I'd like to say that this interview with Seth Petruzelli shocked me. Sadly, it didn't. Fast forward to the 10:30 mark and you'll hear Petruzelli make the following comments regarding a very special request from his promoters ahead of his fight with Kimbo Slice:
"The promoters kind of hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him."
"They didn't want me to take him down, let's just put it that way."
- B/R Ticket Guide
"It was worth my while to try to stand up, stand up and punch with him."
It's one thing to engage in matchmaking in order to build up a certain fighter. The UFC has done that with many guys, most notably Roger Huerta.
But to use money to try and influence what happens inside the cage crosses a whole new line. This absolutely stinks of the worst-smelling bullsh*t on the planet, and I'm just going to pray it's not true because it makes me question some other things I've seen during EliteXC fights.
You know, like that highly questionable standup in the Arlovski/Nelson fight.
Even the smallest hint of the possibility of fight-fixing puts a dark cloud over EliteXC's legitimate athletes just by association. Now I'll ask two obvious questions:
1) What the heck is the Florida State Boxing Commission going to do about it? Because shady business practices like this make MMA look a lot like professional wrestling.
2) Is CBS willing to continue working with EliteXC after this weekend's debacle?
Props to Fightlinker.com for the audio link.
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3 months ago
The Shamrock-Berry "fight" and the Kimbo-Cantrell "fight" were both clear fixes. Both times a guy went down to grazing shoulder punches look at the tape. EliteXC is a joke more on par with a minor league pro wrestling league
from 3 months ago
I agree with your takes on Shammy-Buzz and Kimbo-Bo ... those were absolutely ridiculous and I dont understand how anyone could see otherwise. And this alleged "stand up with him, man" stuff is really, really dumb on EXC's part. There's no question. I'm just saying that Seth was winning that fight anyway, and he happened to have won it legitmately standing. So, in alot of ways, EXC hates him and wants him to die. In other words, War Seth! This was good for the sport.
3 months ago
I am glad to see you put this out there. Jared Shaw is starting to make Don King look ethical.
from 3 months ago
And ... count it! No doubt though. He's a walking debacle. Like father, like son.
from 3 months ago
hell Shaw is making Vince Mcmahon look like a legit fight promoter.
3 months ago
Why would Ken Shamrock take a fall for Buzz Berry in an Elite-owned promotion shortly before they wanted to do Shamrock/Kimbo the first time? Remember, Kimbo's first CBS fight was supposed to be against Shamrock, but he was suspended because of the KO to Berry and couldn't fight.
Here's my comment from one of the pre-show anti-Kimbo posts here on Bleacher:
"His chin is made of very thin and breakable glass. Despite all the talk coming from Shamrock about standing up with Kimbo, the reality is that standing with Kimbo will get him knocked out in 30 seconds or less. He HAS to get Kimbo to the ground if he wants to win. I don't think it'll happen, though, because I have the feeling that EliteXC is paying Shamrock to stand with Kimbo and likely get knocked out."
Given Petruzelli's comments about Elite pressuring him to stand with Kimbo, I think it's safe to say that Elite is a crooked company. When you've got company officials screaming at the ref, telling him not to stop the fight, then you deserve to get run out of business. It doesn't matter if you like Dana White or not; there is no question that he'd never be telling the ref to keep the fight going when it's absolutely clear that it needs to be stopped. It doesn't matter if your drawing card is getting beaten.
3 months ago
Well. this certainly gives MMA fans a lot to think about. I will have to ponder this for awhile to make a decision.
3 months ago
Apparently, Petruzelli is out now denying that EliteXC paid him to keep it on the feet. However, I do think there is genuine outrage brewing in the MMA community and I'm sure CBS isn't happy.
from 3 months ago
Yeah, he said his comments were taken the wrong way. Seth, there's no "wrong way" to take those words -- you said them, and that's it. It's not like you were misquoted.
This company needs to go under. I know that competition is good for the UFC and good for fighters, but this company is going to do far more harm than good to the sport as a whole.
3 months ago
Like Dana White said, Jared Shaw is a retard, he just proved it this past weekend. What a huge disappointment. I can hardly wait for dana to comment on what has happened. I hope that the state athletic comission does something about this. Crap like this is not needed in mma.
from 3 months ago
UF, I've been very surprised Dana White hasn't been out all over the place abusing EliteXC and Jared Shaw - maybe he's staging some kind of big interview with a major news outlet like ESPN?
3 months ago
Good article. Problem is, it isn't just this fight. We only have to go back 1 fight to see something that, in my mind, is even more suspect.
Kimbo Slice vs James Thompson.
Now, regardless of what people think of James Thompson, he's a good mixed martial artist. Not the best, far from it, as his record shows, but he is a credible competent heavyweight MMA fighter, skilled in wrestling, muay thai and some jiu jitsu. He has very heavy hands, and is a fair striker, and what's more, he has experience, a lot of it, and has been in far bigger fights than this one. He may have lost fights in ridiculous fashion, but to his credit he's also beaten people like Yoshida.
Forget round 1. In round 2, Thompson has Slice on the ground, who is flapping around like a crab on it's back, and Thompson is laying in ground and pound to Kimbo's head. I say 'laying in' but in reality he was tickling his downed and stricken opponent with blows that wouldn't take the dust off a sideboard. James Thompson is 260lbs, has fought all over the world. He knows how to ground and pound. At any time in the that round, all he had to do was lean his weight into the blow, strike down with his elbow into Kimbo's head, and the fight's over. He didn't, and proceeded to tap Slice with dozens of elbows and forearms that wouldn't trouble an OAP.
Nick Diaz is one of the best fighters in his weight class, and signed for EliteXC last year. The problem is he has trouble making his weight. So EliteXC created a weight division for him, and essentially a title, the 160lb class. Diaz can't just be handed the title, as that's a joke, he must be seen to 'win' it, so they have a credible champion, so the contenders all face off, leaving Diaz against KJ Noons for the new 160lb Lighweight belt. Unfortunately for EliteXC, Noons destroyed Diaz with a clinical display of technical striking that literally dismantled Diaz's face. The fight was stopped at the end of the 1st round, after doctors decided Diaz couldn't continue.
Noons that proved it wasn't a fluke, by beating a very competent fighter in Yves Edwards in his next fight. Diaz is bitching and moaning about wanting a rematch. Noons didn't want one. Diaz and EliteXC then proceeds to smear Noons as a coward, and 'ducking' the fight, the champion that doesn't want to face the number 1 contender, etc etc, and this went on for months. From Noons' side, he stated a) EliteXC were disrespectful in their treatment of him as their champion (a man who destroyed there other poster boy in Diaz), paying Diaz multiple amounts more than Noons, even though he was the champion, and a succesful defending champion, and b) as far as he was concerned he'd already beaten Diaz in solid fashion, and he wasn't the number 1 contender, Eddie Alvarez is, and was more than happy to face Alvarez for the title.
Short version: EliteXC strip Noons of the title, and it's going to be Nick Diaz vs Eddie Alvarez for the vacant EliteXC Lightweight title.
It's all fixed? Naaaah. ;)
from 3 months ago
Good point on Noons - I think EliteXC really wanted to get rid of him because of the way he demolished Diaz. And I think Eddie Alvarez will absolutely mangle Nick, which will make yet another EliteXC star look bad because a lot of fans don't know how good Alvarez is.
3 months ago
What bothered me is the "Rocky" comparison to Seth Petruzelli. Seth is an experienced MMA fighter. I thought he was a favorite to win TUF2. He went in and fought a one-dimensional street fighter with less than 5 fights. Why on earth is Seth the underdog? That alone tells you how EliteXC is trying to HYPE Slice. "Rocky! Rocky is here! Seth Petruzelli shocks the world! The most incredible victory in the history of mixed martial arts!" These announcers should be ashamed of themselves. They are taking part in the branding and selling of an inferior product (nothing wrong with that) but are trying to make it look like top-level (that's wrong). So I guess Seth's victory ranks higher than Randy over Silvia, Forrest over Rampage, Rashad over Liddell, Gonzaga over Cro-Cop??? I will keep watching EliteXC for the other fighters and as long as it is free. I would NEVER pay to watch EliteXC, with my apologies to Shields, Carano and all the other "real" fighters in that organizations.
3 months ago
trying to fix a fight like that would indeed be absolutely pathetic.
3 months ago
Michael great article.
3 months ago
I'm not outraged, it was free and highly entertaining, who cares if it should be called EliteXC/WWE:Heat?
I'm under no assumptions that EliteXC isn't doing everything short of actually fixing fights to make Kimbo win, so I wasn't surprised or disappointed to hear what Seth said.
Having said that, I also knew Kimbo would eventually lose. This should surprise no one, and if you are surprised or outraged, then shame on you MMA fan, because you have shown your stupidity for believing in the validity of this company to begin with.
3 months ago
Now Ken Shamrock has stated that the "stand up and fight" instructions were given to him as well.
3 months ago
This is absolutely wrong I cannot wait to hear Dana White's comments on it all that ought to be funny. Kimbo is a sham and I believe this organization is as well. It makes me look at the Diaz/Noons situation a little different as well. I don't think the Arlovski standup was all that questionable and I had no doubt he would win that fight. He def. needs to work on his ground game though and ability to get back up.
3 months ago
I'm really getting the feeling Dana will talk his smack on ESPN's MMA Live, the latest edition of which should be available soon.
Funny - EliteXC doesn't want fights to go to the ground, but they dump the boxer Noons, whose striking demolished a guy they're trying to build. (Diaz)
3 months ago
My ex boxer opinion/..is that any time a fighter rushes in with no jab and has his hands lowered, he is looking to get knocked out (eg:chuck liddell twice) ...seth did a great job!!..he used a front kick to get kimbo to drop his hands and used a sweet 6 inch right jab on the chin to cause the legs of kimbo to fold!!maybe the ref stopped it to soon ..most of seths punches were missing when kimbo was on his back..(kimbo was much to over confident ..BRUCE LEE SAYS"The first rule is to keep yourself well covered at all times and never leave yourself open. By all means use your footwork — side stepping, feinting, varying your kicks and blows...Explode through your opponant and remember that the power of the kick and punch comes from the correct contact at the right spot and at the right moment with the body in perfect position; not, as many people think, from the vigor with which the kicks or blows are delivered!!!!........../SOURCE WIKIQUOTE /BRUCE LEE..
from 3 months ago
The ref didn't stop it too soon - he stopped it too late. Kimbo was out cold before he hit the ground.
3 months ago
great article...
3 months ago
UPDATE - apparently the Florida Boxing Commission doesn't give a crap at all about this situation. However, the fan outrage is real and I think that EliteXC will ultimate be in trouble over this whole mess.
3 months ago
UPDATE - apparently the Florida Boxing Commission doesn't give a crap at all about this situation. However, the fan outrage is real and I think that EliteXC will ultimate be in trouble over this whole mess.
3 months ago
I have no doubt Dana White & company will handle this in the best way possible. Keep in mind they have much more at stake then anyone else in MMA. If this ugliness creeps in affects their business negatively then we have a more serious problem on our hands.
The more and more stuff like this happens we can see that the UFC is MMA. At least from a business model, marketing, public perception, and "savior of the sport" standpoint. Besides continuing to put on great cards Dana needs to help nip this in the bud in the best way that he sees fit.
The world is now talking about and watching MMA, for better or worse.
3 months ago
Dana White has already responded
http://www.mmaeruption.com/2008/10/dana-white-finally-talks-about-elitexc.html
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