Thanks to Five Ounces Of Pain's Sam Caplan, the obvious is finally pointed out: EliteXC has simply become a Kimbo Slice promotion.
For whatever reason, when it comes to the CBS shows, EliteXC hasn't done a good job of allowing fighters, other than Slice and [Gina] Carano, to shine in the spotlight. Sure, the second show featured a main event of Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith, but they didn't get much of a promotional push. Is that because they are good fighters who don't have the charisma needed to captivate the mainstream, or is it a situation where EliteXC dropped the ball?
To not feature Kimbo would be a major mistake. But perhaps EliteXC was onto something when they promoted him as a special attraction during last November's "Renegade" event in Corpus Christi. If you recall, Nick Diaz and K.J. Noons competing for the vacant EliteXC lightweight title headlined the show that night. But after Slice's much talked about verbal submission victory over Bo Cantrell, a decision was made to put him in the center ring of the circus instead of building him slowly over time as a sideshow attraction.
Kimbo Slice is a vacuum. If he's on a card, everything gets sucked up underneath and is virtually forgotten.
While the Kimbo Slice-Seth Petruzelli saga has come to include EliteXC executives and even the Florida State Athletic Commission, the real victors in the fight game have fallen by the wayside.
Perhaps it's just one of the many differences between EliteXC and the UFC. But, regardless, the upstart promotion isn't helping its cause. or MMA's in general.
If EliteXC continues on into 2009, then a Slice comeback should definitely be a part of the equation. But it's time for the promotion to start allowing more fighters an opportunity to break through the proverbial glass ceiling. The promotion needs to become an organization that features multiple subplots instead of focusing on just one primary storyline, no matter how enthralling it might be.
- All Kimbo, all the time (FiveOuncesOfPain)
Janipher Choi
Tori Praver
Mavs Dancers
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this writer is dumb!
AngryPlaya
Beverly Hills , CA
Total Comments (2)
I agree. She, and this web page, promote Kimbo more than any other fighters. Each day, more Kimbo. There are hundreds of better fighters that they never mention. Get off of Kimbo.
BOOJEM
San Diego , CA
Total Comments (1)
to say that Elite XC has BECOME a Kimbo promotion implies that at some point they weren't a kimbo promotion, that at some point they had something else to stand behind.....try writing an article that isn't just a lead in to someone elses' quote.
-Loki-
Total Comments (8367)
Why all the hate for the writer?
Hey sweetheart! Just keep doing what you do. Don't listen to these grouches. :)
Tuefel Hunden
My Dixie Wrecked, TX
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