EliteXC "Primetime" aftermath: Kimbo Slice needs work, Brett Rogers wants a piece
By Pramit Mohapatra
It may be time for EliteXC to find another fighter to pin its hopes on. Because Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, MMA fans found out that Kimbo Slice is nowhere near ready for "Primetime" MMA. Against an opponent, James "Colossus" Thompson, who is best known for displaying a glass jaw his last couple of times in the cage, Slice was not impressive at all.
In fact, Slice's vaunted power was nowhere to be seen as he was unable to knock down Thompson, who was easily dispatched by Brett Rogers in his last fight.
Slice also showed that he has a very limited ground game. Although he was able to sweep Thompson once and also tried a couple of guillotines on his back, for the most part, Thompson dominated when action moved to the mat.
Given that Thompson is not a top-25 heavyweight and Slice had this much difficulty with him, Slice now has to go back to the drawing board. Any heavyweight fighter on the UFC's roster (outside of Brock Lesnar) would easily defeat Slice and even on EliteXC's roster, Antonio Silva, Brett Rogers, and an in-shape Ricco Rodriguez would all be able to do a number on the former YouTube streetfighter.
This is a pivotal moment in Slice's MMA career. Given these results, EliteXC President Gary Shaw has a couple of options. He can either feed Slice a Tank Abbott or Bo Cantrell-caliber opponent to resurrect his good name or continue to step up his level of competition. Either way, I'm not putting Slice in my contender's bracket anytime soon and in my book, he's no more relevant in the MMA scene now than any other up-and-coming fighter.
The judges' scorecards
FightTicker.com was given the judges' scorecards for the Slice-Thompson bout. Here's how the three judges scored the first two rounds:
Bittencourt: 10-9 Thompson, 10-9 Thompson (20-18 Thompson overall)
Colon: 10-9 Thompson, 10-9 Slice (19-19 overall)
Crosby: 10-9 Thompson, 10-8 Thompson (20-17 Thompson overall)
On two scorecards, Thompson won both the first and second rounds. Judge Colon (henceforth referred to as "the judge who wasn't watching the same fight as everyone else") somehow gave Slice the second round. Regardless, if Thompson could have survived the third round he would have won the fight.
The official outcome notwithstanding, Slice was dominated in this fight and was lucky to come away with a victory. Another referee may have chosen to end the fight in the second round when Thompson was accumulating strikes on Slice on the ground while Slice was unable to advance his own position. In fact, this very scenario played out between Kenny Florian and Joe Lauzon at UFN 13 and most observers believed the stoppage was the right call then.
But, the referee's decision to then end the fight when Thompson was wobbled but still standing in the third round was a remarkable mistake. Thompson was not given the same benefit of the doubt that was given to Slice just a couple of minutes earlier.
Thompson deserves a rematch. Let's just hope that Thompson-Slice II isn't a headline fight.
Rogers calls out Slice
Rogers called out Slice twice at the post-fight press conference -- once before Slice had entered the room and then again with Slice seated next to the podium. Both times, Rogers called Slice's display of MMA skills "garbage." And, I'm sure there are many MMA fighters and trainers out there who would agree.
While many fighters have toiled away in obscurity, Slice has stolen the spotlight because of his YouTube exploits. Maybe Rogers is a "hater" as Slice claimed loudly during the tense standoff that was pacified by unlikely mediator Phil Baroni, Robbie Lawler, and others. But, to a certain degree this "hadoration" is understandable, especially after Slice's performance Saturday night.
On the other hand, Rogers also knows he can become famous at Slice's expense. While Gary Shaw hinted that Rogers' next opponent could be Antonio Silva (in a fight that could conceivably have EliteXC title ramifications), Rogers seems to understand that a much more winnable fight against Slice would make him a more marketable player in the game. And, Rogers knows that means dollar signs.
Which leads to another question -- will Slice now be relegated to being the guy who makes up-and-coming fighters famous because of his huge name but limited game? In other words, will he play a role similar to the one Tito Ortiz played for Lyoto Machida?
One thing's for certain -- look for Slice-Rogers to come our way shortly. With this kind of build-up, it's about the only thing that does make sense about Slice's foray into MMA.
Comments
Outside of Lesnar? are you
Outside of Lesnar? are you kidding me? I have worked in your area and know crack is bad there but I was hoping you was not on it! Kimbo would not make it out of the 1st that is a fact Jack!
EERS_1_Fan
Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
Wrestle for 6 minutes then golf for an hour and see which one is harder.
i'm with eers on this one
i'm with eers on this one ... but i've also been a lesnar supporter because i have faith in his athleticism and ability to adapt to the mma world, given his amateur wrestling experience and his insane strength and agility. i put slice and his development on par with a TUF fighter that doesnt have experience in larger venues (guys like mac danzig aren't the norm for TUF).
i can only hope that miragliotta didnt receive any extra incentive payments for that fight because he refs other (UFC) venues and i dont want the stink of rumored fixes tainting the real deal
---
right now, shaw should see that his real stars are the established guys he has (smith/lawler) and gina carano. while gina carano failing to make weight is a bit embarassing, she has starpower and marketability without just being the anna kournakova of women's mma (pretty but doesnt match the hype on the court).
i think ricco has a rematch in his contract with bigfoot, but if shaw wants to have titles at any weightclass, he better get more fighters on the roster (lashley and tara larosa both signed with AFL by the way)
They hand picked a guy with
They hand picked a guy with a glass jaw for Kimbo to KO but yet he still could not do it. It took a nasty ear to get him a TKO win. On the ground he looked like a white belt against a black belt. And Brock is a NCAA all American. Not to mention where is that KO power Kimbo was supposed to have? Thompson forgot to fall down lol! I loved it.
EERS_1_Fan
Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
Wrestle for 6 minutes then golf for an hour and see which one is harder.
lol...I put that comment
lol...I put that comment about Lesnar in there for you Eers...Really the point of that statement was that both Lesnar and Slice are very green...It'd be a good fight...Stand up edge goes to Kimbo, wrestling goes to Lesnar...Neither has a submission game...I'm not sold on either at this point...
At least Houston Alexander
At least Houston Alexander knew enough to get knocked out rather than take more of a beating!!!
Lesnar would destroy Kimbo and Brett Rogers for that matter.
Godfather and all-around Mafia Aficionado
Co-Founder of The MMAFIA
Live Blogger for Fightticker.Com
Brian Stann! He has not been
Brian Stann! He has not been in a lot of fights! As many people know I rank him around number 10 in the world in the LHW but I bet he would jump up in weight for a pay day to KO Kimbo!
MMABrat
Run Forest Run
I'm happy to see a judge
I'm happy to see a judge actually gave the round 10-8 for Thompson - there are not enough 10-8 rounds given in MMA imo. Kimbo's new name is Kimbo 'Houston Alexander' Slice for that rockin ground game.
I have to agree with Ticker about Brock... until he proves he has submission defense and a servicable stand up game, he is just as suspect as Kimbo - but deserves just as much respect for taking the sport seriously and trying to cross-train skills.
Also, here's another
Also, here's another question about Lesnar: has he ever been punched? I can't remember him taking a punch in either fight. So, we don't know what his chin is like. Getting hit changes the complexion of the game...
Sixtus wrote: I have to
I have to agree with Ticker about Brock... until he proves he has submission defense and a servicable stand up game, he is just as suspect as Kimbo - but deserves just as much respect for taking the sport seriously and trying to cross-train skills.
Remember guys this is not BJJ it is MMA! Brocks wrestling is as good as anyones BJJ that is in the UFC. There is no way possible Kimbo could beat him. I only thought he would have a punchers chance against a guy like Lesner, now that I seen he can't even KO a guy like Thompson? I wouldn't even give him a punchers chance against Lesner. If Brock could not get a sub against Kimbo that is kool he has other options, KO, TKO, DEC, Stoppage, or doctor stoppage.
MMABrat
Run Forest Run
Are you serious, you've
Are you serious, you've never seen Brock take a punch? I have seen him take chair shots to the head, get thrown through tables and hit repeatedly in the head with fists, feet & knees and every time he got up and rallied to win. He can take a shot alright.
Of course I am kidding, how many of you thought I was crazy?
Godfather and all-around Mafia Aficionado
Co-Founder of The MMAFIA
Live Blogger for Fightticker.Com
KingLev wrote: Are you
Are you serious, you've never seen Brock take a punch? I have seen him take chair shots to the head, get thrown through tables and hit repeatedly in the head with fists, feet & knees and every time he got up and rallied to win. He can take a shot alright.
Of course I am kidding, how many of you thought I was crazy?
Godfather and all-around Mafia Aficionado
Co-Founder of The MMAFIA
Live Blogger for Fightticker.Com
Quality. +1
Check out the topic I just
Check out the topic I just posted about the ESPN poll, I think everyone will be quite happy.
Godfather and all-around Mafia Aficionado
Co-Founder of The MMAFIA
Live Blogger for Fightticker.Com
You are 100% right, at the
You are 100% right, at the press conference last night he called himself a baby at MMA, he knows his place, I don;t fault him one bit. He's not stupid, but he also isn't about to let anyone trash him, which I respect. He is smart enough to capitalize while he can so he can take care of his family, how many of us wouldn't do the same?
Godfather and all-around Mafia Aficionado
Co-Founder of The MMAFIA
Live Blogger for Fightticker.Com
Kimbo never said he was a
Kimbo never said he was a top tier MMA competitor....that is the dog and pony show of his promoter and his " i'm too sexy for my..." son. LMAO Kimbo said -that he's not afraid to fight anyone....and I believe that. But then again that may be the reason why he is not calling out any of the top guys...he know's he is not ready.
I tried to stay professional but it's hard after what I endured last night!!!
Johnny Benjamin MD
I think this is the show
I think this is the show Michael Jackson meant to attend.
Hitman for the MMAfia
I just hope this event
I just hope this event didn't put potential viewers off of MMA. Both men looked gas at the start of the second round, and Kimbo didn't do anything for a while but lay on the mat and get beat. I thought the stoppage in the third round was a bit premature as well. It was a joke. I just hope this didn't do more harm than good.
What is the next event that is on network television?
Gary Shaw said at the press
Gary Shaw said at the press conference that EliteXC's next CBS even will be early fall, if the network decides to air another show. The ratings for this past show will be very important.
i personally thing this was
i personally thing this was the best thing to happen to the UFC.
1) kimbo won (meaning they have to continue promoting him) but he looked like crap.
2) i haven't heard ONE person say they enjoyed the production of the show
3) gary shaw looked like an idiot in the post show conference
4) people now see the HUGE difference in production value and fighter skill level of the UFC and EXC.
5) now instead of people dana white bashing, they will be bashing gary shaw and kimbo.
Last nigh was certainly a
Last nigh was certainly a win for the UFC. Kimbo winning in that fashion
Honestly, I give some credit to Thompson... not for coming out with an undrained ear of course, but coming with the right strategy to win despite his boss wanting something different. Apparently he didnt get the memo that he was supposed to stand and trade with Kimbo.
If JT even knew basic level submissions, it would have been over quickly after the first take down. I think the stoppage was a little early... but really it was going to get real ugly... to a point where I think CBS would not have been comfortable THAT MUCH blood. How the hell do you come out with an undrained ear????????
So I got to wondering if our sport SHOULD be on network tv... strictly from the standpoint that if they have to have early stoppages to protect the image of the sport, then I would rather watch it on cable or PPV and see the fight play out as it should.
This comment may surprise
This comment may surprise you all considering the source but even I think Lesnar would beat Slice easily. I love that Pramit is picking on Lesnar because he is the Kimbo Slice of the UFC...unproven, overhyped and overpaid. But Slice looked so bad I think dispite the weight advantage Jens Pulver could beat Slice 5 out of 10 times.
SBRadial wrote: This
This comment may surprise you all considering the source but even I think Lesnar would beat Slice easily. I love that Pramit is picking on Lesnar because he is the Kimbo Slice of the UFC...unproven, overhyped and overpaid. But Slice looked so bad I think dispite the weight advantage Jens Pulver could beat Slice 5 out of 10 times.
Why would it surprise us? No matter how boring a wrestler may look at times, this is not meant to be a circus it is MMA. And the wrestlers are still the badest dudes out there, as Lesnar will show you.
EERS_1_Fan
Head of South East Tribe MMAFIA
Wrestle for 6 minutes then golf for an hour and see which one is harder.
i think he's saying it might
i think he's saying it might surprise that he's saying it because he is a kimbo lover...
Underboss MMAfia
Head of the West Coast Family