That's No Tomato Can

I learned three things last night. 1.) I've been sleeping on the MMA world, and I really need to start paying more attention to it. 2.)I don't know shit when it comes to MMA. 3.)I have this amazing tendency to put my foot in my mouth.

The heralded main event for last night's Elite XC show, Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock, was scratched at the last minute due to an eye injury sustained by Shamrock, a move which brother Frank lampooned him for in pre-show commentary. Stepping up to replace him was Seth Petruzelli, who came correct.

I, like many people, smelled a work going into the Shamrock/Kimbo fight. Something about it didn't add up. Shamrock's seemingly cavalier demeanor after not being cleared to fight added to this. You nearly came to blows at the weigh-in; shouldn't you want to kill this guy? And shouldn't you be angrier that you can't because of a little cut? No wonder Tid hates you.

Being ever the cynic (albeit a somewhat uninformed one), I thought that the substitution of Petruzelli was Elite XC just finding some guy in the back to feed to Kimbo to keep him strong. I even went so far as ignorantly imply that they substituted Petruzelli simply to be a tomato can to feed to Kimbo. So much for that, as Petruzelli won via TKO in 14 seconds. As Kimbo went to throw a punch at Seth, he kicked Kimbo right in the midsection, and from there, didn't let up until the ref called for the bell.

After the match, Elite XC tried to do a lot of visible damage control, including Kimbo and Petruzelli acting in their interviews as if it was a fluke win that meant little and was worth being blown off. In my opinion, this isn't necessary; one loss isn't going to destroy Kimbo Slice's career, and now, Elite XC has another star (stars being something they sorely lack) in Petruzelli.

In other action, Andrei Arlovski beat Roy Nelson with a wicked shot to the jaw halfway through round two. I was at a friends house for this fight. Two of the people who were over had never seen an MMA event before, and both of them commented on how Arlovski looks scary in the ring. To me, this is a sign that Arlovski can be another star in Elite XC, and it seems they're looking to make him that, as they showed his promo video multiple times throughout the night, even after his victory.

Jake Shields also successfully retained his Welterweight Championship against Paul Daley, forcing Daley to tap out via his armbar. I will admit that I blinked and missed it, which is a shame, because these two put on an entertaining fight. In the opening bout on the main card, Benji Radach defeated Marilo Rua via knockout near the end of round two.

It was a good night for matches not going to decision, as only one of the matches on the main card did so, and even that match came close to ending on a Knockout. Gina Carano had her way with Kelly Kobald for much of the fight, and especially had Kobold on the ropes late in the third round. Had this match gone another round, I believe that Carano would have put Kobald away cleanly. After this win, it was announced that Carano's next bout would be against Cristiane Santos, who defeated Yoko Takahashi earlier in the evening.

Overall, I feel that Elite XC put on a very solid card. And hopefully, the loss by Kimbo Slice was a wake-up call. Their actions in the past have shown that they truly feel like Kimbo Slice is their only big star, and I think that's the wrong mentality for a company to have. Maybe, now that Kimbo is no longer undefeated, Elite XC will start using these shows to build new stars, and to get their up and coming fighters some exposure, rather than using them as a vehicle to showcase their trophy guy.

On an interesting side note, isn't it ironic that Hulk Hogan, the man who once publicly blasted mixed martial arts, UFC in particular, was seen in attendance last night?

Tha Results:
Preliminary card
*Nicolae Cury defeated Jorge Bouchat via submission (triangle choke) at 1:35 of round one.
*Bryan Hamade defeated David Gomez via submission (guillotine choke) at 2:03 of round one.
*Mickey Gomez defeated Lorenzo Borgomeo via submission (armbar) at 4:06 of round two.
*Conor Heun defeated James Edson Berto via TKO (Strikes) at 2:18 of round two.
*Cristiane Santos defeated Yoko Takahashi via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Main card
*Benji Radach defeated Murilo Rua via KO (punch) at 2:31 of round two.
*Gina Carano defeated Kelly Kobald via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
*Andrei Arlovski defeated Roy Nelson via KO (punch) at 3:14 of round two.
*Jake Shields defeated Paul Daley via submission (armbar) at 3:47 of round two to retain the EliteXC Welterweight title.
*Seth Petruzelli defeated Kimbo Slice via TKO (strikes) at 0:14 of round one.

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