MMA: EliteXC is Dead!

Ken Shamrock did not fight Kimbo Slice last night in the main event. Yesterday Kenny was practicing and he took an accidental headbutt to the head which opened up his head along the eyebrow. He had to have 6 or 7 sutures to close the wound. He visited three different doctors after the injury and none of them would clear him to fight last night due to the wound.

I have not seen the overnight rating for the show, but it opened with Ken Shamrock cutting a promo in which he told the crowd that he was injured and not allowed to fight. At that point you could hear channels changing across the country.

The last second replacement for the oft-injured Shamrock was Seth Petruzelli. Petruzelli is a relatively unknown fighter who is best known for his appearance on the second season of UFC's The Ultimate Fighter.

The hope was for Kimbo to make quick work of a way past his prime Ken Shamrock. A dominant win for Kimbo would have further made him star. Going into last night's show Kimbo Slice was EliteXC's only legitimate big money draw. This is probably no longer the case.

Petruzelli is a much younger and stronger fighter than Ken Shamrock.
The fight begins with Kimbo Slice immediately taking the center of the ring and closes in on Petruzelli with punches. In the exchange Kimbo gets hit on the chin and he collapses. Petruzelli pummels his opponent with 10 or so unprotected head shots and the referee has seen enough.

Kimbo Slice was defeated in 14 seconds. Seth Petruzelli delivered the knockout that destroyed an entire MMA company.

I for one welcome our UFC overlords. Somewhere Dana White danced a jig.

MMA: One of the biggest nights in MMA history is tonight! EliteXC Heat

EliteXC is running a show tonight live on CBS. The main event is Kimbo Slice vs Ken Shamrock which is an intriguing matchup to say the least. If Kimbo can make quick work of Kenny then it will propel Kimbo into the type of top flight MMA money making draw that EliteXC needs in order to exist as a company going forward.

If this show does a poor rating then CBS is likely to drop EliteXC which would mean that it is just a matter of time before the company goes under. If the show does a good rating then CBS and Showtime will be in line to purchase the group and give the upcoming shows the publicity and money backing that one needs to run an MMA company in the modern landscape. This is one of the most important MMA shows in recent memory.

In other MMA companies possibly going under news: After Affliction canceled their October show they made an agreement with EliteXC to add an Affliction promoted fight to tonight's CBS show. It is the Andrei Arlovski vs Roy Nelson fight which will supposedly decide who gets the next shot at Fedor Emelianenko's WAMMA Heavyweight Championship sometime early next in 2009.

On the other EliteXC shows this year the fighters were not allowed to wear Affliction brand clothing. I imagine this will no longer me the case beginning with tonight.

EliteXC needs a big rating tonight to survive the weekend. As for Affliction? I think that Obi Wan is their only hope.

MMA: Kimbo Slice vs Ken Shamrock!!!

Two of the biggest TV draws in the history of MMA are going to facing off in the main event of the October 4th EliteXC show live on CBS!

Ken Shamrock's UFC feud with Tito Ortiz drew big numbers on cable(on Spike) and on pay per view.

Kimbo won in the main event of the first EliteXC show on CBS, and the quarter hour that his fight took place in was by far the most watched segment of that show which garnered a very good rating.

Shamrock is a way past his prime wrestler(He fought Royce Gracie in the finals of the very first UFC show), and Kimbo was a backyard street fighter who made a name for himself knocking out guys on youtube videos before he started his MMA training.

This is not really a good match up for either fighter. I'm sure that the hope is that Kimbo can knock out Shamrock early and continue to build Kimbo as a legit drawing card in the sport. If Shamrock wins, and makes Kimbo look bad then it could be very bad news for EliteXC on CBS going forward. So far Kimbo is their only solid draw.