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The long rumored Elite XC return of Kimbo Slice for the Elite XC On CBS III event has been confirmed, with his opponent being UFC Hall Of Fame member Ken Shamrock. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be a very hyped bout that the MMA fans will be anxious to see, but should it have been held off until Elite XC debuts on pay-per-view in 2009?
Now, while this fight will not be much of a factor in the heavyweight rankings for MMA, the name value alone in this fights could draw ratings for a CBS event. However, that same name value could also draw a decent buy rate if this was the headlining fight on the first Elite XC pay-per-view event. The question becomes, is it more important to draw ratings on CBS or more important to get that initial big buy rate for the first Elite XC pay-per-view?
While the first Elite XC On CBS event draw massive ratings, many analyst point to the fact that Kimbo Slice was the biggest factor in those massive ratings. Now add that to the fact that Ken Shamrock is easily one of the most recognized fighters in MMA history, it could be a potential mistake in the long run to put this fight on CBS instead of pay-per-view.
Quickly, lets take a look at the two headlining fighters of Elite XC On CBS III, street fighting legend Kimbo Slice and UFC Hall Of Fame member Ken Shamrock.
Kimbo Slice was well known prior to ever competing in any professional MMA fight due to his time as a street fighter taking on all comers. Kimbo Slice did compete in one amateur fight prior to becoming a professional, defeating former professional boxer Ray Mercer. Then Kimbo Slice began his meteoric rise up the Elite XC Heavyweight rankings by defeating Bo Cantrell, David “Tank” Abbot and James Thompson in his only professional fights.
Ken Shamrock is easily one of the most respected fighters in all of MMA and even competed in the first ever UFC event. Ken Shamrock has fought just about every top MMA fighter there is like Royce Gracie, Tito Ortiz, Bas Rutten, Dan Severn, Oleg Taktrov, Kimo and Rich Franklin. Ken Shamrock was also successful in the realm of professional wrestling as a former NWA World Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion and WWE Tag Team Champion.
While I previously mentioned that Kimbo Slice is an undefeated fighter with three victories, Ken Shamrock is on a five fight losing streak and hasn’t won a fight in over four years. Ken Shamrock last fought in March 2008 with a loss to Robert Berry, while his last victory was in June 2004 with a victory over Kimo. Thankfully, Elite XC isn’t going to market the fight based on fighter records, but on name value, which will be the smartest move to attract viewers.
It really all comes down to this question, should Elite XC risk losing tons of money to gain possibly record breaking ratings on CBS or put a less star powered card on CBS and risk ratings to possibly gain a high buy rate on their pay-per-view debut?
Pro Elite, the parent company of Elite XC has lost nearly $56 million in the last two years while only profiting a little under $3 million thus far in 2008. With those staggering statistics, it would seemingly behoove the company known as Elite XC to put this fight as the headlining fight for their first ever pay-per-view event.
The question could then turn to who would Elite XC have Kimbo Slice face instead of Ken Shamrock for Elite XC On CBS III if he were to face Ken Shamrock on pay-per-view. The three likely candidates would be Sean Gannon (who beat Kimbo Slice in his days as a street fighter), Brett Rogers (who challenged Kimbo Slice to a fight at the Elite XC On CBS post fight press conference) and Justin Eilers (who lost the Elite XC Heavyweight Title decision fight to Antonio Silva).
Despite the fact that it is already official that Kimbo Slice will be fighting Ken Shamrock during Elite XC On CBS III, it will be interesting to look back and see if it was the right move to not have this fight as the headlining bout of the first Elite XC pay-per-view event.
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
