Aug 26 2008
Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock Is Good For EliteXC Y’all
Photo by cotton_man
When I first saw that the main event for CBS’ next Saturday Night Fights card was going to be Kimbo Slice versus Ken Shamrock, I knew that “die hard” fight fans would be up in arms. They think that EXC is protecting Kimbo Slice. They think that EXC is trying to be pro wrestling. They think that Ken Shamrock shouldn’t be in the main event of any fighting show in the year 2008.
Let’s just be thankful that these die hard fight fans aren’t running any MMA companies.
The name of the game for EXC is drawing ratings. They have to draw a good rating for their next show or else possibly risk being off national television. And the way to do that is to book the best possible fight for the largest possible audience. The goal isn’t necessarily to make fight fans happy. The goal should be to make “the most” fans happy.
Just two years ago, Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz drew the second highest UFC PPV buyrate of all time. Was that a fight for the die hards? Of course not. And yet, when the UFC looks in their record books, sitting there right underneath Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz is Ken vs. Tito.
What is the other option? Kimbo vs. Brett Rogers? Kimbo vs. Dave Herman? Kimbo vs. Ricco Rodriguez? None of those fights will draw a better audience than a fight with Ken Shamrock. Shamrock is as close to a household name that you can get.
If fans want EXC to succeed, this is the fight that needs to happen. Unfortunately, EXC doesn’t have any other heavyweights that have a name. Ken Shamrock is probably a push over at this moment in his career, but he does have some ground skill and if the fight went his way, he could hurt Kimbo on the ground. Would it be enough to beat him? Probably not. But I think that for at least the first few minutes or so, the fight will be exactly what the new fans will want to see. It will be exciting, the guys will throw some punches, and it will probably end in a knockout.
What if Shamrock wins? Well, there’s another Shamrock that goes by the name of Frank who would love to step in and do a brother versus brother fight. I bet the die hards would love that one.
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[...] gave my thoughts on this fight over a month ago and I still feel exactly the same way. This is the only fight they have on the table right now that [...]
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