Kimbo Slice: Who Will He Fight Next?

by Kelvin Hunt on Aug 20, 2008 2:57 PM EDT Comment 8 comments

Josh Gross has the scoop:

Three names keep popping up as the next opponent for Kimbo Slice on Oct. 4: Brett Rogers, Ken Shamrock and ... wait for it ... Sean Gannon.

Rogers is the undefeated heavyweight prospect who called Slice's performance in May against James Thompson "embarrassing." The subsequent back-and-forth bickering between the two at the post-fight press conference seemed exactly the sort of thing CBS wants for its prime-time cards: an interesting storyline.

The feeling among Elite XC execs, however, is that it's better to hold off on a Rogers-Slice showdown for fear that its cash cow, Kimbo, would lose, and thereby extinguish his marketability and the organization's potential pay-per-view debut.

Shamrock would fit nicely -- he hasn't made it out of the opening round since 2005 -- but it appears Elite XC is having trouble getting the deal worked out.

And so, that leaves Gannon
Well...on one hand I think it's pretty pathetic that EliteXC is using this method of continued handpicking of Slice's opponents. However, how can you blame them at this point? He and Gina Carano are their only marketable starsand if one of them were to lose it would definitely be a wrap(looks that way anyways). If truth be told, no one outside of the hardcore fan base would recognize the name of Sean Gannon. The only guy to beat Slice in a street fight(albeit controversial) way back in the day. So I don't know if the history between the two will be enough to get them the ratings they want. Here's a videoof the first fight in case you have been sheltered your whole life.

My thing is...what would EliteXC have to lose if Kimbo lost to Brett Rogers? I mean if that happened...wouldn't that make Roger's a badder dude than Kimbo and could be promoted as such? Well, at least they didn't make the Shamrock fight right? Please keep in mind that this fight has not been finalized at this point. Stay tuned to MMA4Real as I keep you up to date on the situation. In the meantime feel free to leave your thoughts on who Kimbo should face next in the comments section.

UPDATE: According to Bloodyelbow via MMAweekly, Sean Gannon will NOT be the next opponent for Kimbo Slice

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Comments

rofl, Shamrock got KO’d by a jab in that Cage Rage fight so a fight with Kimbo would be absolutely hilarious…it’d be too good to be true if they put him against Brett Rogers because we would see a solid challenge for him that he’d more than likely lose but with the bad blood they have, that might be a saving grace for EliteXC right now…I don’t care too much for the Gannon fight but I guess it’s better than him vs. Shamrock

by Charles Walker on Aug 20, 2008 3:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My guess is that it won’t be Rogers. But why not have that fight before Elite goes under? At least that fight might get decent ratings. And even though it has been said that Kimbo respects the sport, does he really expect to get any better by fighting a bunch of shitty or has been fighters? For a guy that probably demanded a lot of respect on the street, he sure seems to be content with the amount of disrespect Elite has shown him by giving him shitty opponents, pretty much saying, “Yeah you’re our guy, but if we give you anybody decent, you’ll probably get your ass kicked so we’ll just hand pick your opponents for you.” Even though Elite got rid of Gary Shaw they will continue to be the laughing stock of the sport as long as they keep protecting the so called new faces of MMA. Give me a fucking break already.

by El_Felix on Aug 20, 2008 3:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yea, I must say I have much more respect for Brock Lesnar at this point. I mean dude fought a can his first fight, but his next two fights have been against legitimate opponents. Hell actually VERY legitimate opponents. Whereas, Kimbo will not even request to fight better competition. It’s always “I’ll fight whoever they want me to fight”.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

by Kelvin on Aug 20, 2008 4:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I hate when people compare Kimbo to Brock. Kimbo avoids top competition, Brock welcomes it.

by El_Felix on Aug 20, 2008 4:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Brock would maul Kimbo.

by Kelvin on Aug 20, 2008 4:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Noons is another guy that they seem to have been protecting. But that may be changing. There’s a story on MMA weekly that Jared Shaw has been trying to get ahold of Noons to set up a rematch with Diaz for the October show, but Noons won’t call back. Noons is a bitch. He knows he got a lucky stoppage the first time they fought. Does he really think he’s better than Diaz, a guy that gogo’d Gomi? Marajuana or not Diaz straight up won that fight. Noons is another so called ‘marquee’ name for Elite that seems to get to fight who he want’s an also duck who he wants.

by El_Felix on Aug 20, 2008 4:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The truth is, all three of these guys aren’t top tier competition, which is exactly what makes them perfect candidates to fight Kimbo.

Since Sean Gannon hasn’t fought 2005, which means he probably won’t fight Kimbo, as much as I’d love to see that fight.

Shamrock is a washout, despite his legendary status.

Rodgers and Antonio Silva (who everyone seems to forget is the best fighter of that division) are the only reasonable opponents for Kimbo at this point.

That aside, now that EXC is going belly-up, I think that Kimbo could fight anybody anywhere, and I think he’ll lose to anyone decent. Personally, I’d like to see him fight Aleks Emelianenko, since they’re both thugs.

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