Saturday night, Mixed Martial Arts made its primetime network television debut at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. And a memorable debut it was.
The main event pitted undefeated Kimbo Slice against James "The Colossus" Thomson. Slice, a former high school football player and porn company bodyguard, came into the fight undefeated at 2-0. Thompson was 16-8 prior to Saturday night's action.
Slice, whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, is built like a rock, and his powerful hits have made him a YouTube sensation. After defeating former heavyweight boxer and Olympic gold medalist Ray Mercer and gracing the cover of ESPN the Magazine, the hunger for more Kimbo Slice among MMA fans and sports enthusiasts has grown. He displayed his incredible strength Saturday night.
The three-round bout ended in a TKO victory for "the man they call Kimbo," as announcer Gus Johnson called the fighter. The scene was at times hard to watch, as Kimbo inflicted significant damage on Thompson.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Thompson entered the fight with a cauliflowered ear swelled up to the size of a golf ball. Still, he lasted two rounds of Kimbo's forceful hits before the fight was stopped after Kimbo popped the ear.
Slice's perfect record was never in jeopardy. In the second round, Slice landed a serious of vicious blows to Thompson's face and ear that left him bloodied. Thompson somehow managed to bring Slice to the ground after the beating, where he kept him for the final two minutes of the round. Fatigue and artful blocking by Kimbo prevented Thompson from doing much damage to the eventual winner, however.
Only 30 seconds into the third and final round, Kimbo delivered a ferocious combo that burst Thompson's swollen ear. Clearly dazed, Thompson took a few more shots to the head before the referee stepped in to end the fight.
Slice immediately collapsed onto his back with his arms above his head in relief and triumph.
Afterward, Kimbo appeared humble and content, complimenting the referee and his opponent.
When asked about the decision to end the fight, Slice expressed his approval. He said he would have just continued to punish that ear.
Throughout the fight, the aggressive style of gold-toothed brawler brought the crowd to its feet. His post-fight interview cast him in a positive light. For a sport just bursting onto the scene, a must-see star is just what the doctor ordered.
Kimbo Slice punched his way to victory in his primetime debut. Those powerful fists might have just broken down the wall separating MMA from the mainstream sports world in the process.
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7 months ago
Your insane, What about the part where, kimbo ,too tired to sprawl, was taken down by the shittiest double leg takedown. He was then pinned to the cage to receive elbow after elbow to the face with no retaliation. Thompson could have easily won that fight by putting kimbo back against the cage and taking him down to deliver more damage, thus winning the decision, but no. The ref ended it by a BS call for bleeding in the ear. I dont see anywhere that is says if opponent is bleeding in ear, stop the match.
Kimbo isnt a fighter, he is a brawler who cant stand with a professional fighter.
from 7 months ago
eveyone has to admit kimbo is a rookie so for a rookie he did well how many of you including tito ortiz could take twenty elbows to the head and not be unconcious try it sometime
7 months ago
I'll just quote Bryan Trafford from a couple days back: "Also, I can say that Im not looking forward to all the new mma fans that will sprout up after seeing Thompson run across the ring with his chin up and run into a kimbo combo.
They will think Kimbo is the number 1 mma fighter in the world and there will be nothing I can do to tell them otherwise."
That is the summary of this article. Basically everything you said is wrong. At least it was pretty well written.
from 7 months ago
thanks for quoting me Robert. I knew this would happen, and ive quickly found a new way to focus my frustration with having the sport I love so much embarrassed like it was tonight.
Im gonna pray every night before I go to sleep that Tito Ortiz signs with Elite XC. I know he fights at 205, but I bet you he will move up to fight Kimbo. I cant wait for that to happen. Hell I think Dana White would corner Tito for that fight. And its more likely to happen than you may think, trust me. Only thing that could stop it is a Kimbo loss(pretty likely to happen) or Tito signing an exclusive contract elsewhere(not likely to happen)
I mean I would love for them to put Kimbo in with Rogers too, but that would be over quickly. Rogers is too big for Kimbo, and I think they want Kimbo in big fights only so if he loses, they still get to market the winner.
7 months ago
Dan, did you see the fight? Kimbo has no game. He fought an average MMA fighter, and lucked out by an early stoppage. When the ref jumped in to stop the fight, Thompson had that same stunned look on his face due to Kimbo's punches that he did early on in round two, but he then went on to man-handle Kimbo for the rest of the round. Slice is over-hyped, has no ground game, and is clearly getting his record padded to build a money machine. How dare he dub himself, "The king of mma".
from 7 months ago
what the hell is wrong with you people, thompson was taken to the hospital after the match because he couldnt breathe he didnt know where the hell he was kimbo is a boxer and when hes on his feet he can knock out anyone in mma
7 months ago
and by the way, kimbo was on the floor getting hit after hit from thompson, you are right, and dont u see he didnt give up lol he just stayed in it ..what about the times he was on his back and flipped thompson over...or what about when kimbo popped the guys ear open...or when he hit thoimpson with 4 hits in the face and thompson didnt know where he was...but yea let thompson keep going
7 months ago
The comments on this thread are 100% more accurate than this poorly written article. The fight should have been stopped at the end of the 2nd rnd when Thompson was on top and Slice didnt defend intelligently. Worst display of MMA refereeing I have ever seen and not just in this fight, but every one on this night.
You could tell they didnt want too much "violence" for the mainstream CBS audience. There was no way Les Moonves was going to let the golden goose get its neck slit on the first night and the ref ensured it. Also, go back and listen to the fans reaction at the fight being stopped- Boos-Dan you idiot. I hope youre being paid handsomely to perpetuate such schlock. If he fought Thompson in his prime 3+ yrs ago, Thompson wins in the first round.
7 months ago
yea joe you know what your talking about, kimbo wasnt the one who went to the hospital after the fight because he couldnt breathe...if you read up on your news after the fight you would see thompson was rushed to the hospital after the fight
from 7 months ago
That doesn't mean Kimbo is a good fighter. You are sadly mislead.
7 months ago
im a big kimbo fan and i think kimbo should of lost. Thompson was killing him for the first 2 rounds. I agree with joe, if the refs didnt stop the fight when kimbo was on the ground, getting elbowed to the face for 2 minutes, then they shouldnt of stoped it when his ear was bleeding, after the ear was popped kimbo had a couple of good hits to the face. I think that even if the ref didnt stop the fight, kimbo would of still won.
7 months ago
I HELLA like kimbo slice, but I do think that he got away with murder to tonight. Literally, did yall see him get his ass pounded toward the end of the second round?
7 months ago
Kenny you idiot, Thonpson didn't go to the hospital, despite what Shaw said in th press conference. In fact, almost immediately after Shaw said that Thompson was taken to the hospital, he walked into the frigging press room
http://mmamania.com/2008/06/01/opinion-elite-xc-recap-for-primetime-cbs-saturday-night-fights/
has an account of the press conference.
The writer of the article either didn't watch the fight, knows nothing about MMA, or need to get Kimbos nuts out of his mouth
7 months ago
dan malato must be on kimbo's pay roll or on cbs because their is no way he saw the same fight we did.frank mir called it when he said kimbo is bad for the sport.elite xc says he is a number 1 fighter but we all say he does not have very many skills at all.you got lucky this time kimbo.
7 months ago
Joe, I love what you said about "There was no way Les Moonves was going to let the golen goose get its neck slit on the first night and the ref ensured it." SO TRUE!!! I beginning to believe that MMA is full of a lot of conspiracy. It's so obvious how they're trying to protect Kimbo and set him up with fight they "think" he will win. And let me mention this: THE REFS OF MMA ARE THE STUPIDEST AND WORST REFS OF ANY SPORT - PERIOD!!!! I've never seen so many stoppages in any combat sport. It's rediculous. MMA used to be good back in the 90's when refs would let fighters beat eachother until one tapped out or went to sleep. But now it's so pussy!!!! Stopping fights if the fighter gets hit 4 times in a row.
7 months ago
I think they stopped it because it was getting too bloody for primetime. When Thompson's ear popped it was just NASTY! I couldn't tell if his ear was hanging there in chunks or what. Plus, he did look dazed.
Kimbo, EliteXC and CBS are good for the sport because they will make it more popular. Period.
7 months ago
I cant believe the dudes ear was messed up prior to the match.
HIS EAR WAS ALREADY BLOWN UP BEFORE HE GOT INTO THE MATCH
7 months ago
I'm going to admit, I am not a huge MMA guy. In fact, the most experience I have with martial arts is watching that Human Weapon show on the History Channel. So I kind of wanted to bring the perspective of a more causal viewer. I watched the whole fight, did a little background research and wrote a recap of what I saw. I thought it was pretty accurate, and clearly some people agree.
I don't know how somebody could say Kimbo got his ass kicked when he looked perfectly fine after the fight. As I said, Thompson had him on the ground for 2 straight minutes and really couldn't inflict any damage. That's because he was already so warn out. Kimbo can obviously take a punch.
Clearly he has more of a boxer mentality out there. He doesn't like being on the ground, but when he's on his feet, Thompson could not stay with him. Maybe more hardcore fans of the sport like the grappling, holds and kicks more than a straight up puncher, but if the guy can knock people out and do that much damage, who cares what his style is? Is it possible that he would get pounded by a more skilled fighter? Sure. I'm not saying the guy is the greatest fighter in the world. I'm just saying he can make this sport popular. He can make guys like me that really don't follow combat sports interested in MMA.
I wasn't around, but I feel like people had similar criticisms of Mike Tyson back in the day. He was just a brawler, but he hit so freaking hard he beat everyone. He didn't have the "skills" of some of the other greats like Ali, but he was effective boxing with his style.
And I never have, nor will I ever, have Kimbo's nuts in my mouth. Thanks for that Stan.
from 7 months ago
Your perception of Tyson is wrong. He was a great technical boxer as well. Once again, you write well and present yourself well but you don't much about what you're talking about here. But you admit it, and I can respect that. Surely Kimbo can help make the sport popular. Just a lot of the real fans are annoyed that people might start falling in the 'love' with the sport for the 'wrong reasons'.
'Clearly some people agree'
Really, only the ones who are as misinformed as you are.
And comparing Kimbo to Tyson is doing a great disservice to Tyson. Tyson was actually on the top of his sport for a while. Kimbo probably isn't even a top 50 heavyweight -- coming up with that number off the top of my head.
7 months ago
Kimbo slice is a man that we all love to hate….Ala Floyd mayweather, Kobe bryant and JJ. reddick in his dukie days. All these men feed off the negative persona that the court of public opinion has given them. The elite xc show was exactly what America needed, a mixture of raw emotion, that’s real, and excitement that has most likely captured the attention of Americans from where you live, to where I live. That’s all that this was for, and in my opinion, did just that. Most regular Americans would not likely pay fifty plus dollars to see a mixed martial arts card, which makes the brains behind this “free” broadcast very clever. The very fact that we are discussing how the card went goes to show the impact that this televised card had on us. The way the fights went, is all semantics.
Congratulations to the winners and good luck to all the competitors in their future endeavors.
7 months ago
Obviously you have no idea what you are talking about.
Most people with internet access and google can write a more balanced article.
How can you honest say: "Slice's perfect record was never in jeopardy."
You need to do some more reasearch before posting.
7 months ago
the author was right slices record was never in danger. cbs & elitexc were not going to let him lose.hes there "star", but tonight he was exposed as a phony. put him in against even a top 25 guy & he'll be destroyed.cbs needs to stick to dramas for grandmas & leave mma to the ufc
7 months ago
Dan,
It's pretty foolish to say that some people agree that Kimbo was never in danger of losing when all of the judges had the fight scored 2 rounds to none for Thompson.
I'd suggest before writing your next article about MMA, you become a little more familiar with the sport, you know, like knowing more about it than watching Human Weapon then doing "some research"
You did accomplish your goal though, you brought the perspective of someone who doesn't know anything about MMA to the internet. Great job!
from 7 months ago
Fair point about him being down on the the score cards. And sure, he was gassed. But the man's physically appearance showed that he hadn't really taken any damage. I don't have to be an MMA expert to know when a human being has been battered.
Also, it seems like this MMA community is tight-knit and pretty hardcore. Anyone who isn't an expert is called an idiot or worse. Probably the most crude section of the site. Many of you come across as like the thugs that CBS was trying to paint as "cerebral." And I get it. You have your little niche sport and want to keep it that way. But like it or not, if this Kimbo guy keeps winning - and obviously I don't know enough about anything to say he will - then more and more people who don't know nearly as much as all you experts are going to be attracted to the sport. If you want the sport to get more popular, you're gonna have to learn to tolerate newcomers. Every other sports fandom does. And increased exposure will only help its legitimacy, and it will then attract better athletes for you all to watch.
My only advice, get over yourselves. Consider a different perspective. Some things are just a matter of opinion, and calling somebody an idiot doesn't further the argument. It just pisses people off.
from 7 months ago
Not all MMA fans are like this. Most of these people posting in the Kimbo topics aren't regulars in our community (note their lack of a picture). They just showed up with the Kimbo articles and don't know how to conduct themselves. And I'm sorry for that. They'll all stop posting once these Kimbo articles die out.
I'll say this about the end of round two: yes Kimbo was not defending himself and taking unanswered blows, but it is reasonable to believe it was fair not to stop the fight. If Thompson can't do significant enough damage to leave no question that the fight had to be stopped then it's his own fault. As the bell for round 2 started I'll admit I was afraid Kimbo wasn't going to get up and the ref had made a major mistake as I had expected, but Kimbo got up and was fine, so there is no reason for everyone to flip out to such extents that the fight wasn't stopped. What did annoy me is that even during the lengthy exchange of unanswered blows Thompson was landng there, the ref still threatened to stand them up due to lack of action -- bit ridiculous.
The fight wasn't rigged from the start, etc. as others like to flat out claim, but it is clear that Kimbo was being favored to some extent.
7 months ago
I dont know to much about the MMA. In fact I couldnt even tell you one guys name that is in the top twenty-five. But I had heard of Kimbo Slice before this fight last night, and so I was intrigued to see what he was all about. The fact of the matter, I watched the fight. Which is exactly what the promoters wanted.
As of this point now, I might tune in to other fighters who I didnt have a clue who they were before. This move by CBS, to show this fight in prime-time, was a good move for the sport.
7 months ago
I won't go too deep into the fight, except to say that I'll agree with most of the posters that you seemed to be watching a different fight than the rest of us. What I will say is that your comments on Tyson are dead wrong. The guy was actually a very talented fighter in his amateur and early pro days. Cus D'Amato trained him well, and it was only later that he forgot how to do much of the "boxing" stuff and started to just rely on brute strength and intimidation -- which, admittedly, was all he needed to do at that point because he knocked everyone out. Still, you can't just say you "feel" like something was one way against Tyson. You make yourself look bad by skipping simple research and give people a reason to not take you seriously.
7 months ago
Kenny,
James Thompson is so washed up, reminds me of another guy, Tank Abbott. I'm not saying Kimbo has no skill, because he does apparently have somewhat of a boxing background, but c'mon, if any of you fight or watch fights enough to know wtf you're saying, you would know that this is a total promotion. Kimbo can beat the shit out other chumps around his neighborhood, but doesn't stand a chance against anyone with skills. That being said, we should make it more interesting. I want to see Kimbo vs Brock Lesner, now. Then kimbo vs Frank Mir, where even a washed up, fat Frank Mir can tie Kimbo's toothpick legs in a knot. Or fight Mirko Cro Cop Filopovik, and Cro Cop will no doubt break his face. Big tree fall hard.
7 months ago
And btw Gina Carano is so beautiful.
7 months ago
Kimbo is exposed for what he is .Hype to try to shore up the Failing $$$$$$ Elitexc scam.Show time should keep with what it knows best by rerunning Chick flick Reruns and outdated class B movies .To see PC creep into MMA is a disgrace.(early stoppages so as to not to rile up the prime time viewers)I for one will be glad when The powers$$$$ to be pull the plug on this money losing embarrassment of a MMA organization.Then its back to the Backyard fights for Kimbo .Dude your 15 minuites of fame are over.What next Kimbo fights ALi??? It would be better to let the club fighters stay on the Juke joint circuits and let the real fighters have the spotlight too.This is how you introduce mainstream America to MMA??? What an embarrassment..............
Kimbo (poor guy hes just being used) will sadly just be another victim in the end.You cant blame him for getting paid but I hope he doesnt start believing his own hype.Probably to late for that.This will be another media lie that eventually(when ever he meets a real rated fighter and not just some hand picked bums)be exposed.Get a good accountant and save your money Kevin while you can.Its going to be a short ride with a very hard fall.......................................
7 months ago
Kimbo vs Brock Lesner, Kimbo vs Frank Mir and Kimbo vs Mirko Cro Cop Filopovik.
I hope so. I wanna see those fights. You guys talk like Dana White is paying you or that he ever will.
7 months ago
I question whether Dan Malato actually watched the fight or knows anything about MMA. Look at these ridiculous and false statements:
"Slice's perfect record was never in jeopardy."
- How about when Slice was saved by the bell in the second round after failing to intelligently defend himself while caught in a crucifix? Not to mention that the three ringside judges had the bout scored 20-19, 20-18, and 19-19, with the first two scores in favor of Thompson. If the fight had gone the difference, Slice would have lost a split decision even if he won the last round 10-9.
"After a powerful choke hold by Slice in the first round, Thompson came away with a cauliflowered ear that swelled up to the size of a golf ball."
- First of all, Thompson already had a cauliflower ear which is very common for grapplers. Second, the (standing) guillotine choke was applied by Thompson on Slice, not the other way around.
"Fatigue and artful blocking by Kimbo prevented Thompson from doing much damage to the eventual winner, however."
- Artful blocking? Going back to my first comment, the ref could have easily stopped the fight due to Slice's failure to intelligently defend himself while caught in a crucifix. Also, it was Slice who was running out of gas - he could barely finish his interview because he was so out of breath.
You just killed your MMA credibility, brother!
7 months ago
Seems as more organizations jockey for a piece of the MMA pie, we're going to see more of this type of thing. Elite XC is clearly betting the farm on Kimbo & unfortunately, it does not look as though he's up to the job. James Thompson was supposed to be DTC # III (Designated tomato can) but he didn't get the memo. If this guy gave Kimbo trouble then I think his prospects against a legitimate heavyweight would be slim.
Dan asked for a little perspective so here goes...............Kimbo has pretty decent punching power & by that I mean, he could take out a lot of MMA heavyweights IF he lands cleanly. He has NO ground game & appears to have a conditioning issue. The only reason the fight wasn't stopped in the last 1:30 of round 2 was that James Thompson's elbows were little more than love taps. Both fighters appeared out of gas by midway thru the second round. Overall a very unimpressive fight.
7 months ago
I can't resist commenting on this. Kimbo is a joke. He is big and no doubt, strong. He also fought a nobody with a glass jaw that he couldn't knock out. If you go by the rules, this fight should have been stopped in the second when he was taking blow after blow to the head and was in no way, defending himself. Instead, he was given every opportunity to stay in the fight in the hope that the cash cow could make it through and win the fight.
I have been a fan of MMA for years and train myself (just for knowledge) and can tell you this guy would get absolutely crushed in any other major organization. IFL, WEC, UFC. While I do think there needs to be another game in town aside from the UFC, this is not the way to go.
One last thing, for the casual fans, if you enjoyed on any level what you saw last night, watch the Affliction Pay Per View in July. It is a phenomenal card with talent well beyond what you saw with this pretender last night. Any one of the guys on this fight card would tear Kimbo apart and barely break a sweat.
7 months ago
Thanks for being reasonable Robert.
I fully admit many people are more knowledgable than me on this topic. However, I will continue to defend the fact that Slice hardly took a beating in this fight. There had to be a reason Thompson couldn't finish him when he had him on the ground for two straight minutes. Whether that is because he was warn out or because he's a chump, it's a moot point. I wrote a recap of what I saw, and what I saw was backed up by the result. If you all think the fight was actually rigged WWE style, I pity you for devoting yourself to a sport you don't even think has the integrity to stage a true competition. Maybe they set up a patsy for Kimbo to beat on their primetime debut but so what? I never said the guy was the most skilled fighter. I merely said that his victory (and he did in fact win!) paves the way for more fights of his that casual viewers like myself will watch. If Kimbo Slice is such a bum, some other fighter will eventually beat him. And hopefully for the sport, that fighter is exciting enough to keep the casual fans Kimbo brought in interested.
7 months ago
Dan,
Your lame justifications are annoying. The only part of this fight you actually paid attention to was the pre-fight hype. Next time, if you must write a review try watching the fight.
from 7 months ago
You know what's annoying Darren? The fact that you can somehow accuse me of not even watching the fight. Name one part of this writeup that is factually - not subjectively - inaccurate. Until then, shut the hell up.
7 months ago
cullen i agree with you...but i just dont understand people saying thompson beat up kimbo..in round 2 he had him down and kimbo wouldnt give up, does that mean anything? kimbo getting hit on the ground and not giving up and taking hits and getting up without a bruise...and yes kimbo has no ground game right now but when hes on his feet i dont think anyone can beat him boxing
from 7 months ago
There are tons of people in the MMA heavyweight division with better kick boxing than Kimbo.
7 months ago
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