Monday, February 18, 2008

Still A Street Fighter

I was fortunately enough to see the Kimbo Slice-David "Tank" Abbott fight over the weekend and while I have to say that I am impressed with Kimbo's power, he is still a street fighter. Bas Rutten tried but he was not able to hone the raw fighting skills of Kimbo into a real mixed martial artist.

He did not show any respect for the rules of MMA and had to be warned constantly to stop hitting the back of the head/neck and to return to his "corner". He even had the nerve to pick up a mouthpiece tha was on the ring floor and throw it out into the crowd. While this may have made the fans thrilled, it was very unprofessional. It clearly showed that he does not have much professional experience.

All that being said, he will most likely make EliteXC (the organization he fights for) a lot of money, but if he is not careful, he will get fined and possibly suspended by the state athletic commission.

Personally I think he is too old to make the transition from a street tough to an MMA professional. Being a former bodyguard, he has defense ingrained in him and finesse is not something street fighters have a lot of.

Sure Kimbo hits hard...he is legendary on the internet as a bare-knuckle street fighter, but put him up against someone who has a chin and is good in BJJ, he is toast. Hey Kimbo, if you really want a test, fight Minotauro Nogiera.

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