Frank Shamrock: I Should Have Fought Kimbo Slice

by Michael Rome on Oct 10, 2008 11:49 AM EDT in News Comment 19 comments

It's really hard to disagree with anything Frank says here:

“When I realized we would have to cancel the show, I said, ‘Look, I’ll fight the guy. You know, it’s a great story -- little brother steps into the spot, comes out of the booth. It’s very compelling, but we need a fight to happen that’s compelling,’” Frank said. “That went around for hours. Then I put my shirt on and went to work. No one committed to it, so I just kept talking.”

“Kimbo is great, great for ratings,” he said. “But Kimbo fighting a star, a superstar, somebody who’s going to elevate him or knock him down in a good way … that’s what we needed that night. We didn’t need a nobody to beat Kimbo.”

If Frank had fought and beat Kimbo, you'd have all sorts of opportunities going forward: A rematch down the line once Kimbo improves, a casual fan dream match against Ken, or a big rematch with Tito Ortiz. Frank would have been a big star overnight. Instead I think it's most likely we have a guy that will lose his next fight unless it's against Kimbo again, and I don't think he has any star potential for CBS. It will go down as a gigantic missed opportunity to turn Frank Shamrock into a second marketable star in addition to Kimbo Slice for the promotion.

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And this is why EliteXC will fail. They had a great opportunity for a huge headline fight/story and did not take it. Everyone would have been talking about Frank, Ken and Kimbo ..whatever the outcome.. instead of.. Seth Petruzelli and his "stand up " bonus.

by www.thesportsdump.com on Oct 10, 2008 12:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

YA BUT

Do you think EliteXC would actually let that fight happen? they must have known kimbo had no shot against frank, they tried to feed him someone they thought he could beat, just didnt work out..im sure Bas would have nixed the fight too.

by DUGASWARRIOR on Oct 10, 2008 12:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Of course he would have a almost no chance at beating Frank, byt Frank beating Kimbo would have been a million times better than what Seth did.

by LiuLang on Oct 10, 2008 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It kind of makes me laugh now how everyone said matching up Kimbo and Tito would be so stupid. Really?

by Michael Rome on Oct 10, 2008 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was by far their best option. As long as they could keep paying Tito he could have crushed Kimbo in front of 8-10 million viewers and used his ~~big mouth~~ promotional skills to help carry the organization.

by Day Man on Oct 10, 2008 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I cant blame him either. Frank knew that someone out there in the mma was gonna gets recognized and soon. Frank knew that Kimbo’s days of fighting old fat, out of shape guys was over. He knew that someone was gonna cash in on Kimbo’s mystique….and it was going to be the first decent fighter that actually gets to face him…..Sure Frank wishes it could of been him. Hell josh Haynes is out there wishing it was him also….along with a long, long list that wanted a piece of the Kimbo pie.

Yeah from a marketting standpoint, Frank could of made big money is the near future if he were “allowed:” to fight kimbo. And as a fan of Shamrock and his showmanship….I would of loved to see Frank talking smack “a la Baroni in their fight”…..That would of been hilarious to see the little guy sticking and jabbing and circling around Kimbo and mocking and shit talking him the entire time leading up to the KO

by fightfan on Oct 10, 2008 12:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It was the commission who voided the opportunity, correct?

by Simco on Oct 10, 2008 12:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I am pretty sure that the commission said no….And even if they agreed to it…or Frank drank a couple gallons of water in 5 minutes to try and make 206….I couldnt see Elitexc letting Frank fight Kimbo

by fightfan on Oct 10, 2008 12:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah...

short notice, coming off a broken arm and naturally a middleweight. The commission never would have let this go off.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Oct 10, 2008 12:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He may have had clearence to train and fight by now and that may have benifited him in the eyes of the commission. It would have been interesting to see what weight he walks around at.

by szucconi on Oct 10, 2008 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wonder if the fact that Frank has braces was another reason the commission shot it down.

by Nick Thomas on Oct 10, 2008 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He said he has a special mouthpiece that covers the top and bottom

by smoogy on Oct 10, 2008 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Frank says he was approved, and I have heard the same. I think CBS said no, not the commission.

by Michael Rome on Oct 10, 2008 12:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I would have to see some kind of proof that the commission approved him, I find it very hard to believe they’d clear him to fight given the circumstances

by smoogy on Oct 10, 2008 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs