The Fall of Kimbo Slice: Good for MMA
The illusion that was Kimbo Slice came crashing down Saturday night. The YouTube phenomenon who made his name on the streets of Miami had a reputation for being one of the toughest men alive and his street fight clips only drove the point home.
Still, when he made his entrance into mixed-martial arts, most of the hardcore fans rolled their eyes. Though Kimbo was, and is, a very big, mean and scary guy, he is a brawler. One thing we learned from the early days of MMA was that brawling is to MMA what the windmill is to boxing. What works on your little brother doesn’t always work in the ring.
But EliteXC did something stupid. Not only did they take Kimbo on as a fighter, but they pushed him as star. Saturday night they paid dearly for that decision as the biggest name of their new promotion, and the headliner of two or their three nationally-televised events, went down in under 15 seconds to a virtual unknown.
Now it isn’t just Kimbo that has to look for a new direction, EliteXC does as well. However, Kimbo’s loss is MMA’s gain. With the specter that is Kimbo removed from the sport, we can now move on and focus on what the sport is supposed to be about, skill, athleticism and strategy.
An Untested Fighter
Kimbo’s name was made not in MMA, but on YouTube in a series of underground fight films. Kimbo, weighing in at nearly 300 pounds, stunned countless viewers with his power, ruthlessness and efficiency.
However, the illusion of Kimbo had already taken one dent when he fought MMA-trained fighter Sean Gannon in an illegal street fight and lost. However, the 10-minute fight was grueling and had left both men completely drained. Many wondered what Kimbo could achieve with proper training, something that seemed to spark the imagination of legitimate MMA promoters.
It was with that Kimbo Slice was rushed into MMA stardom, well before he was ready.
Prior to his first Pay-Per-View headline, Kimbo had only won two MMA fights. The first was an exhibition against boxer Roy Mercer, which Kimbo won via submission, and the second a 19-second throttling of unknown Bo Cantrell.
His first Pay-Per-View was against aging street fighter Tank Abbott. Tank had been a fixture in MMA since the earliest UFC pay-per-views. Well over 40 years old, Tank was almost a decade older than Kimbo when they stepped in the cage. Tank didn’t even have a winning record, at the time he was just 9 and 13.
Kimbo predictably won the fight and most MMA fans began to see a pattern. Kimbo’s promoters were billing him as if here were the greatest fighter in MMA history and were furthering that image by having him headline major events and putting him up against opponents that he would have little trouble beating.
That continued on the first of EliteXC’s televised events. Kimbo fought James Thompson, a relative unknown fighter from the UK. Thompson had a winning record, 9-8 at the time, but was far from a well-respected MMA fighter.
However, Kimbo struggled greatly in the fight, his aggression nearly got him in trouble many times and he seemed to tire out as the fight went on into the third round. The judges, as the fight wound down, had the fight slightly in favor of Thompson. However, Thompson suffered from a bad case of cauliflower ear and Kimbo, by luck or skill, managed to open up the ear, causing it to bleed. The fight was stopped almost immediately and Kimbo walked away with his third official win.
The trend was supposed to continue Saturday as Kimbo was scheduled to fight Ken Shamrock. Though a major name in MMA (as well as professional wrestling), Shamrock is 44 and has a record of 26-13-2. Though well-respected, he is also regarded as past his prime. Still, he would have been the perfect opponent for Kimbo, a big name and a big draw that Kimbo should have been able to beat.
The fight, however, wasn’t meant to be. Shamrock was injured in training before the fight and Seth Petruzelli, who was supposed to fight on the untelevised undercard, was tapped to fill in at the last minute.
It would end up being the most disastrous thing to happen to Kimbo’s career and, most likely, EliteXC.
14 Seconds of Hell
Petruzelli can be politely called a nobody. He came into the fight with a solid, though unimpressive 9-4 record. He gave up 30 pounds on Kimbo and, with his pink hair and high-energy ring entrance, was a stark contrast to Kimbo’s lumbering intensity.
As the bell rang, Kimbo charged in backing up Petruzelli against the cage. Petruzelli landed a front kick that knocked Kimbo off-balance, knocking him to all fours. Petruzelli turned to the side of Kimbo and landed a series of punches to the side of his head, only one of which seemed to land flush. Kimbo rolled onto his back and Petruzelli resumed the offensive, striking down on Kimbo’s face until the referee stopped the fight.
After fourteen seconds and about a dozen punches, Petruzelli had won and the illusion of Kimbo was dead.
Kimbo, however, was not done destroying his reputation. As the camera followed Petruzelli’s high-energy celebration, it caught glimpses of Kimbo attempting to take down the referee. Whether it was his way of protesting the decision or the product of disorientation, no one knows.
Kimbo then looked defeated, broken. He gave a rushed interview in the ring and left. It was hard to read his face, but it was clear that he was not happy and he seemed to be both angry and upset.
EliteXC rushed to promote Petruzelli as a new star, the ring commentators hyping him up as if the fight had been some kind of miracle or that Petruzelli had some kind of amazing hidden talent. However, it was nothing of the sort, Kimbo lost the fight for himself and can’t even blame Petruzelli for being the better fighter.
Why Kimbo Lost
The Kimbo excuse squad will be quick to point out that Kimbo had been training to fight Ken Shamrock, not Petruzelli. They will also be quick to question the referee stoppage so early in the fight.
The problem with the first excuse is that Petruzelli had the same handicap. He was scheduled to fight a different opponent and took the fight on the same short notice as Kimbo. The second excuse also fails as Kimbo failed to answer a dozen punches and was making no attempt to protect himself. According to MMA rules, the ref had to stop the fight. If anything, it went on too long.
Kimbo lost the fight, from my vantage point, due to three mistakes:
- Naked Aggression: As soon as the bell sounded Kimbo charged like a bear. Petruzelli’s response was not much better, he backed up against the cage when most grapplers would take the opportunity to shoot in and takedown such a foolhardy opponent, but it left him open to Petruzelli’s desperation front kick.
- Lack of Ring/Cage Awareness: Kimbo spent far too much time on all fours. He had ample opportunity to get back up or roll away before the punches really came raining down. He stayed on his knees for what seemed like forever.
- Lack of Protection: When Kimbo finally did roll away, it was too late. He didn’t protect himself at all, his arms were out by his side, and he made no attempt to take down Petruzelli or get him into his guard. Petruzelli was free to punch Kimbo in the face without getting hit back.
The problem is that these are not merely novice mistakes. These are all mistakes someone with serious MMA training should never make. It’s proof that Kimbo has not broken any of his bad habits from his YouTube days, despite being a pro for well over a year.
Though it would be easy to fault his trainer. In this case that doesn’t fly. Bas Rutten, the famous MMA fighter and trainer, is the one behind Kimbo’s conditioning. However, Rutten’s talent lies in taking raw talent and turning it into a great fighter, not correcting burned-in mistakes.
Kimbo lost because of his background and his inability to adapt to the new fighting style. He met his first decent MMA-trained opponent and lost quickly. It is that simple.
Where to We Go From Here
If Kimbo is to recover from this, he needs to quickly and handily beat an opponent tougher than Petruzelli. Such opponents are easy to find, but it will be hard to find one Kimbo has much of a chance against.
If Kimbo can convince people like me that Petruzelli was just a fluke, then he may be able to start earning respect. But he’s going to have to take on worthy opponents and earn his reputation, the name alone just won’t do it anymore.
As for EliteXC, they are in bigger trouble than they realize. They bet the farm on Kimbo. He has headlined one of their pay-per-views and two of their televised events. They crafted illusion he had around him his gone and the league has lost its star.
It is a terrible shame though. EliteXC actually has a slew of promising fighters including Robbie Lawler, Gina Corano (pictured above), a female fighter with beauty, brains and skill, Jake Shields, the current welterweight champion and Antonio Silva, the current heavyweight champion. Any of these men could carry a card easily (the Shields fight was easily better than the Kimbo one Saturday) and would have made better headliners.
And that, in turn, is why the Kimbo loss is good for MMA as a whole. Not only do we get away from the distraction that was Kimbo Slice, not only do we stop having people think that MMA is just glorified street fighting, but the better fighters that have been in Kimbo’s shadow will finally get a chance to shine properly.
In the end, the only people that lost Saturday were Kimbo Slice and the people who supported the farce.
Conclusions
Now, please do not get me wrong. Kimbo Slice is one very scary man. He’s one huge dude with heavy hands. I’m not eager to step into the cage with him. However, I have to acknowledge that there are countless other fighters in MMA that are far more deserving of the attention he’s gotten.
In the end, it is strangely fitting that Kimbo battled Tank Abbott so early in his career. Most likely, that is exactly where his career is heading.
Kimbo will always have a fan base, there will always be fans that love a good brawler, and he will likely keep fighting for a long time. However, his winning record is likely going to dissipate soon and it is unlikely that he’ll be headlining many more events.
Tank has become an MMA oddity, a fighter known more for his style and his attitude than his skill or his ability to win. He was, and is, a respected MMA participant, but is acknowledged as being well below the top tier.
Kimbo, will likely fall into the same trap. He’ll make a good career off of MMA, but he’ll never hold a title nor seriously contend for one.
Maybe I’m wrong, maybe this will wake Kimbo up and cause him to fix his flaws. But somehow I doubt it.
The illusion of Kimbo is dead and I sleep better at night knowing that.
