MMA: Will Kelly and Ken Help Elite XC's Ratings?

Fans of MMA have been suggesting to Elite XC that if they announced the opponents for Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice it would increase the hype and interest for the upcoming fights on October 4th so their ratings will be higher than the dismal showing for their last show which fared much worse than their initial offering.

Well now they have finally been announced, but whether it has the desired affect or not is yet to be seen.

Since I was among the few who did watch the last fight and found it just as entertaining as the first fight, I really can't explain why the viewer ratings fell off, I only know that I was present.

I was disappointed that Scott Smith did not win, as I had predicted and desired, but I was amazed at the fight between Shayna Baszler and Chris Cyborg. Whew, I did not expect that at all! The "Cyborg" was completely amazing, and as did Gina Carano at ringside, I thought they would be opposites in the next fight in October.

Well critics have stated that a fight involving "the face of women in MMA" and such a strong and capable opponent as "the Cyborg" would be too risky, and the possibility of harm coming to Gina, the EXC's equivalent of a "golden goose" would be too great.

If this is true, then the EXC apparently feels that Kelly Kobold is more of a "can" and an easier victory than the "Cyborg" would be for she is to be Gina's next opponent.

And in the matter of their other "golden" fighter Kimbo Slice, Ken Shamrock must be an opponent that the EXC feels is no threat to Slice, but has a famous name and MMA pedigree that no one can argue with or cast aspersions upon after the fight.

Well, now I am left wondering what in the world will happen on Oct. 4 now that there is bound to be so much advance publicity with the opponents having been announced.

Even more surprising, Kelly Kobold has announced that in her upcoming war with "the face of MMA" she really plans to "f*ck her sh*t up" and be the "pretty" one in the ring after the fight. Her MMA record is 16-2, and she fights out of a gym with men who all weigh over 200# and give her no breaks for being a 5'7" 140# woman, which she feels has given her an edge in her fights. At least she will have no excuses not to fight Gina even if she comes in over weight for their fight, after making such a statement.

Almost everyone who knows MMA is aware of Ken Shamrock and his reputation as being one of the earliest competitors "back in the day" who fought several battles in one night in bouts with no weight classes or time limits.

He fought out of the legendary "Lion's Den" and is billed as being the "World's Most Dangerous Man." He is also a man who retired after his third brutal beating at the hands of "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy," Tito Ortiz, but has since "come back" to be beaten by even less well known fighters.

Ken does probably know more about fighting in MMA than Kimbo Slice is ever likely to learn, even being taught by the legendary Bas Ruten. Whether he has enough functioning brain cells left to use this vast knowledge is another matter altogether, as he has not looked very "with it" in or after his last matches.

Frank Shamrock will be joining EXC's commentating team to add color commentary and who knows what else to this event. Since he is going to be fighting brother Ken in the future, don't expect everything he says about Ken to be complementary. Frank did after all, disclose that Ken used steroids in one of his own interviews, which certainly did not bode well for a close friendship with his sibling.

With all of this intrigue and potential for controversy, if the ratings are not greatly increased for the October show, then I don't think that the Elite XC has an chance of longevity as an MMA organization with or without the support of CBS. It already has most of the elements for a big success as a rival to WWE productions, however, so maybe they do have a future anyway.

In today's entertainment industry, who knows?