EliteXC “Heat” Thoughts & Commentary
EliteXC’s latest installment of CBS Saturday Night Fights, EliteXC “Heat,” has now come and gone and it’s time for us to hash through what we saw this evening. For the most part I thought the show was very entertaining. It contained striking battles, knockouts, some grappling, a submission, and one hell of a surprise. Let’s break it down, shall we?
What was Ken Shamrock doing sparring?
I mean, seriously. Is this for real? Hours before the fight you’re going to do heavy sparring and get cut? Bush league, Shamrock. Freaking bush league.
Seth Petruzelli shocked some, not all
And I say this because when I heard that Petruzelli was stepping in as Kimbo Slice’s opponent, I knew that Kimbo was in trouble. Not only had Kimbo prepared and trained specifically for Ken Shamrock but Petruzelli is so much more dangerous than Ken Shamrock will ever be. Even had Kimbo prepared for Petruzelli he probably wouldn’t have fared much better. Petruzelli is a very legitimate mixed martial artist who is young, possesses a lot of background in traditional martial arts, has lots of MMA experience and was legitimate enough to be considered a UFC prospect at one point in his career. All of those things didn’t stack up well in Kimbo’s favor. Anyone who knows about Petruzelli shouldn’t be surprised by his victory. Those casual fans out there who thought Kimbo was invincible, however, sure got a rude awakening tonight.
Both Kimbo Slice and Seth Petruzelli deserve props
Both of these guys deserve some love for taking the fight on such short notice. They deserve to be recognized for still going out there and giving the fans what they paid for. I’m sure that Petruzelli had no problem going from a prelim fight to the main event but Kimbo and his management could have said “Screw this, we didn’t train for this guy and he’s a more dangerous fight for us and we’re going home.” Instead they manned up, took the fight on a few hours’ notice, and gave the fans the main event they came to see and that’s to be commended even if it didn’t turn out Kimbo’s way.
Kimbo Slice’s chin is weak sauce
Wow, was that a jab that knocked him almost completely out? Yes, that’s exactly what it was. Slice is still a youngster in the sport as far as experience and technique go but he doesn’t have a lot going for him right now. He couldn’t knock out James Thompson, a man known for his weak chin, with his best shot. He had no answer for Thompson’s side control. And now he’s getting knocked silly by jabs? If there was ever any doubt that Brett Rogers would eat Kimbo Slice alive then they were answered today. The only questions left are those surrounding Kimbo and his inadequacies. I guess the silver lining is that he didn’t lose to Ken Shamrock?
Moving on to the other fights (yes, there were other fights)…
Jake Shields’ ground game looked great, striking not so much
Shields looked to have an off night tonight and was clearly outclassed as far as the striking game goes but he was able to will the fight to the ground and dominate where he feels most comfortable. His mount was very impressive and the armbar to finish was textbook. His shots, at times, were very telegraphed and he was stuffed a few times by Daley. If he ever runs into a fighter who has a very good takedown defense then he might be up the creek without a paddle. He’s not as complete as he could be and I feel that he would be absolutely dominated by someone the caliber of Georges St. Pierre who is so good at everything, especially in regards to takedown defense.
Gina Carano doesn’t ever disappoint
She was on another level than Kelly Kobold tonight and Kelly Kobold is a damn good fighter. She will beat most of the other women in the sport and Gina thoroughly dominated her from start to finish. Gina never seems to disappoint when it comes to her fights. She always puts on a thorough striking clinic and has an uncanny ability to turn it on when it’s needed. After Kobold took her down at the end of the second round she came out pissed in the third round and really took it to Kelly. Dominating performance from Gina against a very, very legitimate opponent. Up next is Cyborg and that should be a damn good one.
Roy Nelson got robbed
And not because of the stoppage but because of the standup from side control. Since when is it okay to stand a guy up from side control when he’s working for a submission? This is just silly. A lot of referees see full guard as a 50/50 position so I can understand standups from there. But from side control? That’s a dominant position. I don’t care if he’s just laying on him from side control, you don’t stand the fighters up from that position. Listen, I’m not saying this is the reason that Nelson lost the fight. In no way is that what I’m trying to convey here. His lack of cardio is eventually what did him in but the standup didn’t help his cause any. Arlovski won the bout fair and square and wore Nelson down to a point where he couldn’t defend himself from Arlovski’s combinations anymore but standups from side control are just ridiculous. Nelson’s only chance in this fight was on the ground and the referee robbed him of an opportunity to try to end it.
Other Musings:
- Mauricio Rua didn’t look so hot from the get-go in his fight against Benji Radach but took some real good shots and made the fight entertaining. Radach vs. Lawler would be a fun bout.
- Did anyone else hear Frank Shamrock dissing Ken at the beginning of the show, talking about “disgracing the Shamrock name”? That was hilarious. Frank was just salty because he was hoping Ken would win and he could hype the Brother vs. Brother pay-per-view but that wasn’t to be so he decided to just take a dump on Ken. How brotherly of you, Frank.
- Tito Ortiz to EliteXC in a week? We’ll see about that.
- Not to beat this into the ground but why the hell was Ken Shamrock sparring? Freaking amateur hour.
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“Mauricio Rua didn’t look so hot from the get-go in his fight against Benji Radach but took some real good shots and made the fight entertaining. Radach vs. Lawler would be a fun bout.”
Wrong brother.
“Did anyone else hear Frank Shamrock dissing Ken at the beginning of the show, talking about “disgracing the Shamrock name”?”
Frank doesn’t care about anything except his bank account.
And Nelson was doing next to nothing at side mount when they were stood up. He spent 3/4 of the fight laying or leaning on Arlovski and then has the nerve to throw his mouthpiece out in anger over a “quick” stoppage? Puh-lease, fat man. You got exposed for the bush league champion that you are.
Yeah, I might have been harsh towards “Big Country” but the idiot ranked himself 5th in HIS Top 10 heavies… OVER ROTHWELL?!? What a dumbass.
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It turned out to be a pretty entertaining card.
Gina definitely has skills. I hope she figures out what weight class she wants to fight in though because it’s getting a bit ridiculous. I thought the second round was obviously Kobold’s and was surprised to hear that two judges scored all the rounds for Gina, but Gina definitely won so no major gripes about that.
The ref stepping in while Roy had side control blew my mind. Those refs need a bit more training. O McCarthy, where art thou?
Yeah, Ken was stupid… but he only had a cut. I mean, Kelly Kobold had a cut during the fight, but they didn’t stop the fight right away so… why didn’t they let Ken fight and if the cut became a serious problem, then stop the fight? I wonder if they actually stopped Ken from fighting because he lied about his age?
After watching the replay, I still don’t know how Kimbo got knocked out. Weird stuff. But in the long run, it’ll give EliteXC more legitimacy as the carefully crafted mystique of Kimbo is all but gone. The sad part is that I like Kimbo. I think he’s a great personality, but he was just a marketing tool and not much else… and he sure didn’t mind agreeing to the situation so I don’t have any sympathy.
The one saving grace is that now that we have a defeated Kimbo Slice, maybe we’ll see him against legitimate competition (with more than a few hours notice). What does EliteXC have to lose now by treating him like every other fighter who has to earn their keep?
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Echolocating on October 5th, 2008 2:17 am
Yeah, Ken was stupid… but he only had a cut. I mean, Kelly Kobold had a cut during the fight, but they didn’t stop the fight right away so… why didn’t they let Ken fight and if the cut became a serious problem, then stop the fight?
All cuts are not equal. We didn’t see the depth of either cut. Kelly’s was vertical, ken’s was horizontal- and his was actually under the brow, whereas Kelly’s was higher, in the brow. His would have bled more into the eye IMHO.
Anyway, medical doctors made the decision in both cases. Are you accusing the CSAC-employed doctors of something? I can’t understand what their agenda would be.
After watching the replay, I still don’t know how Kimbo got knocked out. Weird stuff.
Short right jab. It was quite visible from the left side view (Seth’s left) in the replay.
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HexRei, my point about the cut was that it was simply a cut. It wasn’t posing any immediate problems for Ken. Could it have? We’ll never know.
The only thing I’m accusing the doctors of is being overly cautious about a cut. If the fight went on and Ken’s cut opened up and bled into his eye… so what? Cuts happen all the time in fights and refs and doctors are there to put a stop to the fight if necessary… yet a cut can prevent a fight from happening? Sorry, I mean… LACERATION! (The term used by the doctors to help justify their decision.)
And yes, I saw the “punch” that took Kimbo out… and when I said I really don’t know how he could have fallen, I meant I didn’t understand how a dominant street brawler who fought in bare knuckle matches could have such a glass jaw.
Sarcasm obviously doesn’t translate well in text.
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The knockdown punch hit him right on the button. doesn’t take much if you hit the right spot……………
What I think finished Slice was the punches after he went down……Seth hit a shot off the back of the head and then a solid shot to the ear. I think the shot to the ear sealed it, and was what turned a flash knockdown into Slice thnking the ref was his opponent.
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5 Oz. of Pain:
When you see the fighters getting ready for fights (like on a DVD) almost all of them go through the motions of their gameplan with a trainer…. i.e. very light sparring. I’m sure this is all Ken was doing, and his face is so beat up he probably gets cut when he lays on a pillow too hard.
Anyway, I don’t understand why its so shocking that he got cut accidentally.
Pick up a DVD that has pre-fight preparation footage. Its not absurd that they could accidentally bump heads. Its stupid, yes to let somebody bump you in the head before a fight, but not surprising or shocking.
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Why Kimbo’s trainers haven’t kicked him of the bad habbit of bull-rushing an opponent is the biggest surprise of the night. Especially against an unknown opponent.
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But it was an entertaining event overall.
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Kimbo’s gameplan was obviously to bum-rush Shamrock. Apparently he wasn’t able to adapt that to a more versatile striker. That said, I think he knocked himself out as much as anything. He was loading up for a big shot and powered his head right into Seth’s jab. He must’ve thought Seth wouldn’t follow a kick with a left jab, but eitherway his biggest mistake was keeping his chin up as he moved forward. Does it mean Kimbo has a glass jaw? Not necessarily (remember he took Tank’s hardest shot and shrugged it off). Anyone can get knocked out if they get hit in the right spot at the right time. And he got it right on the button while he was shooting forward. What can you say?
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I have to say that it is so funny that Kimbo went down like a #@$!%. He is over rated at least and very much a one sided fighter. He is just a goon with no legitimate skills other than a sucker punch!! The guys has no ground game and will never be able to handle a true jui jitzu specialist!
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The only person Ken Shamrock could have beat on this whole card was Kelly Kobold and even that’s a little shaky.
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^^ haha
enjoyed the card, my one thought is:
troy waugh – what a cunt!
i was praying someone would through i lose punch and knock him out
kissing the heavens before refereeing a fight, what a cunt
and the intro to the main event, welcoming the fighters to cbs/elite xc, incase they didnt know where they were. even looks like that ufc ref who is also a cunt, only waugh is more of a cunt
what a cunt
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through i lose punch = throw a loose punch
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wtf…. elitexc is what’s bush league here. All i take from the 2 cards that i’ve seen is the b/s preferential treatment they give their “stars”. The first being James Thompson’s non stoppage of Kimbo.. Now this ref (who the hell is this guy?) pulling nelson out of side control. He was in half guard, the ref said “improve ur position” then nelson IMMEDIATELY takes side control, then one more quick warning from the ref to “improve ur position” before the stand up. seriously, what more could a grappler do? They gave him absolutely no chance– total b/s
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yeah, the standing up during side control was complete BS
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Adam, you are 100% right about Big Country getting robbed. Sure he got soundly beaten on the feet, but there is no excuse for a stand-up from side-control when he was workign for a kimura. Just disgusting.
Joe Rogan started a thread about it on the UG:
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum_framed.posts&forum=1&thread=1351666&page=1
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