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.

Continue reading "First Blog: Kimbo vs. Shamrock - Oct. 4th 2008"

Even my parents who don't watch MMA know Kimbo lost to a no-name Saturday. What happened Oct. 4th was a joke of an event and here is why. There are already two controversies brewing...

The first controversy was reported today on Sherdog.com that Seth was paid extra by EliteXC to stand up with Kimbo, not take him down. This is blatent fight-rigging in my eyes and further shows how dumb business-wise EliteXC really is. The EliteXC execs must have thought Seth would have gotten smashed by Kimbo if they stood and banged it out for while. Takedowns are half of the battle in mixed martial arts fights, and to offering money to a certain fighter to not use this technique is downright cheating everyone who was interested in a real fight. I felt giddy Saturday night after the fight since EliteXC’s fight-rigging backfired horribly and their main superstar lost to a no-name Seth Petruzelli.

Continue reading "Aftermath of the Kimbo Disaster - Oct. 7th 2008"