As an MMA fan, I've been less than thrilled with the way CBS and EliteXC have been promoting Kimbo Slice as the face of MMA. Yes, I know he has been respectful of the sport, is training dilligently, blah blah blah, but to make him the headliner with no real cred was just inexcusable.
So I guess what bugs me the most is the way CBS and EliteXC hyped him, then scheduled fights with 'tomato cans' to showcase his prowess in the ring. He has 3 fights to his credit in MMA, all with no name opponents. They then schedule him for a prime time bout with Ken Shamrock, who at 45 years old has lost his last 5 fights and is in a weight class under Kimbo. Ken then gets cut on the day of the fight warming up, which brings up a whole new level of 'weirdness' to the story and in comes Seth Petruzelli who hasn't fought in 12 months and hadn't trained for the fight.
14 seconds later, Kimbo is knocked out, CBS and EliteXC are reeling, and I am the happiest guy on the planet. If you are going to be in the MMA game, then don't try and fool the fans with a slick marketing campaign designed around very superficial product. Just give us good fights, with good fighters - don't let it slide towards WWF......
