MMA on Kimbo: Hating the player and not the game
By David Mayeda, PhD, FightTicker.com contributor
With Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson’s recent rise in popularity in the MMA world, there has been a definite backlash directed towards the EliteXC competitor. Slice, of course, gained his initial fame by engaging in underground street fights that have been posted and viewed incessantly over YouTube. In fact, many of these videos are now approaching two million hits. Slice, as we all know, has made a career change and moved into a structured MMA setting. Slice’s shift into MMA and his newfound training with elite MMA athletes is well documented. Savvy MMA fans are surely aware that Slice has trained in Las Vegas at Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture Gym and more recently in Southern California with Bas Rutten. Likewise, Slice has joined a stable of established MMA athletes who are sponsored by the clothing line, Triumph United.
Despite Slice’s movement into legitimate MMA training camps, many fans and fighters have expressed their displeasure with his fame and fortune. Most notably, in a recent interview with The Sun (April 1, 2008), the UFC’s Chuck Liddell said of Slice, “He’s training and he’s learning but he’s been built up as such a big star, and that’s the thing that bothers me. People talk about him like he’s the next great thing when he really hasn’t done anything. He’s been built up because of the Internet and him beating a bunch of guys on the street.” Additionally, Liddell mentioned that Slice’s victories over fighters such as Bo Cantrell and David “Tank” Abbott were unimpressive, given those fighters’ lack of success in recent MMA competition. Liddell’s complete sentiments are difficult to ascertain, as he seemed more upset with Slice’s build up into stardom rather than with Slice himself. Still, the negative attention is ultimately directed towards Slice the individual, rather than towards the machine that is driving his hype.
Adding to the controversy and the hype is the fact that Slice will headline EliteXC’s and MMA’s live debut on network television. Along with other notable MMA stars, such as Gina Carano, Robbie Lawler, Kaitlin Young, Phil Baroni, and Murilo Rua, Slice will bring MMA deeper into the American mainstream as the May 31st EliteXC card airs on CBS. And Slice, no doubt, will be the main attraction. Critics of Slice, however, should ask themselves if Slice assigned himself as the main event to be aired on CBS. The fact of the matter is, EliteXC President, Gary Shaw, is the person who should be held accountable for the marketing strategies being utilized for Slice and the trajectory his career is taking.
To my knowledge, Slice has not initiated negative comments towards other MMA athletes or stated that he was a complete mixed martial artist who is fully competent in a variety of combat sport disciplines with an ability to transition in between them while in competition. Rather, he has actively sought out some of the top trainers in the business to augment his once rudimentary stand-up game and done so without conveying verbal jabs of disrespect. Thus, by characterizing Slice as the villain who is manipulating the MMA game, critics are following a common storyline in sports history – blaming the athlete instead of the industry that creates him or her. Of course there are athletes who deserve criticism on an individual level. However, far too often, athletes take the full brunt of the blame while sporting corporations escape any serious public scrutiny.
In this case, devoted MMA fans, who see Slice’s rise in popularity as disrespectful to MMA, should redirect their criticism towards Gary Shaw and EliteXC, not Slice. Yes, Slice is benefiting from the way he is being used, but that’s just it – he is being used. Athletes are commodities. They are human capital in a coarse business where stardom and contracts can come and go with a few wins, a few losses, or worse yet, a severe injury. Slice and his management surely have some say in who his opponents are, and where and when his matches take place, but in the end, it is EliteXC that makes it happen.
If anything, Slice’s move into MMA should be construed as a positive for the sport. MMA proponents can point to Slice’s transformation from underground street fighter to evolving mixed martial artist as another example of the sport having a positive effect on an individual. In a recent interview with MSNBC (April 12, 2008), Randy Couture stated of Slice’s allure and overall potential, “I hope they downplay all that street crap, cause it’s not really great for our sport. I think he realizes he has some glaring weaknesses. They’re doing a good job of picking the right opponents for him and bringing him along, getting him some ring experience. And he has the potential to be a very, very good fighter.” Here, Couture has it right, especially with regard to downplaying Slice’s street fighting history. Slice has shed his street fighting ways for a potentially long-term career in a legitimate sport (or hopefully he has; see embedded video, below). This is where the focus should lie in EliteXC’s promotion of Slice – not as a street thug who can maul his opponents with uneducated fighting skills, but as an improved athlete and citizen who respects MMA and the diverse range of athletic skills it takes to succeed in this burgeoning sport.
David Mayeda, PhD is author of Fighting for Acceptance: Mixed Martial Artists and Violence in American Society, the first comprehensive academic analysis of MMA, based on interviews with forty MMA athletes.
Thanks to “iamphoenix” of FightTicker.com for locating his video.
Comments
i totally agree that its not
i totally agree that its not kimbo's fault, and i don't mean to hold it against him for being placed in the main event. i doubt kimbo is sitting in the back demanding he gets main event billing ... if anything i think he is probably just thrilled people are willing to pay him fat contracts to fight.
it's gary shaw's doing, along with whoever else helps plan the order of fights during an exc event. i just can't believe that kimbo against james "i got KTFOed" thompson is going to be more compelling than smith-lawler. if you want to put kimbo in the 2nd to last fight in a co-main event fashion, i can even find that acceptible in the same way that lesnar-mir still had to take a back seat to sylvia-noguiera for the title.
I was working in Aruba a few
I was working in Aruba a few years back when I got a phone call, it was another company I had worked for before wanting me to go run a job on the big island of Hawaii. The problem was although I would have had the skilled people there I had not did that paticular job before, so I felt uncomfortable being over a job like that. So needless to say I turned down the bigger paying job because I felt I was not ready.
Sure I could have went and made lots of money for a short time just as Kimbo is doing. But it seems smarter to take the slower road. That way if you slip up you know you had done everything you could.
EERS_1_Fan
Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
MMABRAT, CaptnCrunch, and Michael are all going to start training in the devils MMA lol
Do you really think Kimbo is
Do you really think Kimbo is taking the short cut? I think Kimbo is making all of the right moves and really shouldnt face someone at 'UFC Level' for another 3-4 fights (assuming he wins all along the way)... he is just getting (rightfully) paid for his fame as he is progressing. It's EliteXC that is at fault in pushing him so quickly to the top of the card - in this point I have to agree with Academics. However, it surprises me that Kimbo gets so much backlash, but so many people are fine with the mouthy, cocky, over-hyped Lesnar...
LMAO "mouthy, cocky,
LMAO "mouthy, cocky, over-hyped Lesnar... " After all 16 years of wrestling and a few NCAA american honors shouldn't stack up to a few street fights.
EERS_1_Fan
Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
MMABRAT, CaptnCrunch, and Michael are all going to start training in the devils MMA lol
All* EERS_1_Fan Head of
All*
EERS_1_Fan
Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
MMABRAT, CaptnCrunch, and Michael are all going to start training in the devils MMA lol
Right - except that he has
Right - except that he has not competed in years - And there are lots of All-American wrestlers who dont do well in MMA. My point is, his SECOND MMA fight was headlined for the UFC and promoted over the UFC HW championship fight. Prior to his first (joke) fight, how many years had it been since he competed...? the hype he got was from his fame in the WWE. I am sure Lesnar will be a good MMA competitor in the UFC someday, but I think guys need 5-6 fights before you start calling them the 'future of the division' and having thier name above a guy like Silvia or Nog... to boot the guy still talked like he was in the WWF and all but predicted himself the next HW champ in very short order. My point is, I think the path Kimbo is taking (now) is the right path... seening the parallel with a guy like Lesnar, I wonder why the hate to Kimbo but not to him. In the end, the Gary Shaws and Dana Whites care less about developing a guy and more about selling tickets/PPVs/ratings today.
I agree about needing to be
I agree about needing to be built up....I think a person should need 6 good wins before he is even thought of as legit myself. But Personaly I would way rather fight a street fighter than someone from the WWE. As for Lesner a few years down the road when he will be a beast IMO because he clearly is one of the best wrestlers, he has the power, the spead, so I think he is the future.
EERS_1_Fan
Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
MMABRAT, CaptnCrunch, and Michael are all going to start training in the devils MMA lol
Couldnt agree more on all
Couldnt agree more on all three points.
thanks for thanking me dave
thanks for thanking me dave academics!
i don't blame kimbo for what is happening, it's gary shaw who decided to headline kimbo. Kimbo's never stated himself that he's the greatest, and in another video i posted kimbo even said he has a long ways to go and he is still learning.
Underboss MMAfia
Head of the West Coast Family
Time I guess will tell on
Time I guess will tell on Slice. I'm not convinced yet. I wanna see him fight a real MMA stud and prove he deserves the hype.
after he KO's the real deal
after he KO's the real deal in james thompson kimbo's legendary status will be set in stone! (holding in laugh)
Underboss MMAfia
Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83
OK those were a bunch of
OK those were a bunch of educated words......But the fact remains.......middle class people such as myself......have watched MMA build up by guys working from the bottom up.
"Chuck"---was saying the same thing I hope any "true" MMA fan would say. You can't jump into MMA from a street fight one day and headlining the next.....Well at least if you want the "real" MMA fans to respect your company anyway. Thats just not how it goes bro!
EERS_1_Fan
Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
MMABRAT, CaptnCrunch, and Michael are all going to start training in the devils MMA lol
well put eers. short and to
well put eers. short and to the point unlike that book kamander just posted....
jk kamander
Underboss MMAfia
Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83
Consider Jackson vs. Liddell
Consider Jackson vs. Liddell II. That fight wound up about as skilled as Kimbo vs. Tank.
i beg to differ
Underboss MMAfia
Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83
Oh my lord!!!! the race
Oh my lord!!!! the race card?? MMA has always been one of the purest sports there is! As for my post it was purely to point out that a fan of the sport doesnt have to have a Harvard degree or play sissy sports like golf just to know their stuff when it comes to MMA.
EERS_1_Fan
Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
MMABRAT, CaptnCrunch, and Michael are all going to start training in the devils MMA lol
chuck threw one sloppy
chuck threw one sloppy punch, but all of tanks punches were sloppy. chuck shouldn't have thrown to the body and been more patient, whereas tank couldn't even touch kimbo
Underboss MMAfia
Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83
Great post David! 5 stars
Great post David! 5 stars
Why do you say "...the negative attention [by Chuck] is ultimately directed towards Slice the individual, rather than towards the machine that is driving his hype?" Can argue with anything Chuck said? Isn't Chuck upset with the way he's being built up?
Unfortunately devoted MMA fans, see a lot of things as disrespectful to MMA. I might get crucified here, but so many (not all) MMA fans are bunch of haters.
In my opinion Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson is a good fight for EliteXC. Thompson is a big intimidating fighter that fought a bunch in Pride. He can knock you out and he will probably try unsuccessfully to take Kimbo down. This is exactly what EXC wants, and understandably so; a fight the looks challanging but is ultimately winnable for Slice. From a marketing to casual fan perspective it doesn't matter how many times he's been knocked out, or the quality of opponents he's beat.
I don't think EliteXC should make this the main event, but I can certainly understand their decision. Kimbo is their claim to fame among casual fans, but I think they can accomplish their goal by focusing their pre-fight marketing on this fight, but making Lawler vs. Smith the main event. This is just like what they did with Silva vs. Rodriguez.
EliteXC has to make sure that they have an exciting main event for their network television debut. Remember that as intriguing as Noguiera/Sylvia was, Mir/Lesnar was ultimately the more exciting fight. However, Lawler vs. Smith certainly has all the potential to be just as exciting as Kimbo vs. Thompson, if not more so. Also EliteXC should be looking past Kimbo as their lone star. After all it's practically inevitable that he will eventually be beat, and there is always a chance he could switch promotions. I don't think viewers will stop watching after the Kimbo fight, especially if there is a title fight afterwards. Also making Lawler vs. Smith the main event says to viewers that they have more to offer then just one star and demonstrates an appreciation for mixed martial arts as a sport, which sounds very respectable.
As for the idea that Kimbo vs. Thompson shouldn't be the main event because it's not a proper depiction of MMA as a sport, I could not disagree with this more. Consider Jackson vs. Liddell II. That fight wound up about as skilled as Kimbo vs. Tank.
Kimbo's past does set a bad precedent, but you can't blame Kimbo or EliteXC. On one hand you don't want to set the example that criminal activity is a lucrative course. On the other hand it's Kimbo's turning himself into a legit mixed martial artist that leads to success. Ultimately he deserves a chance like everyone else.
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I actually wrote most of
I actually wrote most of that intending to make my own post, but when I saw MMAcademics excellent article (wipe, wipe) I retrofitted.
As to that comparison, which one of those fights was it where they both came out swinging, the white guy threw a sloppy punch and got knocked out by the black guy in short order? (race only mentioned for irony) My point is that even two highly skilled fighters can put on a quick ending slugfest, that does not portay MMA in all it's technical glory. Liddell does not dispute that he threw a sloppy punch. On the other hand Kimbo has consistently shown good head movement in his fghts.
...and please don't interpret this as me saying Kimbo would beat Chuck.
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