BJ Penn: I'd Love To See Kimbo Champ

by Karmakaze on Oct 19, 2009 5:12 PM EDT

"Who would have thought the WWE champion would be the UFC champion? You never know what can happen in the fight game. I’d love to see it happen, it’s a long shot but I’d love to see it."

The above quote is from UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn when the champion was speaking with the The Sun (based out of the UK). Essentially, it’ll happen. Why would it not? It’s pretty well understood that Dana White likes to create fights that will make him, his organization, and his parenting company a lot of money.

While, I’m not a Brock Lesnar fan, I do respect and understand Dana White’s reasons for creating Lesnar into a household name. Lesnar brings in the money and, as much as I hate to say it, he is actually gaining some skill — besides his size — to defend his title.

via fightstoptalk.com

Lesnar inspires hope. As does Kimbo. Kimbo inspires us because he would be another "rags-to-riches" type of story. I could root for Kimbo as the UFC Heavyweight Champion. In fact, I endorse Kimbo Slice for a shot at the belt. Not that anything I say has any effect on what is going to happen as I am not even considered a piss-ant in the MMA world, but you get my idea.

If Kimbo garners the skill developed on his appearance with The Ultimate Fighter: Heavywieghts and his training with Florida’s American Top Team, Kimbo could be deadly. We have already seen his deadly striking through YouTube videos and even during his stint with EliteXC.

And besides, I can root for Kimbo just because I don’t like Lesnar as champ.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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Comments

What specifically don’t you like about Brock as champ? Of course, no need to go into implicit detail if you don’t want, but I’d like to hear why you don’t like him as champ if you’re feeling inclined. Just for the spectacle of it, I wouldn’t mind seeing Kimbo get a shot at Lesnar – even non-title. Probably the highest non-title drawing main event possilbe right in the near future.

by black dragon on Oct 19, 2009 5:41 PM EDT reply actions

Attitude, above all

Yeah, I do think that a fight between Kimbo and Brock would be huge. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what kind of advertisement Zuffa would have. I mean, look at how they advertised the Kimbo vs. Nelson fight, which was anything but fun to watch.

I’ve just never liked Brock. From a fan’s viewpoint, I don’t think he should be champ. He should have never gotten a title shot against Couture that soon. I still see horrible inconsistencies with his skill.

From a business side of things, I think it was brilliant to capitalize on Brock’s fame and size. Although, it kind of ruined my love for the Heavyweight division.

But it’s his attitude, above all. He thinks he is God’s gift to the sport. He’s thought that ever since WWE. Yeah, he might have been acting as a heel in WWE, but I don’t think he ever stopped with the Brock Lesnar persona.

http://www.fightstoptalk.com/

by Karmakaze on Oct 19, 2009 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Get used to it.

Brock is Brock. He won’t change his attitude just because you or anyone else don’t like it or, in Carwin’s case, he’ s not acting with the “dignity befitting a Champion of the masses”(or whatever holier-than-thou bullshit he said).

I have a feeling Brock will remain Champion until he gets bored(which isn’t happening anytime soon) with the industry….

Kimbo/Brock would be approaching the 2 million buys mark(very close) if that happened….

by BNTHIS on Oct 19, 2009 9:34 PM EDT up reply actions

I would disagree that he thinks he’s God’s gift to the sport. There are people who dwarf him in that kind of attitude and cockiness.

by soadtrails on Oct 20, 2009 3:48 AM EDT up reply actions

Frank Mir, for one. If Karma doesn’t like Brock as champ, he should utterly detest Frank Mir being even the interim champ… oh wait.

by Excelsior! on Oct 20, 2009 9:02 PM EDT up reply actions

BJ wants to see Kimbo as champ cause he can beat him.

Keep firing Assholes!

Never trust a man with no shirt on.

by Ubernoober on Oct 19, 2009 6:41 PM EDT reply actions 10 recs

Why hasn't this post gotten more recs?

A Travesty ‘cause it’s soo damn true! lol.

by BNTHIS on Oct 19, 2009 9:35 PM EDT up reply actions

If Kimbo can land numerous shots and not KO James Thompson, he can’t KO BJ. If BJ can tag Machida with a power punch, then he can easily tag Kimbo. If Kimbo can’t take a jab from Seth Petruzelli, then a power punch from BJ will put his lights out.

by Jahbulon on Oct 19, 2009 10:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Umm… When Uber said that “BJ wants to see Kimbo as champ ’cause he can beat him”, you do realize that “HE” = BJ.

not Kimbo.

by BNTHIS on Oct 19, 2009 10:35 PM EDT up reply actions

That’s why I pointed out that BJ could in fact beat Kimbo. : ) Why would you assume from my comment that I didn’t understand that?

by Jahbulon on Oct 20, 2009 12:12 AM EDT up reply actions

BJ v. Kimbo = greatest day of my freakin life.

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Oct 19, 2009 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions

I would love to see a bloated-up/fat HW version of BJ, fight Kimbo Slice.

for all intents and purposes, just consider all my posts as works of satire.

by Bandaka on Oct 19, 2009 11:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Big money for the Tokyo show they’re trying to do, haha, that’s about the only place they’d sanction it unless BJ dropped his S&C and spent some time at the Country Buffet.

Tokyo? Methinks BJ v. Bob Sapp sounds good, since we’re talking freakshows here.

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Oct 20, 2009 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions

bloated up/fat BJ

has come the closest to beating Machida than anyone else.

I think he could take Kimbo

by Shaun32887 on Oct 20, 2009 1:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Actually Sam Greco came the closest; one judge thought he beat Machida.

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Oct 20, 2009 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe

I was going by the fightmetric reports

http://fightmetric.com/fighterreports/Machida.html

by Shaun32887 on Oct 20, 2009 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions

i can't believe b.j. penn thinks he is a piss ant in the discussion of mma happenings.

since we are talking about urine the only reason why machida beats rua is b/c of his urine therapy. peace.

by wolfmanshowlforever on Oct 20, 2009 7:14 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

I think pretty much any reasonable contender MW and up could take Kimbo and his beard behind the woodshed for a serious whupping.

I don’t see him contending for anything, he’s not even an elite striker with his fists.

by Koob on Oct 19, 2009 7:00 PM EDT reply actions

Wait, what?

Dana White’s reasons for creating Lesnar into a household name

Dana White didn’t have anything to do with that. Lesnar was a household name before he ever did MMA, thanks to the WWE and Vince McMahon.

by The Lethal Haze on Oct 19, 2009 7:19 PM EDT reply actions

Don’t the let the facts get in the way of a good politician. - Dana White on bragging that he made Lesnar a Household name.

by BNTHIS on Oct 19, 2009 9:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Meh, wrestling’s not that big. In 1988 people could tell you Hogan was champ, but i don’t have a damn clue who the top guys in WWE are now. Batista? Has he not exploded into a nebulous of steroids yet?

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Oct 19, 2009 9:51 PM EDT up reply actions

what’s a nebulous of steroids?

by Grappo on Oct 20, 2009 6:01 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

what would happen if you poked this thing with a sharp titanium rod.

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Oct 20, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions

he’d probably scream in pain, then either beat the shit out of me, or call the police, or both.

by Grappo on Oct 20, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions

nah, i think you could probably get on your knees and crawl away. you ever heard of “the virgin gap”, you know, the old high school joke that if there is space between the very top part of a girl’s thighs then she’s still a virgin? this is the opposite of that.

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Oct 20, 2009 6:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Just because you don't know the champ...

doesn’t mean Wrestling isn’t that big. It can be argued it is the same size or bigger. I don’t know about you, but my tastes have changed in the last 20 years and I’d assume others have as well. Only a fraction of people who watched wrestling back then are still fans, just like only a fraction of the previous boom in the 90s and so forth. I guarantee you in 20 years someone will say “People could tell you Cena was the champ back in 2008”

Wrestling still brings in two or three times the audience UFC broadcasts (minus aberrations like Kimbo/Nelson), still has a big presence on PPV, routinely dominates the “Sports/Recreation/Ent.” DVD charts; and has it’s on “On Demand” Channel

by black dragon on Oct 20, 2009 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions

But is there anyone who’s going to pervade the public conciousness like a Hogan or Macho Man or Stone Cold? Just seems like there aren’t any transcendent stars anymore, and if there are I don’t think Brock was one of them.

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Oct 20, 2009 6:25 PM EDT up reply actions

I’ll grant you that wrestling as far as mainstream appeal isn’t as big as Hogan’s or Stone Cold’s era, but wrestling is still generating huge revenue, still on T.V. nearly every day of the week in some form or fashion, and still enjoys a sizeable fanbase.

I also agree that Brock was not one of those guys because he wans’t around long enough.

All I was arguing was that wrestling may be not as mainstream, but mainstream appeal doesn’t dictate whether they’re still big unless we’re only talking about that appeal. Which if we are, I concede this to you.

by black dragon on Oct 23, 2009 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Create? Is that really an appropriate word to use in this case?

When I think of fighters getting created, I think of Cung Le or Kimbo back in EliteXC or Frank Shamrock’s post UFC career, I don’t think about fighters like BJ and Lesnar who come into the game with their own hype and get thrown in the deep end right off the bat.

by Jahbulon on Oct 19, 2009 8:22 PM EDT reply actions

Kimbo is never going to get a title shot, Dana did not make Brock a household name, and the Lesnar hate is annoying as always the dude is a freak athlete not just some big ogre.

by Sliup on Oct 19, 2009 8:25 PM EDT reply actions

The last time I checked, when Brock Lesnar was still in the WWE, I didn’t see his face all over stores. All over marketing campaigns. His name and image wasn’t at the forefront for a clothing label.

I’m probably going to get pounced on for this, but wrestling is a joke. Vince McMahon is a joke. His wife is a fucking genius for molding an empire out of what Vince’s father created.

Now, thanks to Dana White and the UFC, he is the biggest name that Deathclutch has. His posterboard cut-outs are all over stores in malls, etc. (Spencer’s Gifts)

And, Sliup, I never said he wasn’t an athlete. But I will make the statement that he isn’t as good as people love to think he is.

http://www.fightstoptalk.com/

by Karmakaze on Oct 19, 2009 9:11 PM EDT reply actions

He never reached the

Rock/Stone Cold/Hulk Hogan level heights, but in his heyday, he was probably the biggest name in WWE, him or Triple H. It may not have been as obvious to you in your circle, but he was definitely a big time name with a very large fanbase.

by Trysdor on Oct 19, 2009 9:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Wait....what??????

You think LINDA was the mastermind behind the McMahon empire??

Can I have some of what you are smoking, man? WOW! Just say you hate McMahon and be done with it.

Linda is the luckiest woman alive to be married to so much money and power. You really think that her political career would’ve even developed without Vinny Mac’s MONEY from the WWE? Give me a break, man. Vince McMahon MADE the WWE what it is today; Linda McMahon was fortunate enough to be along for the ride.

And who or what is “Deathclutch”? I know I have seen a cartoon called “Dethklok” but….. ;)

by BNTHIS on Oct 19, 2009 9:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Actually it's called "Metalocolypse". Get your facts straight.

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Oct 19, 2009 9:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Excuse me....

I only knew of the series as Dethklok ‘cause that was their name. Didn’t know the real name of the cartoon was Metalocolypse.

But regardless…Linda should worship the ground her husband spits on ‘cause without him, she’d be some other person’s grandma in a suburban home with a boring life.

by BNTHIS on Oct 19, 2009 9:57 PM EDT up reply actions

jus messin wit ya, brah ;)

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Anthony Pace on Oct 20, 2009 12:20 AM EDT up reply actions

actually it's called Metalocalypse

by Grappo on Oct 20, 2009 6:03 AM EDT up reply actions

You do know that Linda McMahon is the brains behind the WWE empire right? She serves as acting CEO and Vince is the guy in the spotlight. Business decisions are made by Linda, not Vince. And to let you know, they were married before WWE was still in Vince Sr.’s hands, I believe.

http://www.fightstoptalk.com/

by Karmakaze on Oct 20, 2009 12:22 AM EDT up reply actions

he is the biggest name that Deathclutch has

Isn’t Deathclutch owned by Brock? Isn’t this like saying that Frank Trigg is the biggest name that Trigonomics has or saying Keith Jardine is the biggest name Mean 1 clothing has?

by Jahbulon on Oct 19, 2009 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions

I didn’t know that. AT ALL.

That makes me “LOL” and hate the brand even more.

http://www.fightstoptalk.com/

by Karmakaze on Oct 20, 2009 12:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Not sure where you were looking...

But in his brief time with the WWE (people forget that he was only there for 2 full years (debuted after WM18, left at 20) he was the face of the SmackDown: Here Comes the Pain videogame; he had at least two t-shirts; the main face on PPV posters/DVD releases even when he wasn’t champ; several action figures (including one after he left the company). And that’s off the top of my head. I’m sure if I looked further into it, I’d find more.

True, he wasn’t the presence others were/are but for two years work, he built up the BROCK brand fairly well.

by black dragon on Oct 20, 2009 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Hate to be the first to bring this up

But Kimbo/Lesnar would be the absolute worst beating of Kimbo Slice’s life.

by Trysdor on Oct 19, 2009 9:15 PM EDT reply actions

Agreed.

But if you are stupid, you will be beaten with a stick - Proverbs 10:13

by Ominous on Oct 19, 2009 10:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Kimbo/Lesnar would be the absolute ~~worst~~ last beating of Kimbo Slice’s life.

Sorry, he Jason Bourned me.

by MMAussie on Oct 19, 2009 10:47 PM EDT up reply actions

I would LOL if he did the same thing Nelson did, just patted his face until the Ref stopped it.

'He built his whole reputation as a waffle house chef. They’ve been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes' - Don Frye on Fedor Emelianenko

by Well Read Idiot on Oct 21, 2009 9:00 AM EDT up reply actions

This Kimbo hype is pretty amazing

I would have thought that any of the hope generated by the inflated reports of Kimbo’s improving game would have gotten crushed by Nelson’s belly. Kimbo on TUF looked exactly like EXC Kimbo, why all the support for him all of a sudden? This board is mainly full of hardcores, the very demographic that hated seeing him talked about alongside the greats. While I’ve always stood up for him as a person, I can’t understand the fanposts on the greatest MMA site talking about Kimbo’s “deadly” striking. I though Kimbo’s striking looked absolutely horrible, slow and no defense whatsoever.

by Shaun32887 on Oct 19, 2009 11:35 PM EDT reply actions

I remember when we all said the same thing about Brock.

http://www.fightstoptalk.com/

by Karmakaze on Oct 20, 2009 12:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Brock has an amazing wrestling pedigree, Kimbo was bare knuckles on ebaums world. Brock has beaten big names, Kimbo has beaten nobody, Brock has shown AMAZING improvement with every outing, Kimbo has shown none. Brock has won AND defended the heavyweight title, Kimbo lost on the first round of TUF.

I really don’t see how comparing Brock and Kimbo is even slightly relevant anymore.

by Shaun32887 on Oct 20, 2009 1:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Brock has better everything than Kimbo.

by Big4Nuthin' on Oct 20, 2009 3:04 AM EDT up reply actions

“I remember when we all said the same thing about Brock.”

you mean, before we actually saw Brock fight? we’ve seen Kimbo be lackluster several times now.

by Grappo on Oct 20, 2009 6:06 AM EDT up reply actions

Haha!

just watched UFC 82 when Mark Coleman called out Brock Lesnar. “I’m gonna beat his butt!” Damn, how the years have gone..

"I will knock your hair black!"- Ken Shamrock to Tito Ortiz

by FutureChamp on Oct 20, 2009 12:55 AM EDT reply actions

Did you see the vid of the interview where he spoke of his injury that caused him to pull out of that fight, right before he spoke of how intimidating Brock looked in training? How he felt bad for whomever was to fight Lesnar? It was hilarious, pretty much admitting he pulled out due to fear and was dropping a weight class. Raw Vegas maybe? Pretty sure it wasn’t Helwani…little help, anyone? Can’t find it.

by slapjaw ackrite on Oct 20, 2009 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions