Kimbo KO'd

I am going to take a cue from John McCain today and not talk about political issues. (You know I still have to get my digs in) Over the weekend, internet backyard brawling sensation Kimbo Slice was handed his first sanctioned Mixed Martial Arts loss against Seth Petruzelli -- in 14 seconds. Slice is (or perhaps was) the only thing keeping the fledgling MMA organization ProElite XC afloat. He had previously garnered big ratings for CBS with his first three fights where he decisively won each with ease. However, with this recent loss, Kimbo's and ProElite's futures are both uncertain.

Why does it matter?

Seth Petruzelli is a UFC dropout, who lost both of his fights in the UFC. (For those that don't know, the UFC is the Ultimate Fighting Championship, ProEliteXC's main competition) Petruzelli jumped ship to ProElite XC fighting when they were basically the only ones who would take him. The fact that Kimbo's first loss comes from a UFC reject is particularly stinging for ProElite. For months, UFC president Dana White and UFC stars Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz had been saying that Kimbo Slice was nothing more than an internet bully, and if he ever fought a real fighter he wouldn't stand a chance. Not only did Kimbo fight a UFC fighter, and lose, but it was a fighter that couldn't win a single fight in the UFC.

In Kimbo's defense, he was originally slated to fight MMA legend Ken Shamrock, but Shamrock suffered a cut on the day of the fight while sparring and doctors would not let him fight. ProElite scrambled to find someone to fill in for Shamrock, and Petruzelli jumped at the chance despite the size difference. To Kimbo's credit he accepted a fight against someone he had never seen fight, at the last minute, in a scenario where he knew he had everything to lose. Unfortunately though, he did lose everything.

For most fight fans, the outcome of this fight wasn't a surprise. Kimbo Slice looks tough in his bare-knuckle, backyard-brawls on YouTube, but it's easy for someone with moderate fight skills and experience to beat someone with relatively little. That's all Kimbo is, a man who can take some punches and out power most people on the street. ProElite XC was riding the Kimbo Slice wave of popularity, and now that he's been exposed as - gasp - a mediocre fighter, it will more than likely mean the end of ProElite's ratings and their company as it exists now. It proves once again that being big and powerful won't get you far against someone with superior fight skills and experience.