The UFC were idiots to let Kimbo go.

Agreed!! 100%. People where watching Kimbo weather he won or lost.

 

The figures for the UFC show are wrong.

UFC did 5.7million average and a 3.1 rating. It did far stronger demos than any Kimbo/EliteXC shows.

And it wasn't a stupid decision. He simply wasn't good enough. While you can give marketable fighters the benefit of the doubt there was no way they could have kept Kimbo in the UFC for a prolonged period of time without doing long term damage to their creditability. They could perhaps have done more with him whilst he was there (I personally would have use him to build up Frank Mir for a rematch with Brock) but whatever they did he'll always be gone by now.

The other thing is that he was a very difficult to book as his handlers knew he was no good and would turn down fights against anybody decent. So an idea for him to face Liddell went nowhere because they couldn't get Kimbo to agree to.

 

Who cares...he sucked.

He should have stuck to backyard boxing.

 

you keep losing and your "mystic" goes away...he lost twice, I gurantee after every lost the ratings would have went down.

Kimbo has no stamnia and no jab...throws every punch with cruel intentions hence him being tired after 3 minutes

 

A boxing promoter would keep Kimbo and con the fans. Thankfully the UFC don't employ as much bull**** tactics as boxing promoters and they get rid of the likes of Kimbo and maintain the sports credibility.

Boxing is a one big con game, the UFC by and large offers the fans a much much much higher level of legitimacy from credible title fights, to establishing who the actual best fighter in the world is, to making the sport easier for the mainstream to understand etc etc

 

I've always thought the UFC should keep guys like Kimbo and Tank fighting on cards simply because they are entertaining - however the UFC claims to be setting a standard for showcasing the best in the sport which leaves no room for the aforementioned brawlers.

Should be a great opportunity for fledgling promoters to capitalize on. Somebody needs to start planning an event with these guys outside of ZUFFA.

 

BAMMA are mopping up the scraps at the moment

 

Yeah but were they though? Kimbo's big fight to get into the UFC was supposed to be a knock-down drag-out slugfest with another hard punching brawler that turned out to the THE most boring fight I've ever seen on TV with both guys exhausted and looking scared and shitty. My wife (who is the definition of an mma TUF noob) was sure that fight was fixed because it was so bad. In his last fight he got beat from pillar to post by a guy with no pro fights. Why keep him around?

 

But that's why they brought him in in the first place. Remember when Dana PUBLICALLY said Kimbo had no place in the UFC and soon reneged on that after the demise of EliteXC when he saw the numbers?
Paul Heyman used to work for the WWE. That man knows a thing or two about promoting. Reality is the UFC isn't far off the WWE.

 

He had his shot, crashed and burned.

The UFC isn't in the custom of keeping entertaining, but low quality fighters for the sake of #s around for long.

There is a market for leftovers, just keep it away from the cage.

 

I agree they could have done more with Kimbo, but that bird has flown.

The UFC would get slated if they took him back, and legitimacy is a top priority right now.

 

yeah, they shouldve put him in the ring with guys who only punch, no leg kicks or wrestling and than after some wins put him in the ring with brock, not that he wouldve had a big chance of winning but only the billboard alone

Brock Lesnar vs Kimbo Slice

would have generated good ppv numbers :yep