Issue 058
January 2010
Kimbo Slice remains an unexplained phenomenon in mixed martial arts. His fight with Roy Nelson was taped in June 2009, and even though a few insiders in the MMA world thought they knew what the result would be, it became the most watched MMA fight ever in television ratings.
Perhaps it just goes to show that people don’t care whether a fight is live. According to Spike TV, 6.1 million viewers tuned in to watch the elimination bout, and the show drew an average of 5.3 million viewers. That figure made it the most watched episode of an original series in the six-year history of the channel, eclipsing the 4.1 million viewers garnered by the first episode of TUF 10.
Not being live could be significant. Kimbo’s popularity is weird. He was destroyed by Seth Petruzelli in a few seconds, he struggled to beat James Thompson – he was well and truly exposed – yet fans really don’t seem to care and are willing to support him.
Tank Abbott was still a big deal until a few years ago, even though he was exposed long, long ago. Perhaps people (by which I mean casual sports fans, the man in the street) like the idea that those who have trained all their lives – who are amazing athletes – can be beaten by another who has been born tough. Perhaps that’s ‘The Kimbo Factor’.
Kimbo and Tank are those types – men who can win a fight because they are naturally tough – and they represent that notion. Perhaps it is a subconscious thing with fans. They are fighters who don’t have the dedication, or do the running, or keep to the diet – why else was Kimbo fighting in the parking lots of fast food chains? Yet they possess the chutzpah to challenge all comers.
Kimbo still has an aura about him. The loss to Nelson has not hurt him. Just as the fans are still into Chuck Liddell – whose comeback will still be a big deal, if he can come back – so fans want more of Kimbo aka Kevin Ferguson.
While Liddell is a legend in the Octagon, Kimbo’s street status is still mythical. The man dies before the myth in this case, metaphorically speaking. If the UFC have Kimbo in the Octagon again, in a sense, he will have to be carefully matched. Not in the sense that he needs someone to walk through, but in styles, as his style can make a great fight.
Otherwise, he will simply flash and burn. He’s 35, he’s had his 15 minutes of the proverbial, he has also had two years of MMA training and has not improved very much at all. Sure, his takedown defense is marginally better, but there is no sophistication whatsoever to his work. Kimbo is Kimbo; he is what he is, and if the UFC are to promote him properly, and keep the fans happy, he needs to be marketed as a punching gunslinger against the same. Forget grappling; it’s not him. Otherwise, it’s sayonara Kimbo.
Good morning Sydney for UFC debut Down Under
The UFC are definitely going to break into new territory in February 2010 when they venture Down Under for the first time. There is significant interest in television terms, and the Aussie penchant for a good punch-up will play into the hands of the marketing moguls at the UFC. What is intriguing, however, is that to cater for television audiences around the world the UFC event in Sydney will take place in the morning, local time. That will mean the United States and Canada see it during the early evening, while Europe will have a show around midnight.
Is the UFC becoming too camp and cosy?
Pardon the pun, but is there far too much of a ‘camp’ mentality developing in mixed martial arts? Nor am I referring to the practice of cage fighters spending Friday night out on the town in drag – wig and stilettos – and catching out unsuspecting city-centre thugs.
No. I refer to camp versus camp, as in those at the Rough House Team, Nottingham, or at AKA in the United States. Five welterweights, all arguably in the top 10 of the UFC, and they all need to face off, against their teammates, and across continents. Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick (AKA), and Paul Daley and Dan Hardy (Rough House).
I know fighters need training partners. But it is an individual sport. I don’t want to hear that they know each other so well that they do not want to fight a friend. Dan Hardy insisted to me that he and Paul Daley have “grown up together in MMA for eight years” and “are like brothers”. I don’t care. It is about being the best, and to be the best, you have to beat the rest.
Gareth A Davies is boxing and MMA Correspondent for The Daily Telegraph
...
