Sports PR| Kimbo Slices Respect for Mixed Martial Arts
Kimbo Slice Looses to Unknown MMA Fighter
When Kimbo Slice lost in just 14 seconds in the title round of the mixed martial arts main event fight televised on CBS Oct. 4 – by no less than a last-minute replacement opponent – credibility vanished not only for him but also for the sport he represents as a leading star.
Slice and his reputation as a top heavyweight street fighter was one of the main reasons CBS added the Elite XC contests as occasional Saturday specials on the network this year. He was to spar with Ken Shamrock, a “MMA legend,” as one source stated, and establish his greatness by beating him, but Shamrock sustained an eye injury, so the virtually unknown Seth Petruzelli took his place and pummeled Slice so quickly and effectively that the refere
Though the ratings for the event were fine (a 2.65 rating and 4.31 million viewers, which is strong for Saturday nights these days), and CBS senior vice president of program operations Kelly Kahl insisted that “The people saying it’s the end of Elite XC and the end of Elite XC on broadcast television are misinformed,” 
this really was a debacle for the sport. How can you attract new viewers to mixed martial arts when one of your main draws flops so obviously? The notoriety from this event does not bode well for Elite XC, and the firm so far has done very poorly in defending the overhyped disaster.
As one sports columnist put it, “The promotion was built around Kimbo, and it didn’t even seem to matter that he was obviously being protected. People were into the character, the aura, the Mike Tyson-like persona of the baddest man from the streets kicking everyone’s butt. But the promotion didn’t protect him and everything about the fight, from the no-name opponent to the ref stoppage to the forced ‘Rocky’ comparisons, has caused a backlash from some and total apathy from others.” We will see what the final reaction is when CBS airs the next Elite XC special in a few months.
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