Gymdb Blog

Wow. So this is the headline, live network bout that has finally pushed Mixed Martial Arts to mainstream. While I am glad its happened, I am incredibly sad and disappointed that this was the fight that took it there.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought the actual promotion EliteXC put on was decent. The problem was both the sub-par professional skill of Slice and Thompson and the utter, blatant favoritism that was enjoyed by EliteXC’s hype machine AKA Kimbo Slice.

• The fight certainly could have been stopped in the second round by Thompson from his unanswered ground and pound on Slice.
• Thompson had full side control and was doing good on the ground yet they stood them up continually, TV ratings are one things, a fair fight is another.

Thompsons Swollen Ear
Yes this was a particularly weird and integral part of the fight. Firstly, its extremely odd that Thompson came in with the swollen ear. Why on earth wouldn’t he drain it before the fight? It was evident that it would pop. If you look at the weigh-ins and pre-fight interviews there was no evidence of any problems with his ear, did this happen in the changing rooms warming up? Or more sinister, is this evidence of a potential fix?

Either way he is going to have serious problems with the piece of ham hanging off the side of his head he calls an ear from here on out.

Is Kimbo legit?
Is Kimbo a threat to other pro mma heavy-weights right now? Not really.

Will he be? Probably. His stand-up is sharp and he has the natural talent and the inclination to improve, however it was evident he has MANY holes in his game. With Bas at his side I see him being a force in a year or two, provided he consistently trains and focuses on his wrestling and ground-game. Right now he is nowhere near top 10, and would ass handed to him by most of the talent at Heavyweight.

Images courtesy of sherdog.com

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