Bas Rutten Talks Kimbo Slice, Main Event Status

I agree with Bas on the point that EXC created the Kimbo hype monster. I believe that’s done more than anything else to raise the ire of fans and fellow competitors, alike. That’s unfortunate; I suppose. When you accept all the attention and hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight in main events, however, you have to be prepared for this type of blowback. That tempers my sympathy for Kimbo and Bas a bit.

It just seems that fighters and other people associated with EXC are always bitching about how they’re viewed by fans and the media. There’s the Kimbo hate. There’s Jared Shaw being pissed about Ben Fowlkes coverage at Cage Potato. There’s Gina not wanting to be the face of female MMA or a sex symbol. It just seems obvious that they should look squarely at their promotion and how it defines them, or how they allow it to define them. That’s the common denominator as I see it.

Has always been fair and reasonable when it comes to Kimbo.