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- Drew Fickett gets waaaaaay too personal in forum post. (UG)
- Kim Couture calls Jared Shaw a perv, no one is terribly surprised. (Steve Cofield)
- Kenny Florian struggles for answers on “MMA Live”. (ESPN)
- Michael Bisping responds to Chris Leben with dry British sarcasm. (Fighters Only)
- TUF 8 ratings rebound with Junie Browning’s alcohol-fueled antics. (MMA Payout)
- Marcus Aurelio says Hermes Franca is a bad person. (MMA Rated)
- Bobby Lashley goes from WWE to ATT. (AmericanTopTeam.com)
- Brett Rogers to fight TBA for EliteXC in November. (AOL Fanhouse)
- The sad state of product placement. (Wall Street Fighter)
- Tribute to the naughty nurse. (Holy Taco)
- Eric Cartman’s most evil moments. (Screen Junkies)
- Japanese wrestler beaten by coach. (Nothing Toxic)
Written by admin on October 10th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on alcohol and Jared Shaw and Bobby Lashley and Drew Ficket and Eric Cartman and naughty nurse and Junie Browning and Japanese wrestler and video and General and Michael Bisping and Chris Leben and Kenny Florian and Gina Carano and ultimate fighter and Brett Rogers and Kim Couture and MMA.
(Just think of what might have been. Or better yet, don’t think about it. Ever.)
Oh, Ken Shamrock. Somehow the controversy over whether you cut yourself on purpose or whether you were just unlucky/dumb has been overshadowed in the past few days by other EliteXC controversies. It’s almost as if people have completely forgotten that it was supposed to be you who got paid extra to stand and trade with Kimbo Slice. Instead, you didn’t make a dime and ended up being but a footnote in this sad spectacle.
But fear not, MMA fans, for Ken Shamrock has composed (read: asked someone to write for him) an open letter explaining what went on this past Saturday and what he’d like to do about it. Take it away, Ken:
On October 4th, I was set to fight Kimbo Slice on the EliteXC/CBS Saturday Night Fights in a highly anticipated event. Unfortunately, because of a training accident and the intervention of the Florida State Boxing Commission, our fight did not happen. I suffered a cut above my left eye that required six stitches, and the cut was significant enough to cause the Florida State Boxing Commission to refuse to allow me to fight.
The scheduled bout with Kimbo on the EliteXC/CBS Saturday Night Fight card was a great opportunity, and it is unfortunate that I was unable to face Kimbo as planned. I want to apologize to all of my fans, and to the EliteXC and CBS executives who worked so hard to put this fight together. I also want to apologize to Kimbo, Bas Rutten and their entire camp for what happened. I recognize that I put them in a very bad situation, particularly Kimbo. It’s difficult to walk into the ring after training for one opponent only to find out hours before the fight that you have to face some you don’t know or have never seen fight.
Over the years there have been many great times as well as disappointing times and I know Saturday the fans were as disappointed as I was. I was worked up so I decided to train with my partners in order to stay focused on the fight. I was just doing a light roll to check holds when I got caught by a head butt. It was a freak accident and I didn’t think anything of it until I saw drops of blood. It appeared to be a deep laceration so I had my physician look at it and we immediately went to the emergency room. When they said the cut would require stitches, my heart sank because I knew that the Florida Boxing Commission would not let me fight. I was disappointed because I knew this was an opportunity to give the fans, my friends, and my family something to cheer about. It has been a hard couple of years for me, and for my fans. I have suffered some disappointing losses. I definitely regret my decision to train on the day of the fight.
I promise that I will make this up to all my fans. I know that there is nothing I can do about what occurred, but I plan to get back into the ring soon. I would like it to be against Kimbo Slice. Hopefully EliteXC/CBS will still be able to put a fight together. It’s is the right thing to do. The fans want it and I want it.
I would also like to congratulate Petruzelli on his win. He did a phenomenal job. Seth not accepted the challenge of facing a new opponent; he also had to move up in weight class. He came in, dominated Kimbo and walked away with a great victory.
To the fans, I appreciate all of your support.
Thank you and God Bless.
Ken Shamrock
Yeah, Ken, about getting that fight with Kimbo now? I don’t know. Before, it seemed kind of sad and a little exploitative for EliteXC to match you and Kimbo up, for many reasons. But now, after you had to pull out of the fight and EliteXC got really, really mad at you and then Kimbo got TKO’d in fourteen seconds against a mediocre light heavyweight, it seems downright bizarre. Kind of like getting fired from your job one day and then coming in to the work the next and acting like nothing happened. They are not going to play along. Trust me. They are going to call security. And it only gets uglier from there.
Written by admin on October 9th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on CBS and Seth Petruzelli and cut and letter and fight and General and EliteXC and Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock and MMA.
(Somehow, even in these bleak economic times, this man still has a job.)
Houston Alexander has apparently heard internet rumors to the effect that he’s been dropped from the UFC or has fired his entire coaching staff or desperately needs to learn the ground game. Oh, wait. That last part’s not a rumor. Anyway, the point is, he’s sick of it. So to clear the air and talk directly to fans without the filter of the MMA media, he turned to the Fight Magazine MMA blog:
People keep asking me what my plans are, they have read things all over the internet about my future with the UFC and how I am firing my coaching staff. So I thought I would address the rumors and my upcoming plans.
NO – I have not lost my UFC contract.
NO – I have not fired my coaching staff.
NO – I am not going to step down and fight for smaller organizations.
The loss last month was tough, but life goes on. People need to remember that I have only been fighting professionally for a year and a half. I have made great strides during that time, as well as faced some setbacks. My training will continue and we are looking at visiting some of the larger camps for additional training and strategy for my next fight. I have a lot to learn and am hoping to have everything straightened out before I enter the cage next time.
Look Houston, you seem like a nice guy so it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for you, but maybe the part about firing your coaching staff isn’t so crazy. If three straight losses isn’t a sign that something needs to change, I don’t know what is. And as for strategy, it should probably include either getting really good at jiu-jitsu really fast, or at least developing a top notch takedown defense. After what we’ve all seen in your last few fights, you can bet that everyone you face will be intent on getting the fight to the ground until you prove that it’s a bad idea.
Written by admin on October 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on fight magazine and blog and General and Houston Alexander and UFC and MMA.
(Somebody better tell him that’s not a regulation boxing glove.)
I love guessing games. And it is because I love guessing games that Affliction and the ever-changing story behind their second event is a constant joy for me. So what’s the story now? Will they have a completely new date scheduled? Will they claim to have no date at all? Will they go so far as to name some of the fighters on the card? Or will they shoot down any interesting rumors about who might be fighting?
This time around Affliction VP Tom Atencio is saying the main event will likely be a boxing match, thanks to Golden Boy’s involvement, and MMA will comprise the entirety of the undercard:
“We are going to do a combination show of boxing and MMA. They will run the back end and we will do what we do well.” Atencio says of the show. “It will be between nine and ten fights total. Right now it looks like we are going to do a boxing main event and everything under it will be MMA. It really depends on who we have boxing though. If they are big enough names then absolutely they will be the main event and that is what we have planned right now. Things change though and we have nothing finalized.”
Hold up, Tom. What about Fedor? We all know he’s the cornerstone of this little operation. Is he lacing up the boxing gloves, you know, just to give himself a challenge? Because if not, it sounds like you’re saying either a) Fedor won’t be the main event (and when’s the last time that happened), or b) he won’t be on the card at all.
Option b sounds more realistic, what with Josh Barnett saying he won’t fight Fedor in January and Fedor feeling his annual New Year’s Eve itch coming on. But on that subject, Atencio is uncharacteristically forthcoming.
We have a solid relationship with Fedor. We have extended our deal with Fedor. He and M-1 global are 110% our partners. The rumors are that he is fighting in Japan on New Year’s Eve but I can crush and squash those rumors right and tell you he is not fighting on New Year’s Eve.
Notice how he stops short of saying that Fedor is fighting for him in January. Which would be the next logical step. Looks like all we know right now is that FEDOR WILL RETURN! I saw it on TV, so it must be true.
Oh, and Atencio also wrote the Gegard Mousasi vs. Vitor Belfort report off as a rumor. What’s funny is Mousasi is the one who first spouted off at the mouth about that. According to Atencio, they’ve never even discussed a contract to fight for Affliction. That just figures.
Written by admin on October 7th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Affliction and Gegard Mousasi and fight and fedor and News and Boxing and MMA.
(At least some people still do work for their half a mill, son.)
Before his bout with Andrei Arlovski on Saturday night, Roy Nelson said he wasn’t completely sure who was signing his check. Now we not only know it was Affliction, but we also know that “Big Country” and Arlovski made a combined $580,000 to represent the clotheir-turned-promoter on CBS. The bulk of that money — $500,000 with no win bonus — went to Arlovski for his impressive knockout victory. Even for Affliction, who likes throwing around money almost as much as they love skulls and chains, that’s a hefty price to pay to put one fight on someone else’s show. So was it worth it?
Aside from the exposure for their fighters, Affliction got their ban lifted long enough to throw their logos on the cage and get a few commercials in during the broadcast. As MMA Payout pointed out, that might say more about CBS’ ad sales for this show than it does for Affliction’s arrangement with Elite XC, but either way now there are a few million more people in the world who know about the Andrei Arlovski signature t-shirt line, and every little bit helps.
There’s also the matter of the aggressively vague “Fedor Will Return” ads (was anyone else reminded of the “Gabbo is coming!” ads from The Simpsons?). Beyond heaping more indignity on Tim Sylvia’s loss by pointing out that almost the entire fight can fit in one network TV spot, it does help get the word out to casual fight fans. The only problem is that when you don’t have a date or event to hype, you have to wonder what that’s really worth.
Affliction had a great opportunity with those ads to really advance public knowledge of their MMA organization. Instead they hyped their shirts and failed to tell us when and how we could pay them money to see their marquee fighter perform. I suppose you have to know that information yourself before you can pass it on to others, but isn’t that just one more reason for them to get moving on this January event?
Affliction VP Tom Atencio said before this event that one of his primary motivations was using the Elite XC CBS broadcast as an opportunity to showcase Andrei Arlovski. Hopefully he was happy with what he saw, since that was half a million dollars worth of showcasing. But I have to wonder if it’s going to have the desired effect.
To hardcore MMA fans, the Arlovski-Nelson fight proved two things: 1) Arlovski is still vulnerable on the ground (if not for an odd stand-up he might have found his way into a kimura in the first round), and 2) Arlovski’s striking is every bit as dangerous as it has looked in his last few fights. In other words, we learned nothing new. He beat someone he was supposed to beat. He looked good doing it, and you might even say he made his case as the most talented and explosive fighter on the card, but a knockout win over Nelson wasn’t exactly shocking.
Casual fans — who may know Arlovski from his UFC days and may not — probably didn’t know enough about Roy Nelson to know that Arlovski’s win was still significant. To them, it most likely looked like a muscular werewolf beating up on a fat guy. A knockout always gets people’s attention no matter what, but will they remember that moment in January, when Affliction finally gets a card together?
You have to admire Affliction’s willingness to lend their fighters out, and I’m sure Arlovski and Nelson both appreciated the opportunity to make some cash after the October 11 event was “rescheduled.” But you have to wonder how long Affliction can spend this kind of money without seeing much in return. With economists talking recession, you also have to wonder whether $50 t-shirts won’t be the first thing to get cut from the average person’s budget.
Written by admin on October 6th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on fight and Affliction and Roy Nelson and General and fedor and Andrei Arlovski and Commentary and MMA.
(Just another day in the organization for Jared Shaw.)
The Kimbo Slice fairy tale is over now. At least it ought to be. The “street certified” brawler got himself knocked out in fourteen seconds by a guy who calls himself a “part-time fighter.” A guy who isn’t in the same weight class and isn’t thought of as anything more than a mediocre also-ran in the weight class he normally calls home. To call this a worst case scenario for Elite XC is putting it too mildly. This is an absolute disaster. Which means, of course, that they will now try to convince us that it is not.
Announcer Mauro Ranallo got that ball rolling almost immediately after the fight by suggesting that this should be considered a “mulligan” for Kimbo, since he didn’t plan on fighting Petruzelli. Do we dare mention that Petruzelli also didn’t plan on fighting Kimbo, a heavyweight, in the main event? Apparently not. Instead we start playing up the predictable Rocky Balboa angle, forgetting for the moment that Rocky fought Apollo Creed, the world champion. Unlike Kimbo, the fictional Apollo was both style and substance, and he didn’t go down to a tentative jab.
This is the point where Elite XC makes excuses for Kimbo and tells us that a star is born in Petruzelli. Just watch Jared Shaw working from this script in his interview with Ariel Helwani and see if you don’t find yourself feeling a little sorry for him. His cringe-worthy performance includes transparent lies such as, “it’s just another day in the organization,” and “(Pertruzelli) is a very promotable guy; everybody in this sport is promotable,” and my personal favorite, “we’re gathering all our other nuts.”
This, from the same guy who could be seen having a total meltdown at cageside while Kimbo was getting pounded out on live network TV.
The person who seemed least bothered by last night’s events was Kimbo Slice himself. He hyped his after-party in the post-fight interview and showed up forty-five minutes late to the press conference, where he interrupted Elite XC Head of Operations Jeremy Lappen and made a very brief statement, laughing about his swollen eye, and then disappeared again.
Lappen came to his defense, saying,
“I think Kimbo’s a huge star. Again he’s been thrust onto the scene. People are interested in watching him. And I think people will continue to be interested in watching him. …He showed heart. And stepped up on an hour notice and backed up anyone, anyplace, anytime.”
It’s interesting that Lappen uses the passive voice there. Kimbo has “been thrust onto the scene.” That’s true. Lappen conveniently ignores who did the thrusting, though.
As for the “anyone, anytime” rhetoric, it flies in the face of rumors that Elite XC had to sweeten the financial pot just to get a reluctant Kimbo to accept the fight against the 205-pounder Petruzelli. The backstage CBS interview alone revealed a very unhappy fighter who exuded anything but confidence and enthusiasm before the fight.
Kimbo was exposed on Saturday night, sure. But he wasn’t exposed as anything other than what most of us already thought he was: an amateur fighter rushed into the spotlight by desperate, unscrupulous promoters. It was Elite XC who was truly exposed. They built their reputation on Kimbo’s curious brand of celebrity, and fate conspired to grind their cash cow into hamburger.
Their strategy was to only make fights that Kimbo could win, then shout his name from the rooftops when he did. Last night they got a lesson in the unpredictability of MMA. Now they’re left shouting excuses. They found out the hard way that you can only play the squash match shell game for so long before a former karate champ comes along and ruins it.
They can call it a mulligan for Kimbo and they can try and turn it into a big push for the very average Petruzelli. But the best thing they can do is learn from this catastrophe. Where they go from here, with respect to both Kimbo and Petruzelli, should tell us whether they have.
(-Ben Fowlkes)
Written by admin on October 5th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on CBS and Interview and Jared Shaw and Jeremy Lappen and Seth Petruzelli and Elite XC and fight and Kimbo Slice and Commentary and knockout and press conference and MMA.
Spoiler alert: Ninja, Gina, Andrei, Jake, and Kimbo (!) are going to win, maybe all within the first round. If you’re curious about how exactly it’ll happen, read on. Hit that “more” link and refresh the page every few minutes to get all the latest updates from the live CBS broadcast, comin’ atcha from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. Seriously though, this is about to be some lopsided shit. Grab some beers.
Get this: At about 6:20 p.m. ET, MMA Rated passed along the word that Ken Shamrock sustained a cut above his eye in the last 24 hours while training, forcing him to pull out of tonight’s main event against Kimbo Slice. Frank Shamrock — who is handling commentary tonight for CBS — actually volunteered to step in as a last-minute replacement, but he isn’t licensed to fight in Florida, so EliteXC instead had their eyes on KOTC brawler/UFC castoff Seth Petruzelli, who was supposed to face Aaron Rosa on tonight’s undercard. Then, MMA Rated reported that a very shady doctor was found who cleared Shamrock to fight around 7 p.m., saving “Heat” from one of the greatest Epic Fails in MMA history. Well, we hope. MMA Weekly now says that the fight has a 50/50 chance of happening. Other sources say the fight is 100% dunzo.
Update: Ariel Helwani tells Ben Fowlkes (who tells me) that Seth Petruzelli is 100% in as Ken’s replacement. Wow. On the bright side, Kimbo is finally fighting a legitimate heavyweight who isn’t riding an eight-fight losing streak. This should be interesting…
Update #2: “JM” wins the t-shirt. Shoot your address and size to feedback@cagepotato.com, brah.
CagePotato.com’s EliteXC: Heat liveblog is brought to you by Old Speckled Hen and Debbie’s Killer Wings.
Quick poll: Does the replacement of Ken Shamrock with Seth Petruzelli make this event more or less compelling for you?
The broadcast begins with Gina, Kimbo, Andrei, and Jake slow-walking in front of a sunset, a narrator descriving how badass they are. Then we have a highlight montage, which even features Mauro Ranallo in slow-mo. They show Ken shoving Kimbo at the weigh-ins, a total bitch move — real sub-WWE shit. Gus Johnson confirms that Ken is out and Seth is in. We cut to a very disappointed Ken Shamrock. His cut, which required six stitches, does indeed look pretty nasty. But Shamrock expresses that he’d rather fight through it. (”I’ll fight right now…I’ve fought worse than this.”) He apologizes. He says “Kimbo deserves a beating, and I’m gonna give it to him.” Alright, stop talking now so we can get on with it.
Frank Shamrock wonders aloud why Ken is training this hard so early before the fight, “jeopardizing his career and the Shamrock family legacy.”
We see Kimbo walking backstage with his entourage. Icey Mike is definitely in the mothafuckin’ house. And there’s the first Affliction commercial of the night, plugging Fedor Emelianenko and his “signature line.”
Murilo “Ninja” Rua vs. Benji Radach
Fun fact: Radach is a practitioner of “facesmashing fu.”
Round 1: Radach rushes in with punches, then some more, rocking Rua. Rua swings back, but he’s in trouble. Radach nails Rua again, and swarm him against the cage. Rua tries to clinch, but Radach punches out of it. They both connect and we almost get a double KO as both fighters go down! Groggily, Radach crawls over to Rua and tries to get on top but Rua gets up and clinches. Radach is bloody. Radach thinks about a gillotine, but Rua backs him off and lands a flying knee. Radach takes Rua down and takes his back. Rua twists around and tries for an armbar. Radach gets on top and Rua tries for an ankle lock. It’s a close call, but Radach escapes. Rua tries again for the foot lock, Radach escapes again and gets to his feet. They soon go to the ground again and the bell rings as Rua tries for a rear-naked choke. Amazing round.
Round 2: Rua with a hard leg kick, then a nice knee to the body. Radach brushes him back with a left hook. Radach sticks Rua with a punch as Rua comes in for a kick, then lands a big straight right. Rua clinches and goes for the single leg, but Radach shakes out. Rua slips while throwing a flying knee and falls on his back. Radach jumps on top and punches Rua’s lights out. KO, Radach, 2:31 of round 1.
Gina Carano says she’s considering going to 145 from now on. “Conditioning isn’t an issue, but the steam room is.”
Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold
Kobold gets some boos. A Team Bison member, her rash guard plugs DoWork.com. (That’s like CareerBuilder, right?)
Round 1: Kobold gets cracked going in for a takedown, and clinches with Carano against the fence. Carano gets a knee in, but she seems to be overpowered. Kobold trying hard for the single-leg but Carano gets out and starts throwing leather. Both women land shots before Carano gets the thai clinch and throws a couple knees. Kobold bulls Carano against the cage, trying again for the takedown. Carano escapes. Kobold is bleeding from the forehead. Carano takes a hard punch as the round ends.
By the way, Cyborg won a decision against Yoko Takahashi earlier in the evening.
Round 2: Carano lands a nice right and throws a flurry, smelling blood. Kobold grabs on to stops the damage. Kobold tries for a guillotine, but Carano escapes and throws punches. Kobold slips in a left hook, Carano answers with her own. Then a right from Carano. Carano is sticking n’ moving very well now, but Kobold doesn’t stop moving forward. Tough broad. Kobold rushes forward pinwheeling her arms then gets a takedown. Kobold throwing down shots from the top as the round ends. A lot closer fight than expected.
Round 3: Kobold bulling forward, clinches with Carano against the cage. Kobold really wants to take it to the ground, but Carano’s defense is solid. Gina looking for a guillotine. A stalemate against the cage and the crowd boos. The ref separates them. Kobold’s punches are wild, but she gets Gina against the cage again. Knee from Carano. Carano sinks in a weird side choke from the top, but Kobold pulls out. Gina lands two punches and two front kicks, and three body kicks as the round ends. She stole the round in the last 15 seconds, and will probably get the decision. Kobold was tenacious, but didn’t do enough damage. Meanwhile, Kelly’s face is bleeding hard. Judges love blood.
Sorry, technical difficulties. Gina wins the unanimous decision.
Roy Nelson vs. Andrei Arlovski
Next to Andrei, Roy just looks like some short fat guy.
Round 1: Arlovski lands two leg kicks and Nelson clinches against the cage. Nelson takes Arlovski down and gets on top, passing quickly to side control. Nelson tries for the straight armlock, but Arlovski gets out. Arlovski pops out from under Nelson, kicking him off, but Nelson dives back on into half-guard. Nelson again works for an armlock from the top. The ref brings them back to their feet. Nelson whiffs on a huge haymaker and clinches again with Arlovski against the cage. Arlovski gets in a nice knee to Nelson’s face, then one to the body. The ref breaks up the stalemate against the cage. Arlovski lands a leg kick and a solid straight punch. Nelson swings and misses. Nelson again pushing Arlovski against the cage and the crowd boos. The round ends.
Tito Ortiz says he’s about a week away from signing with Elite. Ooh! He says he’d like a rematch with Frank Shamrock.
Round 2: Arlovski gets in two punches, but slips and Nelson mobs him against the cage. Arlovski gets out and gets in a right straight then a head kick, wobbling Nelson. Arlovski gets the thai clinch and drives in a knee, then a punch flurry when Nelson wriggles out, and Arlovski finds Nelson’s off button. He hits the mat in a heap. Great knockout punch, 3:14 of round 2.
Oh, hey: The person who predicts the ending of Kimbo/Petruzelli the closest gets a CagePotato “Hall of Fame” t-shirt.
Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley
Shields runs out to the cage with his championship belt over his shoulder. Dude’s psyched.
Round 1: Jake Shields throws some kicks to start, then shoots for a takedown, but Daley sprawls and stuffs it. Good leg kick by Daley. Shields shoots for another takedown and gets it. He passes to side control, then full mount. Daley is jammed up against the cage; a bad spot. Shields throws down some punches from the top. Daley tries to wriggle out, but Shields sticks on him, posturing up and dropping shots. Shields is high on Daley’s chest now, jackhammering punches. Daley’s covering up, but has no answer. Shields tries for an armbar, but can’t get it. He tries again, and Daley rolls on top of Shields, bashing him with elbows. The round ends. Still, it was Shields’s round.
Round 2: Daley’s brushes back Shields with a head kick. Daley rushes forward landing some hard punches. Daley clinches and nails Shields with a knee, and drags him to the mat. Shields gets up. Daley gets in a nice left hook and Shields drops, trying to take it to the ground. Daley wants nothing to do with it. Shields pushes Daley against the cage and takes him down, getting mount again. Shields tries to set up an armbar again and fails. Daley isn’t doing anything on the ground except getting punched. Shields moves to side control, then mount again, and sets up the armbar once again. He gets it this time, and Daley taps, 3:47 of round 2.
Shields says he wouldn’t mind going to 185 and challenging for Robbie Lawler’s belt.
The main event is next, which means the broadcast will only go about 15-20 minutes over, tops. Not bad, guys!
In the highlights from the Cyborg/Yoko fight, we see that Yoko took quite a beating en route to that decision loss. Would you expect anything less?
Kimbo: “I just try to shed blood on the situation.”
Oh, so Seth Petruzelli is a light-heavyweight now? Wonderful.
Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli
Round 1: Kimbo comes in and gets cracked with a knee right away, then Seth mobs him with punches until the ref stops it!!! Seth Petruzelli SHOCKS THE WORLD! THE MOST INCREDIBLE VICTORY IN THE HISTORY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS, ACCORDING TO THE ANNOUNCER!!!
In the replay, I see that it was actually a punch that rocked Kimbo after a front kick. My bad. Kimbo got his lights turned out by a short punch. And so ends the great Kimbo Slice MMA experiment.
EliteXC is so fucked. This is the worst thing that could have possibly happened.
Who had Seth by TKO in 14 seconds? Because you just won a shirt.
Kimbo says it’s all good, and still thanks his sponsors. He shouts out his afterparty and leaves the building. “Kimbo Slice, who knows what’s next for him.”
Mauro says that Kimbo wasn’t in the proper state of mind when he was walking out to the cage, but this is really a “mulligan” for him, considering he wasn’t preparing for Seth. Gus Johnson is basically eulogizing Kimbo now. And that’s the broadcast.
Seriously. 14 seconds. Discuss.
Written by admin on October 4th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Gina Carano and Paul Daley and liveblog and Ninja and Murilo Rua and Andrei Arlovski and EliteXC and Jake Shields and Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock and MMA.
Not making weight makes Gina sad…
Being naked in public? So fun!
Major props to Esther Lin @ Combat Lifestyle. (For more pics from the EliteXC weigh-ins, click here.) By the way, that’s her father on the right. Not sure how the dude on the left got the gig. Bonus hotness after the jump…
PSYCHE, BITCHES!!!!!
p.s.: The look on Yoko Takahashi’s face? Priceless.
Written by admin on October 3rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on naked and Cris Cyborg and Yoko Takahashi and weigh-ins and Misc. and EliteXC and Gina Carano and MMA.
(Don’t go getting soft on us, Babyface.)
For a guy who seems like he’s getting screwed by his employer, Josh Barnett sure is keeping cool about it. First he had his fight with Andrei Arlovski put in jeopardy when Affliction decided they couldn’t pull off their October “Day of Reckoning” event in Las Vegas. Then, a few weeks later, they announce that Arlovski will be fighting on this Saturday’s Elite XC card (and will be paid well to do it), but he’ll face Roy Nelson instead of Barnett. And why? Barnett says he never turned the fight down, but Atencio says he “couldn’t get a hold of him.”
Barnett was cagey while telling his side of the story to MMA Weekly, but it sounds as if there’s something else going on here than just a simple case of miscommunication:
“I was disappointed, yes. That was supposed to be my fight. We talked about it at some point prior to going to Japan, and I found out that I didn’t get the fight while in Japan. I continued to work on some business there, especially after I found out I wasn’t getting the fight.”
Maybe it’s just me, but that doesn’t sound like a guy who just missed a phone call. It could be that Nelson comes a lot cheaper than “The Baby-Faced Assassin”, who has said repeatedly that he is not interested in fighting at a discounted rate.
In any event, whatever is going on between Barnett and Affliction seems to have implications beyond just this Elite XC co-promotion, as Barnett confirmed in no uncertain terms that he won’t be fighting Fedor in January.
Oddly, the implication from the MMA Weekly article is that this might also have something to do with personal feelings between Barnett and Fedor:
“It would be (logical) for the fans, but the fans don’t understand contracts or the way things have been put down on the back end in terms of the business aspect of it,” he said. “Or the details between both of the fighters. So, it’s not really that we want to rob the fans of something, it’s just that I don’t think it’s possible.”
He maintains his decision is based on personal and business reasons.
“There’s just some times it’s better to keep your mouth shut and just not really talk too much about things,” he said. “I’m not trying to make anybody look bad or talk about the details of it, but it’s just not a fight that’s going to happen in January. And I think that the feeling is actually mutual.”
Barnett met Emelianenko for dinner during his trip to Japan, and the possibility of the fight was discussed. It was there Barnett concluded he would not fight his friend in January.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into this one,” he continued. “It’s not so simple.”
Business concerns are understandable. Everybody gots to get paid, and they want the best possible contract terms when they step in the ring. But this stuff about it being personal? That’s a little tough to swallow. What you’re telling me is that Josh Barnett, who almost teared up after his knockout of Pedro Rizzo because he liked the guy so much, doesn’t want to fight Fedor because they’re suddenly buds? He called Rizzo “a beautiful soul” and still it didn’t stop him from knocking the guy stiff. This is one case where you really hope it’s about money.
If a Barnett-Fedor fight gets scrapped because they just can’t bring themselves to hit one another, it will be a sad day for Affliction and MMA fans, and probably a very happy day for Dana White.
Written by admin on October 2nd, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on fight and Elite XC and Affliction and Roy Nelson and General and Andrei Arlovski and UFC and Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko and News and MMA.
(What, no odds on whether Gina will make weight?)
If betting odds are any indication of how competitive MMA bouts will turn out to be, expect a lot of one-sided blowouts on Elite XC’s CBS offering this Saturday night. Not that it’s any surprise, really. In fact, with five fights crammed into a two-hour time slot CBS is going to need some quick beatdowns if they don’t want to run way over and have to cut into precious local news time. In any event, Best Fight Odds supplies the most gambler-friendly betting lines for ‘Elite XC: Heat,’ and they break down like this:
Kimbo Slice (-325) vs. Ken Shamrock (+329)
Jake Shields (-550) vs. Paul Daley (+524)
Gina Carano (-550) vs. Kelly Kobald (+525)
Ninja Rua (-196) vs. Benji Radach (+210)
Andrei Arlovski (-428) vs. Roy Nelson (+385)
Some thoughts…
‘I Can’t Believe It’s So Close!’: the line on Radach-Rua seems at first like it’s worth taking a chance on “Razor”, but then there’s that stuff about him not training until five weeks ago. That ought to be enough to scare you away from a bet on Radach. If it’s really true that he had ballooned up to 230 pounds after suffering through more injuries and not hitting the gym, it’s surprising that the line isn’t more lopsided in Rua’s favor. Radach hasn’t fought in over nine months. Five weeks isn’t going to erase that kind of ring rust.
Best Place for That Money You Don’t Want Anymore: So you’re looking at these odds and you can’t help but wonder if that +525 on Kelly Kobald isn’t your key to beating this whole economic crisis thing. You’re saying to yourself, ‘Gina Carano can’t even make weight, plus she’s got all these media obligations. She’s totally overrated and I’m the only one who sees it!’ All right, wise guy. Go ahead and put a bet on Kobald. Then when she gets in the cage and you see why she’s 0-2 in her last two fights maybe you’ll remember that this is Elite XC, where only two fighters matter: Gina and Kimbo. And neither of them gets a fight that isn’t served up on a silver platter.
Underdog Most Likely to Turn a Profit: Of the underdogs on this card, Radach still has the best chance of actually winning, but the long shot you might actually make serious money on is Roy Nelson. Now, I know some in the Potato Nation think this is a walk-through for Arlovski, but it’s not. If Nelson plays to his strengths (submission grappling) and avoids Andrei’s (knocking suckas out), he could pull off the upset. It’s still far from being likely, but that’s why they call it gambling, you wuss. If you need another reason to believe in a “Big Country” win, how about the fact that Affliction is admittedly banking on this as an opportunity to “showcase Arlovski.” If the screwy MMA world has taught us anything, it’s that saying something like that before a fight is the best way to make sure it doesn’t happen.
Written by admin on October 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on betting and CBS and odds and gambling and Roy Nelson and Ninja Rua and Kelly Kobald and Affliction and Elite XC and Andrei Arlovski and Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano and Benji Radach and fight and Features and MMA.
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