming. And that’s the problem here.”
– Dan Wetzel at Yahoo!Sports.com raises some concerns about the network television debut of mixed martial arts on CBS this weekend at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. In particular, the “use” of YouTube.com street fighting sensation-turned mixed martial artist, Kimbo Slice, in the main event of the evening. What say you?
138 Comments »
Thompson will shock the world
I don’t even think this fight is on the level. I can’t prove it, but I’m about 98% certain that Scumbag Shaw is offering Thompson a considerable amount of money above what is in his contract if he doesn’t attempt to take the fight to the ground.
Although I wouldn’t be surprised if Thompson is taking a dive, I don’t think that this is as bad of a matchup as everyone is making it out to be. Thompson is a veteran of the sport and is a good matchup for a guy with only three pro fights. The only problem is that it is the main event.
Lawler v. Smith should be the main event. It’s a title fight after all and should be a blast to watch.
The other fights could all be winners too.
Sorry to say I agree. Kimbo can’t afford to lose.
I don’t think it is a fixed fight. Thompson has possibly the weakest chin of all heavyweights in mma. All Kimbo has to do is land 1 good punch. On the other hand, most of the people watching will not know that, and instead see a huge looking guy standing across from Kimbo. Then when Kimbo knocks him out, people will think he hits like Tyson in the 80’s.
I agree, Shaw is dirty and can’t afford to have
Kimbo lose.
I read this article this morning on Yahoo. Wetzel has a ton of more sense than Kevin Iole who is always tossing Kimbo’s salad. I know its probably
not going to happen but I hope this idiot loses. He in no way represents what MMA is about, just like Bob Sapp, Butter Bean, Ray Mercer, Tommy Morrison, or Hong Man Choi dont either. Just another freakshow that will never beat a B level fighter. I wish Dana would let a B level guy in the UFC heavyweight division fight this idiot to show him his place among fighters. Also, does anyone think he would get this much attention if he were white? I dont think so!
I am not so sure about your last statement. He has a very unique look and just so happens to be black. I think that the reason he is so big is the fact that he looks crazy, sounds crazy, and had bare knuckle fights on Youtube.
Then again could an equally crazy looking and sounding white guy draw as much attention. I think probably he could. Take Brock Lesnar for example if he had a crazy looking beard and fought people in a back alley for money would you be intrigued by him?
I think that is a valid question though. It may very well be a fact.
Kimbo will win this one by TKO…It’s rigged!!
the fight is not rigged theres no need for that(glass jaw) mexicutioner what are you talking about?i see you puting down kimbo but what does mercer morrison or hon man choi who is a solid k1 fighter have to do with freakshows, and the ufc is filled with b level fighters also, kimbo could beat alot of there weaker h.w.’s and so could choi.
Choi is a 7 ft freak show, thats all he is. Limbo belongs in the same promotion of all the fighters I metioned. He is not a true fighter, all hype. He can not beat a B level fighter. Thats why Shaw has not put him up against anyone close to being a true MMA fighter until now, and he puts him against a guy known for bad stricking defense and for having a glass jaw. Thats showing a lot of faith in your marquee fighter-putting him against the weakest competition you can find that you can find so he can build up wins. If he was truly good and a bad ass in MMA it wouldnt matter who he would fight because he would win every fight, right? Everyone except for Kimbo, Gary Shaw, Kevin Iole and the Kimbo salad tossers knows that he would lose to anyone with an ounce of true talent. Id take Ricco Rodriguez or even Heath Herring over this ‘tomato can’ any day of the week. He sucks. He does not belong in MMA.
choi has wins over some very tough guys, and other than fighting kimbo when has mercer been a freakshow or morrison. you say you would take rodriguez or herring over kimbo like they suck when they are both good fighters, ricco beat randys ass, and you act like the ufc is filled with great h.w’s when there roster is mainly b level fighters or worse.
choi has no mma wins and he backed out of a fight with lesnar! he was fedors can! yes its true the ufc heavyweight division is only ok but it has several a and b level fighters while elite xc hasnt even got a c level fighter on their heavyweight roster all d grade fighters! james thompson hasnt two decent wins against aeging fighters and after that was only a freakshow in japan! face it man there isnt one guy on the ufc hw roster kimbo would beat! they all have better wrestling and would kill him
Make no mistake about it, Kimbo is training his ass off to become a legit mma fighter….What more can you ask? Should he turn down the big bucks offered to him? who in their right mind would?
Check out today’s article in the Philadelphia Daily news….2 full pages of Kimbo coverage. He was quoted as saying that he is working his ass of to learn the ground game and that eventually he wants to get to the point where he is able to break someone’s arm via armbar, and he also wants to ground n pound someone’s face in….This tell me that the guy is trying to evolve into an mma fighter….So Stop all the Hate already!
Do I think he should be in the main event…Hell no! But he is training the right way, and wants to become a legit mma fighter. Blame Gary shaw if anything….. With all the lack of heavyweight talent in the world, you people should be praying for Kimbo to become a real Heavyweight….Instead you knock him because he is over promoted….Grow UP!!
Part of being in the spotlight is dealing with the critics. Fact is, Kimbo has yet to prove his doubters wrong. He probably never will.
Houston Alexander part II…
Well said!
John,
Most on here do not hate on Kimbo. They hate the hype that comes with Kimbo. A direct result of Gary Shaw and Elite.
UPTIX,
Man I really like Houston. Wish things would have turned out better for him.
once again, john you make some good points. from what i’ve seen of kimbo he seems to be a pretty good guy. yeah he has some less than stellar friends, but honsstly my friends aren’t saints either. He has a good trainer and if Bas is willing to put this much time and effort into training kimbo, then he must have some merit.
as i’ve stated before, i like kimbo, in fact i like all the triumph united guys. What i don’t like is how Shaw is handling him. But like you said, that is Fatass Shaw’s fault, not kimbos.
I just read this and was about to post the link to this article. I will anyway. http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dw-slice052808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Basically, Wetzel is saying in a lot more words and much more eloquently than most people on here why Shaw and his handling of Kimbo are bad for the sport, especially in an event that will probably be seen by more people than any UFC PPV event.
YES! EVERYONE SHOULD READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE.
It wouldn’t take to much to believe that Thompson has been told he will get a fat bonus if he keeps the fight standing. Becuase that’s the more ‘exciting’ fight, right?
Ha ha, you know what they say about great minds ALynch.
It’s a very good article, and I was thinking about this last night at work…I really hope the elite show on CBS doesn’t push back what Dana and the UFC has built up. If casual people watch and see a thuggish, not so put together portrayal of the sport, it may not be good what happens next!!
excellent article and my sentiments exactly. even if new fans are attracted to the sport because of kimbo they will not stick and become a casual fan when they see fights between two skilled and technical fighters. Elite xc is setting themselves up for disaster imo where they are just staying afloat depending on a few names to carry them.
Couldn’t agree more.
Last comment was a reply to Kevin
I see where Dan Wetzel is coming from, but I don’t think the CBS/EliteXC marketing of Kimbo is that hurtful to MMA. First of all, EliteXC itself is hardly a premier MMA organization. To expand upon Wetzel’s football analogy, EliteXC is “Arena League Football” to the UFC’s “NFL”. It’s notable that the major networks did attempt to make a deal with the UFC first before settling for the second-rate EXC. Therefore, no one should expect an EXC deal to involve top fighting talent. Kimbo, with his “street” image and lack of formal experience, is what any reasonable fan should expect from an EXC marketing campaign.
The truth is that the best fights in both boxing and MMA are going to be mostly on PPV for the foreseeable future. Even in boxing, MOST of the free fights in recent memory have been the lesser fights (ex-champions, lighter weight divisions, or contenders). The big names always fight on PPV. Most of the UFC fighters are the best of the best now, and most new fans can get a suitable introduction to the UFC fighters on Spike TV. Like in boxing, the best UFC fighters fight on PPV. The new fans who really want to learn the sport get to know where to tune in very quickly. The CBS/EXC deal is interesting, and provides opportunities for second-tier fighters; but that show is hardly needed as a proper introduction to the sport for the sincere new fan.
thats the point, it’s not a premier organization, but how does Joe Blow who never buys a PPV or watch mma know that? He doesn’t, he thinks these guys (who couldn’t hack it in the UFC) are the best the sport has to offer. DO you think CBS or elite is going to market their product as an inferior company thats losing money?
Fred,
This is true. However, you are coming from the position of a MMA fan (I’ll make that assumption since you are on this site). Wetzel is writing in relation to the “casual new fan”. I agree that a sincere new fan would turn to PPV or at least shows put on by Spike and Versus. The sad part is I can see someone tuning in, be it politician, concerned parent, any number of people, and seeing a “Street Certified” Kimbo beat the crap out of someone. Thus, MMA is left with a stain on it’s image.
Totally agree; remember when UFC first hit? The slugfests between “masters of martial arts” was mostly a freakshow and set up to showcase BJJ (who hand picked the fights). The sport is evolving and so are the fans-while it is too bad that the best fighters will not be showcased (thank Dana’s ego for that). We have to wait and see. EXC is taking the marketing angle that will generate the interest with what they got.
well i think its all depends on the outcome of the fight, if kimbo wins by ko rnd 1 then prolly bad, but i mean if the fight is a back and forth war then maybe it’s good. Also if the fight goes to the ground would also help, and then maybe thompson pulls the upset or something.
Hey Mania:
I sent this to you. Where’s my props?
lol, so did I. It’s out there on yahoo, stop expecting mania to give props to anyone besides Jesse or Adam
I sent it to, so we ccan give ourselves the props
lol, if you guys notice, when comments are slow to go up, 9 out of 10 times a new article pops up, thats because mania was working on it instead of putting our posts up. Chances are they already had this in the works before we sent it to them
Why is your name blue captain? You workin’ for Mania?
blue because my posts are better than yours!
workin for mania, no, but one time I went to the mania headquarters, I mean the local starbucks with wifi!! lol!
You both should take a moment and reflect upon yourself if you are only in it for the internet-contributer-for-some-blog-glory.
Settle down, just having some fun.
This is one of the best quotes I’ve read in some time. I couldn’t agree with it more.
i personally think that kimbo has the potential to be a good fighter in the future with more fights and with alot of training! i know the guy has only had 2 professional fights but i do believe he has potential. i know it is really hard to get past his street fighting image that he has been living for a while on his you tube days! but he is training with bas rutten who is no doubt one of the better mma fighters of his time! i say lets just give him a chance once he gets out of his fighting cans stage to step up and fight real competiotion. i think he is good but there are alot of people out there right now that would totally dominate him standing, tim sylvia, andrei arlovski, and brandon vera would totally dominate him. i think in a couple years he will be a machine!
you know who else trains with bas rutten? KEVIN JAMES!! thats right the guy from the king of queens. kimbo has no more potential than any other guy that can punch hard.
Kevin James isn’t an MMA fighter…And why hate on Kimbo man? I guess you guys are just jealous that he’s making more money now than most of you do. If you haven’t got anythin’ nice to say, then shut those traps and just sit back and watch MMA history unfold…Peace!!
you missed the point. bas rutten is no miracle worker. saying he doesnt have that much potential is not an insult its a fact. Look at brawlers track records in mma. Houston, melvin g., and so on. also i dont have any money but thats ok because im not perpetuating negative stereotypes and whoring myself for a guy like gary shaw for a living.
Alexguy:
You probably would if you had any natural talent and marketing appeal. A natural talent outside of championing some tired-ass Kimbo slice argument. What the hell are you so frustrated about anyways? So Kimbo gets spoon-fed to a bunch of noobs who don’t pay the PPVs and have likely never watched Spike. You give a shit what they get to see?
Seriously, even a fair number of guys that post on this website will often flame fighters like Lyoto Machida as being “boring” (as annoying as those people are to me…) or less than exciting. Do you honestly believe that uneducated MMA fans tuning into CBS for the first time will appreciate fighters like him. Hell no, let’s face it, those trolls need to watch someone like Kimbo just to keep their damn interest.
I’m tired of this topic. May 31st turn your damn TV off if your unhappy. Let it go, bitchin’ about it does nothing.
THE GUY IS 36 YRS OLD!!! IN A COUPLE OF YEARS? KIMBO IS A FARCE!!!!!
Some people just aren’t happy unless they’re bitchin about something. This isnt the best of fights, but who cares really. I bet you anything he tunes in and watches it himself. Elite Xc and CBS are trying to get somethin going here, so are they suppose to say it comes on Saturday night and it’s garbage, tune in if you have nothing better to do? …of course not..Wetzel is an idiot. I do wonder how much they payed Thompson to stand up though.
I think that Zuffa should have moved up their Pulver/ Faber fight up 1 day. This way people could see what a circus act EliteXC is compared to real MMA. Plus I think it would kill the CBS ratings and therefore shut Gary Shaws fat fucking mouth… As far as Kimbo, the full blame does not go to him for fighting cans, although he can deny a fight and demand a better fighter. Also, Kimbo should not be calling out fighters like Chuck until he has beat somebody!
do your research man. Chuck called out Kimbo first.
Check never called out Kimbo. He just said that he needs to fight somebody worth while before headlining events. If you take that as calling out, then alot of posters are calling Kimbo out!
Check never called out Kimbo. He just said that he needs to fight somebody worth while before headlining events. If you take that as calling out, then alot of people on this site are calling Kimbo out!
Instead they are airing The Ultimate Iceman to try and distract attention.
Yeah, I saw the preview and though…”I’ll just record this and watch elitexc.” I’m sure it’s the same thought that went through many peoples head at the time/
Hmm lets see… watch a real live MMA event or watch some boring ass documentary on the guy who dates Dana White? Please! I don’t care how bad the card is…I would rather watch it any day then watch Zuffa and Dana White put over Over-Rated Chucky! The only reason Chucky has this show is because of the oral pleasure he gives Dana!
DaGrizzlyBear: I thought Chuck has the show because he’s been one of the most dominant LHW’s in the world? And if Chuck is overrated then what does that make all the guys he’s KO’d including guys like Couture and Wanderlei?
he never ko’d wandy. sorry dude. and on another note Randy will always be more of a legend than Chuck. 5X champ in 2 different divisions.
No fair using logic and facts to counter blind hate.
haha!!
SpiderStyle: What does being a legend have to do with anything? The Grizzly guy said Chuck is overrated and I was just pointing out to him that he KO’d Couture twice and your right I was posting mad, about his comment, I meant to say beat Wanderlei. So if Chuck is so overrated then what does that make the guys he’s beat??????? Those of you who think Chuck is overrated then answer the question!!!
Good write-up, bad premise.
Not every fight with top-tier fighters will result into something that will portrait the sport accurately or tie new fans to the fighters and the sport alike.
Examples:
Machida-Ortiz (both good fighters, boring fight)
P.Sell-S.Smith (both nonames, exciting standup fight)
Alvarez-Hanson (in the US barely anyone knows them, fight of the year maybe)
Couture-Gonzaga (both got extreme coverage and got hyped, terribly dull fight)
I don’t think we’ll see a fight in the calibre of Liddell-Silva at the EliteXC event, but it might be entertaining nonetheless. Beside, if Shaw could bring MMA to national TV, why couldn’t Dana?
Mainly, beacuse Shaw gave up some of, if not all of EXC’s production rights. Dana, and I believe he made the right choice, refused to give up production rights.
Oi, the Couture-Gonzaga fight ain’t borin’. Gonzaga was just totally dominated by the Natural. you must be a Gonzaga fan…Hehe!!
Isnt Spike National TV?
I was on the edge of my seat throughout the Couture-Gonzaga fight, very exciting, complete with 1st round broken nose, lots of blood, broken arm for Randy, a body slam, and the fight didnt even go to decision. YouTapped that really lowers your credibility as an mma fan imo…
elite probably had to pay cbs to show their fights. the ufc spent 10 mil of their own money to produce tuf at first.(remember this the next time someone says that dana got”lucky” w/ tuf falling in his lap) the ufc doesnt have to do that anymore. thats why elite xc is on cbs and not the ufc. the deal was garbage to them, but might be the only move elite xc had left. at the time though(the beginnig of tuf) the ufc already had alot of talent and even more so now. elitexc not so much. i think the combo of adreniline/affliction is the only co. that has a chance of surviving. a slim one at that.
Free Mma!! Nothing wrong with that. This is going to be a good show with plenty of knock outs.
Yeah, right on Ktown! MMA is for everybody! Not just for some purist who has a lot of hate towards fighters. Guys should change their mindsets regarding this one. Don’t hate the player, hate the game!!
Dan Wetzel really hit the nail on the head with this. I hope Thompson gets the upset and all this Kimbo hype is finished. Because after all he is not a mixed martial artist, he is, as Chuck put it, “a guy who fights people at taco bell”.
and Brock Lesnar fights steroid freaks with premade scripts. Brock is a collegiate wrestler. Kimbo is a former boxer. What’s the difference again?
Kimbo, former boxer?
How many guys that are in the UFC now are former collegiate wrestlers? Let’s start with the most dominant champ the UFC has ever had, Matt Hughes. Then the second most dominant champ the UFC has ever had, Chuck Liddell. Then the third most dominant champ, Tito Ortiz. Oops, almost forgot Randy Couture. He was a wrestler too. You seriously don’t see a difference between that and Kimbo’s “amateur” background?
what i’m getting at is that everyone has their base style. whether it is wrestling, boxing or whatever. to say that one is legit and makes a better fight is stupid.
I agree that boxing is a legit MMA base. Marcus Davis, Jens Pulver and others were pro boxers before moving to MMA. I think what people are saying is that there is a difference between boxing and two dudes whaling on each other in a parking lot.
you got it PW
people tend to hate anything that isn’t the UFC. I don’t know how many times i need to say this but The UFc doesn’t have the best. Affliction has way better HW’s and the UFC’s MW division is pretty weak.
with the exception of Franklin and Silva of course.
Don’t forget Hendo!
Um, UFC does have the best. In every division.
That’s not even really debatable
Affliction doesn’t have most or any of those HW signed they’re just fighting for one card.
I agree that UFC’s HW’s are lacking big time though
so the UFC has the best HW’s in the world? That is completely laughable.
Their HW divisions sucks. Totally.
But no other org. has better HW’s.
They’re scattered around or just unsigned.
Sorry ShaiZ, the UFC doesn’t have the best in every division. Does Fedor ring a bell? And I’m pretty sure Babalu Sobral will give anyone currently in the UFC LHW division a run for their money, hehe!!
Babalu is great (he was kicked out of ufc though) I like him a lot. But I he’s not ranked in the top 10 and I don’t see him runnin’ with any of the top 10, 205’s currently. I hope he comes back and proves me wrong, cuz he’s awesome.
Also Fedor isn’t in any org. right now.
Im not saying all the best HW’s are in UFC, I’m saying UFC has better HW’s then any other ORG, because the HW’s are scattered all over the place or free agents.
if UFC is the best then then every fighter should be a high level world class but there isn’t, UFC does not have enough space to fill for every world class fighters around the world, that would be great but UFC don’t have enough money for that, there just too many great fighters around the world to fill ‘em in the UFC. talk about billions of dollars spending and UFC would be out of business. look at the champions Rampage, Anderson Silva, Minotoro Nog (interim champ) the Pride born fighters came to UFC and become UFC champs that prove that UFC isn’t always the best. Every MMA organization out there is often overlooked.
they had 2 million to throw at Fedor. Split that up 6 ways and you have $330,000 to throw at 6 top level fighters. could make a huge difference. They aren’t willing to give Arlovski a new contract or get a proven fighter like Barnett or Lindland but they’ll throw 250,000 at Lesnar who was 1-0 at the time and totally unproven. Give that money to guys who deserve it like Anderson Silva who makes about half of that and is considered the best P4P fighter in the game.
I couldn’t agree more. It’s a freak show with a few UFC rejects mixed in. Robbie Lawler is the only one worth watching.
Robbie Lawler sucks. If he’s a deadly striker, then why was he out-striked by Nick Diaz?!
Okay, where in my post did I say he was a “deadly” striker??? So, I don’t even know why you’re asking me that question.
Anyway, the fight with Diaz was OVER FOUR YEARS AGO. I bet you’re the same guy that says, “Anderson Silva? isn’t that the same guy that got submitted by Ryo Chonan?!?”
Who cares? Fighters improve. Fighters evolve. Just so you know, Lawler has had some nice wins since that fight. Including wins over Frank Trigg and Ninja in the last year.
BTW - You made my point. I said Lawler is the only fighter that’s worth anything on that card. And you said even he wasn’t good enough!
what bugs me the most about the way Elite is promoting Kimbo is that they constantly refer back to his street fighting. I know this was a big part of Kimbo’s rise to where he is today, but hat is the exact image that the UFC has tried to convince the general public that these guys ARE NOT. Now you’ve got a prime time TV spot and the public is going to see it’s main event being touted as a street fighter. To me it’s not good for the sport.
Agree.
100% agree, this show will be a big step backwards for all of MMA.
Amen.