Oh how we loves us some Kimbo. There is just something about a pop internet sensation who is undefeated in the most dangerous sport out there. Sure his wins over Bo Cantrell, Tank Abbot, and James Thompson were lackluster, showing Kimbo's crazy standup but it also showed us he has no ground game. As most MMA purists say, he doesn't deserve all this media attention he is getting as there are more skilled fighters out there. This is where I disagree with the purists. Kimbo alone has brought new fans to the sport that no one else could. The excitement before a Kimbo fight is right up there with all the championship fights I have seen as of late. Nothing like tossin back some brewskies at your buddies house with Kimbo's beard in high definition on the big screen.
So what is different about this fight? How can a 44-year old washed out Shamrock stand up to Kimbo? Technical skills over brute strength is how. This will be a classic fight with two very different fighting styles, striker vs. grappler. I've always been a Shamrock fan ever since UFC 1 where he lost to Royce Gracie in the final match. His bouts with Tito were just plain awful, just a bad matchup for him, but his sharp tongue and his way with the media got him rematch after rematch for some reason. I don't knock Rich Franklin for losing twice to Anderson Silva, it was just a bad matchup for Rich. This is my rock, paper, scissors theory on certain MMA matchups. Anyone recall Wanderlei Silva beating Rampage, Rampage beating Chuck Liddell, then Chuck beating Wanderlei. What I'm getting at is that certain people can fight better against some styles than others.
I always check the Vegas lines on MMA fights, and Ken Shamrock went from +350 to +250 in the past week. What this means is that Shamrock is the still the major underdog, but more and more people have been betting on him. What might bite Shamrock in the ass is the weight difference between the two fighters. The rumor is Kimbo is supposed to weigh in about 25+ lbs heavier than Ken is, which is a statistic definately favoring Kimbo.
My predictions for tonight....Kimbo wins by ref stoppage in round 2, but I still got $5 on Ken since it is a pretty decent underdog bet, meaning you can make a LOT if Ken wins. If Kimbo wins, I would give him a more challenging fight, lets say Ben Rothwell, and if he wins that then Andrei Arlovski. If Ken wins tonight, I would like to see him retire on that good note and we as fans should applaud his courage in this sport and wish him the best.
-KingTuna
Keywords: blog., EliteXC, Ken Shamrock, Kimbo Slice, mixed martial arts, MMA, UFC
