This news broke yesterday and I never got a chance to post anything about it so here it is...
Yesterday, the UFC announced that Kimbo Slice would be a contestant on the next edition of The Ultimate Fighter.
Everybody got that?
If not, let me expand on that. Kimbo Slice, the man who was in the most watched MMA fight in history, will now be relegated to one of sixteen heavyweights fighting it out for the chance to earn a UFC contract. Oh, by the way, he'll be doing this while being coached by either Rashad Evans or Quinton Jackson. If the thought of Kimbo Slice trading words with Rampage doesn't give you a little bit of a flutter, you have no soul... well, MMA soul at least.
My thoughts?
First, this is EXACTLY the kind of thing that will make me watch TUF again after skipping the current season.
Second, like him or not, you've got to give Kimbo MAJOR credit for this. If you are to believe the rumors, he may have gone around his management team to make this deal which is crazy, stupid, and ballsy all wrapped up in a grill-covered ball. He's taking the biggest risk of his life here. If he proves to be a bust and gets KOd in the first round of his first fight, odds are high he'll never get a chance at another major fight. If he somehow works his way through and actually makes the UFC, whew, baby. Katie bar the door because MMA might hit a fresh run of awesomeness.
So, yeah... in short, I'm looking forward to seeing Kimbo on TUF and I just might find myself rooting for him as well.
By the way, this might be the biggest non-losing scenario for a promotion I've ever seen. Dana White remains a promotional genius in the vein of Vince McMahon. If Kimbo fails, Dana gets to mock him forever and show the world that not just any overhyped street fighter can be successful. If he wins, it's the ultimate success story and a chance at some big headlines and buyrates.
I'm suddenly excited about MMA again... for now.
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1 comments:
Hey Blue - great post. MMA has actually been exciting lately! I too saw this info yesterday & I was pretty excited. Dana White, of course, is a marketing/promo genius - this will be huge for the UFC no matter what the outcome. Dana has always said that Kimbo has a place in the UFC by way of TUF. At least he's sticking to his guns. What I will say about Kimbo is that he hasn't 'really' had a formidable opponent yet. Also, like you stated, Kimbo really should get mad respek (see Ali G) for "sucking it up" & going on TUF. I will say that Kimbo may have a legitimate shot here as one of his primary trainers is Bas Rutten - if you don't know about this guy, look him up. He was the former HW Title holder in the UFC (as well as a Pancrese bad ass) before most of the audience of your blog was probably watching UFC (no offense anyone - he's just been around forever). He's a legitimate bad ass. In any case, it will make the next season pretty interesting.
With regards to the current season of TUF - of course it's not as good as previous seasons, but there have been some good fights. Good drama as well. You really ought to catch up on it - you'll learn what a BITCH Michael Bisbing can be (or IS). I really liked the guy before this season...after what I've seen thus far - I really think the guy is a little bitch (that being said, I'd be scared as shit to get in the ring w/any of the contestants on TUF).
Anyways....good post. Now....onto the LAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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