EliteXC had another prime time event on CBS last Saturday night, and the show was full of surprises and exciting matches.
The main event was scheduled to be Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock but Shamrock was not allowed to fight due to a cut he sustained near his eye.
EliteXC officials had to scramble to find another opponent for Kimbo, and they found one in Seth Petruzelli. Petruzelli was scheduled to fight Aaron Rosa on the prelim card that evening but he took the place of Shamrock in the main event instead.
Kimbo had prepared for months for Shamrock, and all of a sudden, he had a new opponent.
The main event only lasted 14 seconds as the fans in Florida at the BankAtlantic Center were shocked to see Kimbo lose by TKO in the first round to Petruzelli.
The Kimbo critics came out in full force after the fight and started to hurl insults and trash the former street fighting legend.
They said that Kimbo's 15 minutes of fame are over and that he will not be heard from again. Some said he was nothing but a freak show and that he was exposed.
What the critics need to realize is that Kimbo never was mentioned as a contender for the title, or a great MMA fighter.
Kimbo has been quoted numerous times as saying he is just a baby in this sport, and that he has a lot to learn.
No EliteXC official proclaimed him to be this great MMA fighter who was a title contender. Basically, Kimbo is just a rookie in the sport with only four professional MMA fights.
Fans love Kimbo and want to see him fight regardless of him losing or winning. He is a superstar with a lot of charisma, and he has that "it" factor which connects with fans and sponsors alike. Fans enjoy his brawling style and aggressiveness, even though that may have led to his first loss to Petruzelli.
They watch his fights to see him either get knocked out or knock someone out. Who doesn't like to see a fighter who brings it each and every time he steps into the cage?
People should be giving Kimbo props for taking the fight with another opponent that he was totally unprepared for and knew nothing about.
Imagine if the Dallas Cowboys prepared to play the Redskins, and on the day of the game, the NFL told them they would be playing the Patriots instead. The Cowboys would not be focused and in disarray.
This is how Kimbo must have felt going into the fight with Petruzelli.
During his pre-fight interview with CBS reporter, Karen Bryant, Kimbo seemed focused but his mind didn't seem right at all. Who could blame him under these circumstances?
This is not the end of Kimbo, far from it. This is just the beginning for Kimbo and you can expect him to continue to bring it in his future fights.
Speaking of fighters who bring it, Benji Radach and Murilo "Ninja" Rua took it to each other in the first fight of the night on CBS.
This fight was action-packed from the beginning to the end. Radach won in the second round by TKO, and fans can't wait to see Radach fight again.
He was very aggressive from the start and never let Rua relax.
The next fight was between the face of women's MMA, Gina Carano, against Kelly Kobold. Carano won by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Carano displayed a lot of nice muay thai skills, but the match was just too short. Women fighters fight three minute, three round fights.
Hopefully the women will be allowed to fight five minute rounds just like the men do in the near future.
The next match was between heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Roy Nelson. Everyone was expecting a knockout from Arlovski and he delivered in the second round.
Jake Shields and Paul "Semtex" Daley fought for the EliteXC middleweight title, and Shields came out the winner to retain his title.
Shields won by armbar in an exciting back and forth match. Daley was superior in the stand-up, but Shields owned Daley on the ground.
Overall, this was another great show that EliteXC put on for MMA fans. The fans got to see some spectacular knockouts and a huge upset win by a fighter who was not even supposed to be in the main event.
Although some fans were disappointed that Shamrock could not fight Kimbo, EliteXC, Kimbo, and Petruzelli, all stepped up and made the best of a difficult situation.
The haters and critics continue to say that EliteXC is going to go out of business, but just like Kimbo, EliteXC is far from done, and not going away.
You can bet that EliteXC and their talented group of fighters will continue to bring MMA fans more exciting fights and action for a long, long time.
3 comments:
Kimbo will be back and so will EliteXC. I was bummed that Ken had to be pulled out of the main event as I was really looking forward to that match. The main event was truly an upset. As with MMA, anything can happen which makes it so exciting.
The other matches that EliteXC put on were exciting as well. Can't wait to see Gina vs. Cyborg... that one is going to be fireworks!
War Kimbo! War EliteXC!
I agree with you mate. It sucked that Kimbo and Ken did not go on as planned but what can you do when you are a coward and scared of a big black man with a hairy beard? Even Frank Shamrock said Ken was an idiot!!!! Talk about brotherly love ha ha
This was a good card and they had some nice fights. Nice to have a alternative to UFC. I would like to see kimbo fight again too.
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