Mixed Martial Arts made it’s inaugural debut on network television last Saturday and the majority of reviews have not been overly positive. With EliteXC showcasing the match-ups that they did, many are questioning their matchmaking, which was set up for specific stand up battles.
The title fight between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith was a stand up war and a great fight for the first time viewer of Mixed Martial Arts; but it was not MMA. It was more or less kickboxing which did a disservice for the true gem that is the fastest growing sport in North America.
The same can be said for the women’s bout between Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young, although many were happy to see the end of the second round when Carano tried to finish the fight with a rear naked choke. If Carano was able to close the deal, perhaps the knock on EliteXC’s matchmaking would be a mute point.
In Kimbo Slice’s bout vs James Thompson, we saw a variety of takedowns and some ground and pound at the end of the second round. Thompson pinned Kimbo against the cage and in the span of sixty seconds, unleashed over 30 elbows and 25 punches, all unanswered by Kimbo, the obvious poster-child for EliteXC.
In my opinion, the bout should have been stopped right then and there, as Kimbo was not intelligently defending himself. If that bout occurred in any other promotion, the ref would have stepped in to halt the bout, in the name of fighter safety. But this was Kimbo Slice.
There is no doubt in my mind that whether purposely or not, Kimbo went into this bout a protected asset. To have him lose would have been a catastrophe for EliteXC but he was definitely exposed in this bout. But, lest we forget, this was only his fourth MMA fight and a bout against a seasoned MMA veteran in James Thompson.
I still believe Kimbo Slice has a bright future in the sport of MMA. He has world class trainers in Bas Rutten and Shawn Tompkins and I am confident they will correct a variety of kinks in his game and make him a better fighter for his next bout. He is still green and is receiving a lot of unnecessary criticism for his performance on Saturday night.
This blame can fall on a variety of shoulders, perhaps EliteXC for matching him up against Thompson, but also on the media for buying into the hype that is Kimbo Slice. Look at any of the greatest fighters of all time, be it boxing, kickboxing or MMA. They were all built slowly and efficiently with many of them not getting a real test until after 15 fights. Kimbo got his in his fourth fight.
Will Kimbo ever become a world class, top ten fighter? Maybe. Maybe not. But the fact remains that he is still on a huge learning curve and has little time to improve due to his age. He is not in his early twenties, but in his thirties. He will have a small window to improve and compete in this sport. Sooner or later, he will face a top ten fighter and he better be ready.
What will happen then, remains to be seen. For now, yours truly will not believe the hype until he does face top ten competition. But what I did see in Kimbo is a lot of heart and a no quit mentality. I am a fan for sure; that goes without saying, but Kimbo needs to work on his ground game, his defence and yes, his cardio.
I look forward to see who EliteXC has in mind for his next bout. To be frank, this is the least of my concerns as I sincerely hope to see a different matchmaking mentality from them, for their next CBS show. Let’s see some true match-ups with fighters who have a proven track record of not only winning bouts on their feet, but also on the ground with some submissions. Showcase that part of the MMA game, and the sport will grow by leaps and bounds.
