The dubious honor of predicting an MMA novice's eventual loss aside, the message boards revealed a wealth (or maybe an "infestation" would be more appropriate) of venomous and delusional misconceptions.
For the first half of this two-part Super List, I'll address the most common ravings from the internet lunatics stemming from the Kimbo-Petruzelli fight.
1. "Kimbo should quit before he gets really hurt!"
Insert obligatory "LOL" as you like.
A knockout loss is a shocking thing, sometimes made more horrifying if it comes unexpectedly, but it's a fact of MMA. And everyone loses sometime, especially within their first four fights. If the advice of cackling MMA fans were taken to heart, then fighters like Denis Kang, Wanderlei Silva, Jason Miller, Andrei Arlovski, Tito Ortiz, Guy Mezger, and Seth Petruzelli himself should have called it quits years ago.
And for those of you who want to say that it was Kimbo losing to a smaller fighter that's the problem, then maybe you should write to Ken Shamrock, Jorge Santiago, Matt Hughes, Yushin Okami, and Kazuyuki Fujita, and let them know that they should have stopped competing after losing to a fighter in a lower weight class before they really got hurt, too.
2. "Finally, Kimbo Slice will go away! Go back to the crack house!"
Insert closet (and not-so-closet) prejudice as you like.
Kimbo Slice deserves infinitely more respect from both fans and professionals. There is absolutely no reason to wish on him a total career-collapse. For someone like Frank Mir to say that he has no respect for Kimbo because Kimbo disrespects the sport is nothing less than absolutely outrageous. Kimbo has shown deference to the sport during press conferences, enlisted the training services of MMA legend Bas Rutten, never hypes up fights by invoking "street cred," is cordial and professional during interviews, and is gentlemanly in defeat. I doubt that anyone could find him saying or doing anything more condemnable than what any other average MMA fighter has said or done. Frankly, for fans and professionals to disrespect and hate Kimbo despite his exemplary behavior comes off as racist. That "crack house" comment is a direct quote, by the way.
For fans and other fighters to begrudge Kimbo his fame on the basis of seniority is likewise ridiculous. If these people got their wish, then Akira Shoji would headline a night of fights instead of Rodrigo Nogueira, and Travis Fulton would draw a higher paycheck than Anderson Silva. Guys, it just doesn't make a god-damn lick of sense.
3. "Kimbo got exposed!"
Only if you're missing half a brain.
Everyone among the MMA-educated, including Kimbo himself, has had no illusions about his place in MMA. He's a decent prospect who has a marketable persona and some appreciable charisma. Losing to a solid journeyman like Seth Petruzelli doesn't mean much of anything except that Kimbo isn't invincible, still needs work, and may have a slightly weak jaw. And even that last assessment might not be entirely true.
The last-minute nature of the fight probably filled both Kimbo and Petruzelli with a ton of nervous tension. The more nervous a fighter is, the easier it is to knock him out (as in Marvin Eastman's loss to Travis Lutter, or Bo Cantrell's loss to Kimbo, for that matter). It's pretty likely that Kimbo's got a bit more fight in him than he displayed this last weekend.
4. "Mauro Renallo is an excuse-making idiot with his nose up EliteXC's collective asshole."
Well I--! Uh...eh.
People like Renallo and the Shaws are what really ruin Kimbo. They put undue pressure on him to be the next big thing, and, as exemplified in Renallo's post-fight comments, desperately make excuses while Kimbo should be allowed to gracefully accept defeat. People inevitably equate the words of these spokesmen with Kimbo's own opinions, and suddenly everyone resents Kimbo himself for making excuses and proclaiming himself to be a great fighter. It's unfair to Kimbo, and it's a huge pain for the fans to listen to.
5. "I wish Ken Shamrock could've fought. Then he could have got the KO."
Seriously? Ken Shamrock has won by TKO only twice in a 15 year career. The first happened against Alexander Otsuka, who currently has a record of 4-13-0, and the second was four years ago over fellow elder-statesman Kimo Leopoldo, who has lost four of his last five fights. Furthermore, Shamrock has displayed a woeful reaction time and poor game-planning in his last five fights, all of which he lost by TKO in the first round.
By contrast, nine of Petruzelli's ten wins have come by TKO. He's never been knocked out, and still retains natural peak-athleticism. Petruzelli would have been a more dangerous opponent for Kimbo to begin with, and has always had a far better chance of beating Kimbo than Shamrock did. Set aside any delusions of pugilistic glory for Shamrock, and rest assured that if Ken "Little Brittle" Shamrock hadn't irrevocably injured himself in the hours leading up to the fight that things would have gone exactly as Shaw had dreamed them in his pretty little head.
6. "EliteXC is finished! LOLARRRGHUNUNGHUHUHUNGUNG!"
Why should EliteXC be finished? Going in to Saturday night, the whole question of EliteXC's future hung on whether or not they would have a successful night of ratings. Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice, the promotion's two biggest attractions, showed up to fight as promised. So why, why in the hell, I ask you, would the outcome of the last fight on a live telecast effect the ratings?
Sure enough, word on the ratings for "Heat" have been very positive. Both Sherdog and MMAWeekly report that the show placed first among males 18-34 and 18-49, against MLB playoffs, college football, and a replay of UFC pay-per-views on Spike. And those numbers don't even include the time that Kimbo was on screen. And while Kimbo's tarnished aura might have thrown Shaw and company for a loop, Kimbo on the comeback trail doesn't make for such a bad story, either. The only way they could screw this up is if they try to explain the loss away.
Ultimately, in terms of production and audience interest, the promotion is steadily improving, and signing a carnival barker like Tito Ortiz could only help at this point. The very public argument between Jared Shaw and KJ Noons' management, plus Antonio Silva's positive steroid test, seemed to be the vomit-icing on a money-hemorrhaging turd cake, but things are looking up. EliteXC fans have upgraded to peanut butter icing on a cabbage cake.
"A what-cake?"
7. "Seth Petruzelli is going to be getting a call from Dana White!"
Why? According to the same people who shout-type this garbage, Kimbo Slice is a bum. So why would Dana white give Petruzelli a contract to fight in MMA's number one promotion for beating somebody who was no good anyway? I understand that some people imagine Dana White would do this as a sign of appreciation, but: 1. Dana White isn't so swell a guy. 2. EliteXC is already floundering, and I doubt Dana White would bother giving much credit to Petruzelli if the promotion went under. And 3. Petruzelli was already in the UFC, and performed rather poorly. You could argue that he has improved, and that his notoriety would bring a greater viewership, but given the that the UFC is loathe to mention other fight promotions, explaining why any UFC fan should care about Petruzelli would prove difficult.
And even if he got the offer, maybe going back to the UFC wouldn't be the best thing for Petruzelli. The fact is, he knocked out a very popular but very inexperienced fighter, and is probably not well enough equipped to wade into the deeper waters of the UFC light-heavyweight division. If he did, he would probably be relegated to undercard status, with pay to match. In a promotion like EliteXC or Strikeforce, however, his notoriety is much more palpable, and could probably lead to much more immediate rewards.
8. The Troy Waugh Show.
"Welcome to CBS, EliteXC style! Let's give the millions of fans watching what the came to see!" What the hell, Troy? Aren't you supposed to tell them to follow the rules or something? He's got pretty good take down defense, though.
Troy "The Grimace" Waugh putting the screw face to Kimbo in order to fend off the attack.
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