Feb 20 2008
Rear Naked Ramblings – Lots Of Kimbo Slice Coverage
News and notes from around the MMA world …
- We have a full write-up on the latest EXC from last weekend featuring Kimbo Slice knocking out Tank Abbott.
- Speaking of the fight, there’s a ton of media surrounding the outcome.
The Miami Hurricanes newspaper has thoughts on Kimbo.
The Miami Herald has it’s take on Kimbo.
What’s next for Kimbo Slice?
What did Kimbo and Tank make for less than a minute of fighting?
Bryan Alvarez reports that Showtime did 522,000 viewers for the fight.
- HDNet Fights and Randy Couture apparently have a contract together that starts when his contract with UFC is over.
- Dave Meltzer has more on HDNet and Mark Cuban entering the fray.
- Brock Lesnar looks to have done a top five UFC buyrate.
- Frank Mir says he needs one more win to be in line for a title shot.
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have been talking to Mark Cuban, but he’s working for Vince McMahon.
Talking Points
EXC took a lot of flack from the hardcore MMA fan base for putting Kimbo Slice up against Tank Abbott as the main event of their big show last weekend. As I said last week, it’s a much different approach from a show that also happened last week, WEC 32. That event showcased smaller fighters and more technical bouts, while the EXC show was fixated around the freak show main event. At the end of the day, as far as I’m concerned, it’s about having a business model that works. If the EXC can utilize main events that help them make money that might not be your prototypical MMA fight, so be it. Watching that show, Kimbo Slice looked like a huge star. They need to figure out a way to keep him at that level and find more eye balls. I don’t know if they are THE ALTERNATIVE, but they definitely have someone who can draw a crowd in his hometown (over 7,000 in Miami vs. a little over 4,000 for Carlos Condit in Albuquerque) and possibly get some folks to give it a shot.