What's Next for Kimbo Slice, Gina Carano and Jake Shields?
by Luke Thomas on Oct 21, 2008 10:49 AM EDT
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Dave Meltzer ponders what's next for the three biggest players in EliteXC's roster:
Elite XC’s two biggest attractions, Slice and Carano, are unlikely to be moving to the sport’s highest-profile group. UFC president Dana White has repeatedly said he won’t use Slice, who made his reputation as a backyard streetfighter on YouTube videos but is not the caliber of even a mid-level MMA pro. White also has said he’s not interested in promoting women’s fighting, although Carano’s success as a draw may cause him to reconsider. Her match with Kelly Kobold two weeks ago ended up adding more new viewers than any MMA match on television in the U.S.
Several agents for fighters have been in contact all day with the UFC. Some, like welterweight champion Jake Shields, would be welcomed into the promotion.
Carano will likely be fighting in an ad hoc basis. She is too marketable and popular to never be used, but without a strong financial backer to build women's MMA or divisions she'll be forced to fight opponents in a one-off basis. Luckily for her, she doesn't have all of her eggs in one basket with her various ventures. She'll still have a public profile with or without MMA.
Shields is in an excellent spot and I would be surprised if he didn't go to the WEC or UFC (more likely the latter).
As for Slice, that's tougher to predict. He is exceptionally popular, but do major promotions like Strikeforce or Affliction - who realize how limited his talent actually is - want to follow in EliteXC's footsteps with meaningless match-making? Part of the impetus to put those matches together was simply to keep EliteXC afloat on the back of their most popular star. Does Strikeforce want to follow that precedent? I seriously doubt it, although I could imagine a world where Affliction tries that. While it's impossible to dismiss Slice's appeal, EliteXC offered the perfect hand-in-glove scenario for him to thrive. Unless promoters are willing to make the same accomodations, where does he go?
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Put Slice on that horrible Fighting Fedor show with Seth Petruzelli.
by Eugene Schelfaut on Oct 21, 2008 10:53 AM EDT reply actions
Because Strikeforce didn’t but Bob Sapp in a main event?
If they were able to but Sapp vs Nortje as a main event card, why couldn’t they sign Kimbo vs Sapp? The freak fight of a life time right there.
Yes they co-promoted a event with Sapp as the main card, but have you heard any mention of Sapp from Strikeforce since then? Beyond Kimbo vs Sapp used as a freakshow ticket seller(particularly if that would get NBC’s attention) I don’t see where they would be interested long term as one of their fighters.
People have started hating on Affliction long ago, but for their lack of stability, not their incompetence. Why would anyone hate on Strikeforce? They have been around a long time, put out a quality product and are well run. Perhaps EXC should have taken a page from their book??
http://eliotmarshall.com/
by BJJDenver on Oct 21, 2008 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Kimbo-Japan would be a great option. Anyone want to see Sapp vs Kimbo?? I bet a bunch of Japanese people would.
Jake Shield-And here is your Zuffa parking pass.
Gina-Mr. hefner is on the line. OK, wishful thinking. Seriously, Gina has so many options outside of fighting, i expect her to “go Hollywood” and maybe have a couple of superfights per year in various orgs.
http://eliotmarshall.com/
It’s a tough situation for Gina, but as you said she’s got options. She’s in the best position of any female fighter. Period. I feel more sympathy for the other women that ProElite signed. They really have no public profile, and EXC never helped in marketing any of them save Cyborg to some extent.
by Cannon Jacques on Oct 21, 2008 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions
Completely. And let’s face it, without Gina, Cyborg doesn’t really have big appeal. I’m all for female mma, but it just isn’t as in demand as some people think. If any promotion is really serious about pushing it, they need to get those two signed asap.
http://eliotmarshall.com/
Agreed.
You can’t just make people want something. At some point, the females may become huge. There’s a lot of work to do there. I like Gina, but she can’t be the be all and end all of an entire sport. That’s something that ProElite never seemed to grasp. If someone wants female MMA to work, they have to use Gina’s popularity and appeal as a bridge for other women to gain recognition.
by Cannon Jacques on Oct 21, 2008 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions
I could legitimately see Gina getting picked up by the UFC. Dana claimed he didn’t want to bring in a women’s division because the talent pool wasn’t deep enough and that’s simply not true. The following Gina has garnered through her CBS exposure is sure to make hjim reconsider and with Lorenzo around to talk sense I think it will happen.
I expect Gina to be brought in along with Cyborg and a few other top female fighters.
Agree and disagree. I don’t think it will happen in the UFC. Besides Dana being against it, the UFC has way to much on their plate already.
If only there was some league that was pretty high profile, that has a TV deal and recently eliminated weight classes. There is a place I could see some women’s fights happening.
http://eliotmarshall.com/
Its gonna be on Affliction, I doubt Dana would go for that.
by xFenixKnightx on Oct 21, 2008 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions
I tend to agree with you, but Gina certainly would boost WEC ratings if they could put that together. They don’t need a whole women’s side, just put on a few fights and see what happens. They could almost headline her and get her for 25k!! Dana might like that part.
http://eliotmarshall.com/
WEC is a great place
It would definitely pick up the ratings for what is already a great show and looks to be a perfect fit. I don’t think Dana wants to book the big EliteXC draws directly to the UFC because it might help the media attach all the scandals to him.
Hmmm....
Lets see, should Dana cash in on the Gina fame and make the Carano vs Cyborg fight happen? If they’re gonna go in on it why not go all the way? Make it for the new UFC Womens Championship title. If having Gina as your Womens UFC Champ doesn’t bring in more money and viewers I don’t know what does. I’m probably alone on this but I myself would like to see it…
It’s an interesting thought, but it doesn’t sound like something the UFC would do. One of their greatest strengths is their methodical, long-term approach. If they bring in Gina and other women, I’d expect them to put together a decent roster, first. I tend to think it would fit more in the WEC with the smaller weight limit guys.
by Cannon Jacques on Oct 21, 2008 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Theres no doubt the UFC could sign most of the female fighters from EXC and form their own Womens division and actually succeed. I agree they should put a decent roster together first, maybe give Gina and Cyborg tune up fights on back-to-back PPV’s to build them up even more and then let them fight each other for the title on…
UFC 100??? Would be sweet!
by xFenixKnightx on Oct 21, 2008 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions
PS
Jake Shields in UFC would be great. Kimbo can go to Affliction where he can fight and get pummled by someone like Big Country. Maybe get his last payday b4 people get over all his youtube fame.
by xFenixKnightx on Oct 21, 2008 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Big Country vs Kimbo
would be money. Too bad EliteXC went and popped his loser cherry with Petruzelli.
If I was Dana White, I would match-up Jake Shields and Jon Fitch right now and place them on the UFC 94 Undercard to beef up that event in Canada.
I only see really a handful of fighters from Elite XC going to the UFC. I could see a large amount of them like a KJ Noons go to the WEC where they can get a bigger name. I mean a Jamie Varner vs. KJ Noons for the 155 strap does not sound that bad right now considering do we want to see another Razor Rob vs. Jamie match-up? This really benefits the WEC more than the UFC if Zuffa can get some of those fighters underneath contract.
As someone else mentioned, Kimbo in japan is a great option. I think the Japanese would get a kick out of Kimbo. There are many freakshow matchups Kimbo could do to make money, like Kimbo vs Sapp, Kimbo vs Hong-Man Choi – the list is endless and the Japanese would dig it. However, on a more serious note, it would provide Kimbo with an opportunity to learn, as there are many fights he can take over there without the unrelenting pressure and attention of north american media. He can slowly take on good solid Japanese fighters and maybe start garnering some real respect, though I still sort of doubt it due to his limited abilities and age. I doubt Dana would hire Kimbo since he’s repeatedly said kimbo is useless, unless it was to throw him under the bus and match him with a fighter that would destroy Kimbo and thus pass on some of his fame and appeal to a better fighter.
Jake Shields in the UFC makes sense, though I really don’t think Jake can hang with the top talent in that division. Jake hasn’t really impressed me, especially his last performance, and I think a Koscheck/Fitch/Diego, etc. would wipe the floor with him, let alone GSP. Still, might be a good gatekeeper.
With regards to Gina, I don’t think Zuffa will have her or any female fighter in the UFC any time soon. Gina is marketable, yes, but is anyone else? I don’t think so. And I think that’s just a reality when it comes to women’s MMA. If Dana were to make that Gina/Cyborg fight, if Gina lost, I doubt that would all of a sudden make Cyborg margetable. I just don’t see it. Gina should be fine in her other pursuits. Hopefully she can fight a venue to fight in once in a while, cause I like watching her fight and I want to see women’s MMA get bigger. Unfortunately right now it’s a bit like the Kimbo effect: Gina is the face of women’s MMA. What happens if Gina gets destroyed?
WEC signs Gina Carano
Yes, you heard it here first. Lorenzo is running things now and he will over rule White.
I have no source. It just makes sense, ya know?
that actually makes sense
I can see the WEC starting a womens division (assuming weight issues get sorted). That would be pretty cool, too.
I think WEC opening a women’s divisions is a very real possibility.
Slice made around 800k-1 million dollars, nobody is going to pay him that now.
Originally I was going to post that I didn’t see the WEC paying Gina the kind of money she would want per fight to carry a women’s division and I didn’t see a point of a division without her in it, however, once I looked at her fight purses (admittedly only the official announced numbers) she seems to be by far the biggest bargain free agent in MMA right now.
Most guys you bring in will only add to the overall quality of a show (if that) and won’t draw any buys themselves. Gina Carano actually increases the viewership and would probably have the same effect on PPV buys on every card that shes on while making significantly less than the top end male fighters. That to me equals a great business opportunity for the WEC to lock down the best value free agent in MMA as well as close women’s MMA off to other potential promoters looking for a niche to grab.
What about...
I don’t want to steal credit for this idea because I’ve seen it mentioned before, but what about having Kimbo star in TUF 10? You could have Bas helping one of the coaches on whatever team Kimbo ends up on and have the show be about his “redemption” etc.
He could win by getting himself into the UFC and likely scoring a nice payday to go on the show and this probably makes TUF “must-see” if Kimbo is training and fighting on it. I realize his management is likely not going to want him fighting in “free exhibitions” but I bet some type of lucrative deal could be struck to appease both sides.
Is Kim Couture big enough (weight wise) for them to build up a match against Gina?? That could draw some interest.
But who is Kimbo going to beat besides the lowest level of MMA heavyweights?
And Gina trains at Extreme Couture. Getting her to fight Kim would never happen.
I wouldn’t want to see Gina beat the crap out of Kim. Gina is way bigger. Besides, they’re like buddies (or whatever the female term might be). They’re akin to Anderson Silva and Paulo Filho or Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida. Why does the Spider have so many friends that I want to see him fight?
by Cannon Jacques on Oct 21, 2008 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
I feel bad for people like Seth Petruzelli. His K.O of Kimbo could have opened a couple of doors for him, but EXC foliding is going to slow down whatever momentum he had, as far as exposure. Also feel bad for people like Lawler, and Scott Smith, who were once part of the big show, but couldnt hang with the competition level. Affliction will pick up a couple of these fighters, but a lot will be left flapping in the breeze. A shame, because some of those fighters in that leauge did have some talent.
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