It took only seconds for a short, choppy right hand to drop Kimbo Slice, which may have also delivered the crippling blow to the entire Elite XC organization.
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Kimbo built his legend bullying smaller and less imposing opposition. On Saturday night, the same type of challenger humbled Slice. Giving up 30 pounds and two inches, Seth Petruzelli buried the momentous hype that was Kimbo Slice.
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Ken Shamrock was handpicked to showcase Kimbo’s talent. He was the perfect opponent for Kimbo to display his highly touted knockout power. From a fighting standpoint, the fight was a very favorable match up for Kimbo. Shamrock had lost seven of his previous eight fights and hadn’t won since 2004. Still, he was a marquee name in the sport and would have been the perfect opponent marketing wise. That was before the main event got called off, leaving Elite XC officials in a dire situation.
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A freak cut brow, suffered on his final night of training, preventing Shamrock from appearing against Kimbo. Instead, an experienced journeyman known only for his previous stint on the Ultimate Fighter and subsequent UFC losses took a gigantic slice out of Kimbo’s legendary status.
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Elite XC initially started as a promising mixed martial arts organization. Unfortunately, they have slowly deteriorated, becoming a fledgling, circus like promotion. Instead of diversifying their talent pool to include several elite fighters, Elite XC built their product around a raw prospect in Kimbo. But, banking solely on an MMA novice in such an unpredictable sport is a dangerous gamble. And, the loss to Petruzelli is a deflating blow to the organization’s biggest star and leaves them starving for ratings and in desperate need of another famous face.
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The promotion does have several other talented fighters in its stable. Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, Antonio Silva and even Nick Diaz are all quality fighters. The problem is they simply do not have enough drawing power to carry an organization.
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Jake Shields retained his title after fighting a very game and tough Paul Daley. The challenger fought admirably, but Shields battled back en route to winning a dominating, albeit hard earned, submission victory. Shields, is just not an awe-inspiring fighter and most of his bouts take place on the ground.
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Gina Carano, the organization’s next biggest star, looked solid in her victory. The face of women’s MMA always provides entertaining bouts. Except, women’s MMA is not yet significant enough to save a drowning company. Ultimately, Kimbo was the key to their success or failure.
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Truth is, it was only a matter of time before Kimbo was exposed. After all, he was very inexperienced as an MMA fighter and was already 34-years-old.
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Still, Elite XC had gone to great lengths in order to choose Kimbo’s opponents carefully. They anticipated that by the time he was exposed, the organization would have been able to milk the most money and notoriety out of the Internet sensation.
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Kimbo was supposed to be their cash cow, yet it took only 14-seconds to bring those expectations to a grinding halt, potentially derailing Elite XC in the process.