Quote of The Day: Kimbo Slice Not The Face of MMA

by Nick Thomas on May 29, 2008 9:28 AM EDT in News Comment 10 comments

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Kimbo hasn’t fought anyone nearly as good as Mir or Herring. Who knows if he ever will? EliteXC and CBS are running his career like a boxer, even if trumped up records and mismatch fights have severely damaged that sports’ popularity.

Saturday’s card is not set up to show the best of mixed martial arts and introduce America to a sport it would likely embrace.

If CBS was trying to build serious interest in football, it wouldn’t trot out an unproven pro team against a doomed high school squad and call the ensuing blowout the best the game offers.

But neither the network nor EliteXC are treating the sport or Kimbo Slice as anything but disposable programming. And that’s the problem here.

-- Dan Wetzel from Yahoo! Sports says EliteXC is willing to sell anything, even a false portrait of its sport, to succeed.

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That’s a bit harsh. Although, I agree Kimbo is being fed cans, EliteXC cannot be stupid and through him to the wolves and loose one of the most marketable fighters they have either. They are trying to strike a balance between making money and giving Kimbo fights that will help him grow as a fighter. Stop getting so upset over the fact that this is a business before it’s a sport. It’s sucks…but it’s the reality.

by Jayce Jon on May 29, 2008 9:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Spot on Mr. Wetzel!

Spot on.

Glad to see Yahoo! Sports has knowledgeable writers that are also fans of the MMA to call it as it is.

by dohfil on May 29, 2008 10:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Wrong...

Equating James Thompson…a guy who has wins over Yoshida, Frye and Severn…and who has fought on one of the biggest stages possible…to a doomed high school team is insane and is a writer being senseless. Thompson isn’t a top 10 fighter or anything of that nature. But he is a guy with experience who presents a new and dangerous risk to Kimbo. Will he get knocked out? Probably. Is that a good thing? Yep…for EXC and CBS it sure is.

Kimbo is a guy who the fans want to see (or at least more fans want to see than don’t). If you look at the article I just posted. Television realities dictate that you would want Kimbo in the main event spot to retain viewers for the entire show. Free TV is not PPV where you won’t tune out once you drop hard earned cash on it. Free TV is something that you will turn off the second you lose interest. The majority of fans are going to watch until Kimbo fights, if he fights any earlier than the main event the show will LOSE VIEWERS. Which is against the goal of television isn’t it?

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

"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison

by Brent Brookhouse on May 29, 2008 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s pretty simple. Kimbo’s new to MMA so he gets less than stellar competition to fight against. He’s ProElite’s meal ticket and the most popular with casual fans so he gets the main event fight.

Popularity and skill level don’t go hand in hand. The Lensar/Mir fight got more press and was more anticipated by the casual fans than the HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT that followed it. Regardless of where on the card Kimbo were to fight, he’s going to bring in most of the new eyeballs so why not put him on the main event so you can show off the other talent in the meantime? Viewers get exposed to other fighters and stick around for the whole broadcast in anticipation for Slice/Thompson. Smart marketing in my opinion.

Come for the Slice, stay for the Carano and Lawler.

by Tonley on May 29, 2008 11:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This was a pretty nuanced piece. I agreed with some of it and disagreed with some. Here’s a passage from the same piece that I liked:

The sport has taken off in a way few others have – fueled purely by fan interest. It stands in stark contrast to all the network airtime spent on sports propped up on political correctness or obligation. MMA long ago deserved network attention.

by andherewego on May 29, 2008 12:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I actually think thompson takes this fight and i put money on him too.

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by mmastation on May 29, 2008 12:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I put a little on Thompson

as I think the odds are a little out of whack. But I still expect Kimbo to win.

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

"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison

by Brent Brookhouse on May 29, 2008 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I do have to laugh at people saying Kimbo should be fighting top-tier fighters right now. Has anyone else at 2-0 been expected to do this (regardless of his one amateur MMA fight)? His popularity and hype might make you hate on the situation, but he’s still a growing fighter taking on steadily rising challenges and improving with them. Anyone else at 2-0 and they’d say he was just set up as a can himself to get destroyed by Thompson or ignore it entirely, but Kimbo should apparently be fighting Fedor right out of the gates and it’s somehow justified.

by dragomort on May 29, 2008 3:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Quote of The Day: Kimbo Slice Not The Face of MMA

Is it me or is everyone missing the point of the article. Its not about business profits, its about this will be the first look many people have of mma will be kimbo slice. nothing bad to say about him personally but do you really want elitexc card to be the first impression of maa. NO!!! u dont go out on a first date wearing clothing that is up to par. You want to impress and show your best side. Same with what he had to say. Perhaps his references may not have been accurate, but his point is. Put your best foot foward.

by artc on May 29, 2008 4:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

what is their best foot?

They HAVE TO DRAW RATINGS or there won’t be a second EXC on CBS. Kimbo is the best bet to draw the ratings needed.

Jake Shields? Antonio Silva? Robbie Lawler? All fine fighters…but not draws in any way.

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

"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison

by Brent Brookhouse on May 29, 2008 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs