Kimbo Slice or Brock Lesnar?
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 fighters
record. He showed that he knew the
difference between being a smart fighter and someone who fights another mans
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.
He had 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 3rd 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 of made anything
close to it if he had decided to go straight into MMA. In fact Brocks 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, 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. The
Zuffa at this point seems hell-bent on trying to push Brock Lesnar along at a
break-neck speed. Now I am 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! Really 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. The
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 Brocks performance against Heath
Herring at UFC 87. Not so much for
the way the fight turned out, but more so 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 the 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 1 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 3rd round.
So what do we have here? Two fighters with a combined total of seven, that’s right
“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 is limitless.
All Content © 2011 by Fight Media Inc. | Site Developed by Nautical Progressions
