yup.....this is being driven by eTV. Big time.
This is such a win/win for the UFC. They have nothing to lose.
You should be hoping for epic faiure. The jury is no longer out on him. He got his ass kicked by a journeyman, and it wasn't even close. The producers are going to want to keep him on for as long as possible, so if it's borderline between him going home and some legit up and comer, the other guy's gonna be SOL.
from mma.fanhouse.com
Michael David Smith: What's your reaction to Kimbo going on The Ultimate Fighter?
Gary Shaw: It shocked me when I heard, especially after Dana dissing him for two years and saying the nastiest things about him. So it surprised me, knowing who Kimbo is, that he would suc b to working with Dana. It shows that whatever comes out of Dana's mouth is not always the truth.
Are you disappointed on a personal level? You put a lot into promoting and marketing Kimbo.
Sure. I just don't think it's a big enough platform for him. I think it's a step back. I think he's bigger than that.
...
Are you angry with him?
No. No. Not at all. Not at all. Whatever Kimbo wants to do, I'm happy for him. I don't know what they paid Kimbo -- maybe they paid him a boatload of money -- and in that case he's doing the right thing. Kimbo is one of those people that comes along every once in ages who has what I call the "it factor" as a promoter. I have a lot of fighters who come to me and are great talents but don't have the it factor. And then you have someone who comes along and has the it factor. Manny Pacquiao has the it factor. He's a star. He reeks of s om. People gravitate to him. Kimbo is that way. When he walks into a room, he lights up the room. People yell "Kimbo! Kimbo!" It doesn't have anything to do with how he did in his last fight. It has to do with the it factor. When Tyson walks into an arena, everyone stands up. He's Mike Tyson, of course, but he's got that it factor. When you're at a basketball game and they show Jack Nicholson on the big screen, the place erupts. He has that it factor. And then they might show someone else who's also a great actor, but he'll just get a little hand. It's that special it factor that people have, even if they're not the greatest athletes in their sport.
So if Kimbo has that it factor, wasn't it smart of Dana White to sign him for The Ultimate Fighter?
For sure. I give Dana credit. I'm not anti-Dana or anti-UFC or anti-MMA. I give him credit. He did the right thing. I would have done it a little differently: I would have said, early on, "Kimbo is an asset and I'd love to have Kimbo." I don't see that as a sign of weakness. I would say that in boxing, if you ask me what I think of Manny Pacquaio, I'd say, "I hope some day he'll fight for me."
Are you disappointed that Kimbo won't be boxing?
Yes. Because I really believe that I could make him the heavyweight champ.
for the entire interview...
http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/06/02/g...signs-with-uf/
How hard is that? There are like 17 versions of the le out there in the various sactioning bodies. Wlad Klitschko is the only real champ and he'd blast Kimbo in ten seconds..
He is for sure exposed as a fighter. He beat Tank Abbot who has never taken anything serious about fighting. Bo Cantrell, a BUM!! Was losing to James Glass Jaw Thompson, when he got a gift ref stoppage and was KO'd by a hack 205 pd fighter, who was a B rate fighter in the UFC. the one notable street fight he lost was to Sean Gannon, who had MMA training. Everyone else was just bums in backyards and BBQ's.. Kimbo is 35 he is not getting any better.
This should really be interesting. We're gonna see if Slice has any kind of ground game....this should be interesting...
Greatness. I will definitely be tuning in for this.
The Thompson fight showed he has none whatsoever.. And what has he been doing all this time? Not training at any elite camp that i have heard about, that's for sure..
He's a gonna get killed. He's been exposed on so many occasions.
Most of the guys on TUF suck balls too. Yall act like they're all masters.
What's sad is that Kimbo Slice is the most well-known fighter in MMA history. Up and coming sport my ass.
no...nobody on this or any other MMA forum does. They are talked about like they are...prospects. When people talk about how good they are its all in context.
And there is a lot of great fighters on TUF. Think of it as the NCAA. Just because they are up and coming doesn't mean they lack talent in anyway. Look at the top 20 fighters in each division and they are loaded with people who were in TUF.
TUF has been justified and proven for what it is.
Last edited by Evan; 06-03-2009 at 07:41 AM.
yeah kinda true...
EliteXC did a superb job marketing him to the non MMA fan yet did the worst job possible marketing him to true MMA fans. It was odd to watch.
And it seems that Kimbo isn't getting paid for this. He's just like any normal TUF fighter.
Last edited by Evan; 06-03-2009 at 07:42 AM.
I guess this is the TUF 10 thread.
**************************************************
Marcus Jones, the 1996 first-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, enters "TUF" with a 4-1 professional MMA record, which includes four first-round victories via stoppage (with an average time of just 91 seconds per win). Three of the wins came via TKO and one via submission.
The 35-year-old played football at the University of North Carolina, where he was a four-time letterman, an All-American and the 1995 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The 6-foot-6 defensive tackle played six NFL seasons with the Bucs. In his best season, 2000, he ranked eighth in the league with 13 sacks. He spent two additional seasons with the Buffalo Bills (but didn't play in the regular season) before giving up the sport. Soon after, he joined instructor Rob Kahn at Gracie Tampa and eventually made his professional MMA debut in 2007.
Matt Mitrione, who had a nine-game stint with the New York Giants in 2002, will be one of the season's least-experienced fighters (on paper, anyway). He has no professional fights, according to the major fighter databases, though he reportedly has fought as an amateur.
The 30-year-old Illinois native was an All-Big Ten defensive tackle for Purdue University. He went un-drafted after his senior year in 2000 but still earned his way into the NFL as a free agent. In addition to the Giants, the 6-foot-4 Mitrione spent some time with the Minnesota Vikings (though he didn't appear in any regular-season games for the team) before leaving the NFL in 2006.
Brendan Schaub, a 6-foot-4 fullback for the University of Colorado who spent some time with (but didn't play for) the Buffalo Bills, is 4-0 as a professional MMA fighter. He's often compared to his longtime training partner, undefeated UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin. Like Carwin, Schaub has made quick work of his opponents since turning pro in 2008. In four professional fights, he has four first-round TKOs, and the average length of each fight is just 59 seconds.
The 26-year-old Colorado native played for the Arena Football League's Utah Blaze before focusing solely on MMA. Schaub, the son of a second-degree Tae Kwon Do black belt, is a Golden Gloves boxing champion and the 2008 Colorado Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Absolute Advanced Grand Champion. He currently trains with Greg Jackson's renowned Team Jackson camp in New Mexico and T's KO Fight Club in Colorado.
Wes Shivers, who had a short NFL stint with the Atlanta Falcons in 2000, is 0-1 as a professional and 4-0 as an amateur, according to MMA.tv's fighter database. (However, his record is listed as 6-0 in some places). The muscular 6-foot-7 fighter is well versed in grappling and Muay Thai and previously competed as a super heavyweight before a lack of available opponents prompted a move down to heavyweight.
The 32-year-old Team Hammer Hill fighter was a standout offensive lineman at Mississippi State University. The Tennessee ans drafted him in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL Draft. After playing three games with the Falcons in 2000, he left the NFL and focused on his MMA career.
MMA popularity goes way beyond just the United Staes..
The world over, the likes of GSP, Fedor, Chuck Liddell are far more well known. How many huge PPV's has Kimbo headlined exactly?
Dude consider the source on who said that. Mono is a dumb bottom line.MMA popularity goes way beyond just the United Staes..
The world over, the likes of GSP, Fedor, Chuck Liddell are far more well known. How many huge PPV's has Kimbo headlined exactly?
I'm excited about these big athletic guys making it onto the show...we need more dynamic HW's and if these guys were NFL caliber athletes, they should at least make things interesting...
Yep, ignore him...
Somehow Kimbo being popular means that MMA isn't an "up and coming sport"
Genius...
I will say this tho....people know Kimbo's name.
I hope dana does this to fedor as well before signing a UFC contract
LOL there is NO way he does that to Fedor no matter how over-rated he is
I was talking about this before and nobody chimed in, does anyone know if Kimbo has been training really at all since his last fight? We know he parted ways with Bas, so did he hook up with someone else? I saw him on Dana's WEC blog, and yeah he is in shape but has he been working on his HUGE MMA holes? If he has basically been not training in MMA since the loss to Seth this is going to be a complete and total joke..
If I got my ass beat by some dude who wasn't even on the main card. I would train
Not the point..
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