Here's the question: Kimbo Slice or Brock Lesnar? Which one is going to be the better mixed martial artist?
I love how everyone is so quick to jump on or off either fighter's bandwagon. Why is it that some MMA fans want to bring these guys down? They are both great for the sport. They absolutely come from different backgrounds with varying credentials, but most certainly they both do one of the most important things any fighter out there today needs to be able to do. They put peoples butts in seats! People want to see them fight.
Are they the best MMA fighters on the planet right now? Hell no, but right now they don't have to be. What they need to be right now is entertaining plus they need to be somewhat successful.
The first time I saw Kimbo Slice fight was the same way many of you saw him. It was a backyard fight with some guy known as Big D. He proceeded to knock Big D around a backyard and almost into a large satellite dish, he let Big D take free shots at his chin and then scoff at him like he was child. Kimbo showed he had some stand-up skills, but there was nothing really out of the ordinary besides his colorful commentary and interviewing skills.
Several more backyard brawls took place usually between Kimbo and some poor fool that looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. The Internet started showing the fights and the legend of Kimbo Slice started to grow.
Finally there was a fight set up between Kimbo and Sean Gannon. It was suppose to be shown for a price on the Internet. That was the fight that told me many of the things I needed to know about Kimbo Slice the fighter. Kimbo lost that fight, but it was the way he lost that told me what I needed to know.
He lost because he got tired.
He pushed hard against a big guy who wouldn't back down and eventually the gas went empty in the tank and there was nothing left. That's when I knew that Kimbo could be a good fighter. He kept getting back up when he was gassed and kept trying to win and that said it all. Nothing hurts more in fighting then body shots and exhaustion. It does not matter what technical skill you possess, when you are completely exhausted you are in trouble and Kimbo has now learned this lesson several times.
Kimbo came into the world of MMA with a win over ex-heavyweight boxing champion "Merciless" Ray Mercer even though that fight was fought as an exhibition fight so it does not show on either fighter's record. He showed that he knew the difference between being a smart fighter and someone who fights another man's fight when he went to the ground with Ray and applied a fight ending guillotine choke. Kimbo then had two fast fights ending in knockouts against Bo Cantrell and Tank Abbott.
Kimbo's last fight against James Thompson gave people reason to believe that Kimbo was not quite as formidable a fighter as many had bestowed upon him after having trouble with Thompson in many areas. He was handled on the ground and was unable to display any true technique in extricating himself from Thompson's lumbering ground and pound attack. Kimbo was pushed into the third round against a fighter that many people predicted would be knocked out in the first round.
What Kimbo lacks right now is experience. He does not have all of the necessary skills needed to compete in MMA at the highest level. He lacks the wrestling skills and the ground skills needed to make him a well-rounded fighter at this time. Kimbo is smart enough to know this and has made Bas Rutten his full-time trainer to help him become a more complete fighter. Give Kimbo some time and I think he can be incredibly good at the sport of MMA, but you need to give him time and that is exactly what Elite XC is trying to do by hand picking Kimbo's opponents very carefully.
Brock Lesnar is a completely different animal. Brock comes from a very accomplished amateur wrestling background that took him all the way to the NCAA Division 1 heavyweight title back in 2001. Brock made a decision after graduation from the University of Minnesota to sign with the WWE and become a professional wrestler. Many people look down on him and say that he should of gone right into the world of MMA without wasting his time doing fake fighting in the WWE. It's a solid sounding argument, but not really a good one. The world of MMA at that time was still floundering trying to be accepted as a legitimate sport and was paying fighters very little. Brock was offered a very sizeable contract to sign with the WWE and would not have made anything close to it if he had decided to go straight into MMA. In fact, Brock's stint as a professional wrestler and champion of the WWE has helped him in getting a contract with the UFC that probably puts him in the top 5 as far as highest paid fighters.
Is Brock a good fighter? Hell yes, he is. He may not be one of the top fighters in the world right now in the heavyweight division, but he can absolutely get there if people just give him a little time. The man is big, strong, fast, and has a great wrestling background that he uses to control the fight. He listens to the people he has installed around him and he will continue to get better from fight to fight. The real problem is he just hasn't had that many fights and with where he is fighting, he is not going to get much time to try out or perfect any new techniques.
Zuffa, at this point, seems hell-bent on trying to push Brock Lesnar along at a break-neck speed. Now I'm not really sure why the UFC would give Lesnar a fight against someone like Frank Mir the first time out, other then to say...welcome to the sport of MMA, Brock. It may not be quite as easy as you think! What happened is Brock came in to talk with Dana White, president of the UFC, and was told that he might be a little too inexperienced for the UFC at that time, but they would love to have him after he got some experience. Brock told them he wanted to fight the best and felt that the best fighters were fighting in the UFC so that's where he wanted to be. Zuffa decided they were not going to make it easy on him as he attempts to make his way up the UFC Heavyweight ladder.
The UFC is not setting up any fights for Brock, they are throwing him into the middle of the pool and saying it's either sink or swim for you. There will be no easy fights for you here and Brock has taken the challenge and used it to fuel him as he works hard to show that he does belong in the world of MMA and is a threat to anyone that steps into the Octagon.
I was very impressed with Brock's performance against Heath Herring at UFC 87, not so much for the way the fight turned out, but for the way Brock took his time and was patient during the fight, not allowing himself to get over extended or caught by a very seasoned veteran like Herring. Brock's ability to control the fight with his wrestling was his key to winning the fight and that is the way it should be right now for him. Use what you are good at and make your opponent fight your fight.
Brock did a lot of really good things during that fight and will only be better in his next fight because of it. Who is Zuffa going to put against him next? Only time will tell, but they are definitely not going to be handling Brock the same way that Elite XC has been handling Kimbo. The UFC has many stars and they don't need to rely on Brock Lesnar winning to keep people watching.
Elite XC is in a different situation with Kimbo. They need Kimbo to keep winning and so far, you have to say Elite XC is doing a good job of trying to build their star by feeding him fights that they feel he will be able to handle. The first fight with Bo Cantrell was a walk in the park for Kimbo as he walked through Cantrell in just 19 seconds. Next up was Tank Abbott, a 42-year-old out-of-shape and slow beyond all reasonable doubt Tank Abbott. Kimbo did his job and took out Tank in just over a minute.
Then came the CBS prime time showcase where Elite needed to use their star, but had to be very careful not to push Kimbo to fast with an opponent that could beat him. That very thing almost happened when James Thompson came in and took Kimbo into the third round.
So what do we have here? Two fighters with a combined total of seven fights between them. Not a lot of experience there, but both have a ton of pressure resting on their shoulders. Brock's pressure is different than Kimbo's. His is more self applied because he wants to prove he belongs. The UFC really doesn't care one way or the other, if he keeps winning and makes himself into a great fighter then it's a win for them. If he doesn't keep winning and finds the world of MMA more difficult than previously thought, the UFC just spins it to look like the pro-wrestler-turned-fighter couldn't cut it. They win either way.
Kimbo's pressure is different. He has a company that is gambling on him to keep winning so they can get viewers interested enough to watch. If he fails, it is not only bad for him, but also for the company he represents. Both of these fighters have big upsides. They are both very competitive and have shown that they are not afraid to go out there and let it all hang out. Both of them are very open to learning and know that there is so much out there for them to learn — and then implement — into their fight games. In the end, all I know is I look forward to watching each of these athletes continue to compete and mature as fighters because the heights they each obtain are limitless
