Kimbo Slice: A Product of Sheer Marketing and Hype?

(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on March 16th, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

I’ve been in marketing for almost five years now and as an advertising copywriter it’s my job to write copy that helps sell products. Now it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that in my profession, you need to know how to hype up your product so that customers wouldn’t think twice about digging into their pockets and shelling out their hard-earned cash to make that all-important purchase.

In the fight game, marketing is an important tool to get fans into the stadiums, arenas, and closed circuits. Also to get them to purchase the pay-per-views. If you don’t promote the fighters, if you don’t endorse the fights and events, people won’t buy tickets and nobody gets paid.

However, marketing can only do so much. If a product does not live up to its standards, no amount of publicity will be enough to sell it.

The same can be said for fighters, especially in Mixed Martial Arts. Take Kevin Ferguson, or more popularly known as Kimbo Slice, for instance.

Kimbo earned his notoriety as an Internet underground street fighter a few years ago. By sheer word-of-mouth, he became an Internet sensation. Kimbo eventually worked his way into Mixed Martial Arts, and was even trained by retired MMA fighter Bas Rutten. In Kimbo’s street fight videos, he relied primarily on his fists, knocking out, bloodying, and bludgeoning his opponents into submission, thereby building up his fearsome reputation.

In Kimbo’s first legitimate MMA fight, he went up against retired boxer Ray Mercer in Cage Fury Fighting Championship 5. Kimbo submitted Mercer in the first round via Guillotine Choke, displaying a versatility

nobody thought he had. In his next three fights (all for the defunct Elite XC) he won by submission, knockout, and TKO against Bo Cantrell, Tank Abbott, and James Thompson respectively.

By then, Kimbo was already earning several thousands of dollars per fight as Elite XC’s poster boy. His fan base was also starting to grow. But so were his critics.

Not a few MMA experts pointed out that Kimbo has been fed a steady diet of tomato cans inside the cage. In other words, Kimbo slice was still largely an unproven Internet star, his victories notwithstanding: Rey Mercer looked shot, Tank Abbott was old and out of shape, and Kimbo’s TKO victory over James Thompson can be legitimately argued as a premature stoppage. Still, the Kimbo hype machine was in full swing, and a lot of people were buying it.

Kimbo’s last fight in Elite XC (and his last fight so far in his MMA career) was against Seth Petruzelli. The fight happened in October of last year. Kimbo was originally slated to face Ken Shamrock but the latter pulled out of the fight when he was cut above the left eye during warm-up. Petruzelli took the fight one hour before the event began. Kimbo only agreed to fight Petruzelli after receiving a raise in pay.

Despite being outweighed by almost 30 pounds, Petruzelli defeated Kimbo via TKO 14 seconds into the fight. Petruzelli caught Kimbo with a short jab to the face and Kimbo dropped to the floor and got pounded out. The visibly disoriented Kimbo held on to the referee’s legs, trying to take him down while Petruzelli ran around the cage in celebration.

By the end of October 2008, EliteXC was forced to file for bankruptcy. Many in the mixed martial arts community attribute EliteXC’s failure due to Kimbo’s loss to Petruzelli.

In an interview a couple of days after the fight, Petruzelli admitted that the Elite XC promoters offered him cash incentives to dissuade him from using certain fighting techniques against Kimbo: “The promoters kinda hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and throw with him, they didn’t want me to take him down. Let’s just put it that way. It was worth my while to try and stand up (and) punch him.”

It remains to be seen whether Kimbo Slice can pick up the pieces of his MMA career, a career that was prematurely cut short by a last-second replacement that he outweighed by 30 pounds. It remains to be seen whether another promotional MMA outfit will express interest in him and pick him up. Perhaps the Kimbo Slice and Elite XC debacle should be a lesson to everyone in the MMA scene.

It’s safe to say, however, that in the fight game, in the hurt business, a fighter is only as good as his last fight. And no amount of marketing will change that; no amount of hype will prove otherwise.

Last Stand for “Iceman” Chuck Liddell

(This piece appeared in Bleacher Report on Feb 16, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

It is often said that in sports, especially those that require physical exertion, success usually depends on whether or not the participant is stronger, quicker, and can execute better than his opponent.

For instance, tennis players need to possess a combination of stamina, speed, and power to succeed. A player needs stamina to last the entire match, speed to be able to chase the ball around the court, and power to smash the ball during volleys and serves.

Of course, tennis is an individual sport, but the same holds true in team sports such as basketball and football. NBA teams are always scrambling to find younger, more athletic players to add to their rosters since an aging team is prone to injury.

In theory, the same should hold true for combat sports like boxing and Mixed Martial Arts. As a fighter ages, he or she begins to lose his or her reflexes and speed.

Still, older fighters may retain some abilities. The last thing to go is power, and if a fighter has taken good care of his or her body, stamina may never be an issue.

Pure boxers, who are also defensive specialists, are able to prolong their careers because they tend to absorb less punishment. Examples of technically sound fighters include Pernell Whitaker, James Toney, Ivan Calderon, Floyd Mayweather, and Gerry Penalosa.

Pure sluggers such as Arturo Gatti, Ricardo Mayorga, and Edwin Valero are more offensive-minded and tend to rely on their power and one-punch knockout. Due to this style, they absorb more punches and their careers are shortened.

One fighter that has been in the fight game for quite some time is Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell. At age 39, he is one of the elder statesmen in the MMA scene. In his storied career, he has compiled an impressive record of 21 wins and six losses. Since the start of his career, he has been known as a devastating striker—14 of his victories came by way of knockout.

Mostly a stand-up fighter, he relies primarily on his background in Kempo and Koei-Kan karate and his unorthodox striking. Many unsuspecting opponents have fallen victim to his lethal right hand, which he throws at odd angles. Due to his wrestling background, he also has a superb takedown defense.

His exciting style and brutal finishes have endeared him to countless fans, and he has helped bring MMA into the mainstream.

The road to success was not an easy one for Liddell. After coming to the UFC in 1998, he established himself as a fearsome fighter with victories over Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, and Renato Sobral. These early wins solidified Liddell as one of the rising contenders in the UFC, and, by 2002, he was considered the No. 1 contender for Tito Ortiz’s light heavyweight title.

However, Ortiz did not want to fight Liddell. To force Ortiz’s hand, the UFC created an interim light heavyweight championship between Liddell and Randy Couture. Liddell lost by TKO in the final round.

Liddell then moved on to the now defunct Pride Championships and won his first match against Alistair Overeem by knockout, but lost in the next round to Quinton Jackson by TKO.

Tito Ortiz finally agreed to fight Liddell in UFC 47. Liddell knocked out Ortiz in the second round.

Then, after a first round knockout of Vernon White in his next fight, Liddell met Randy Couture in a rematch for Couture’s UFC light heavyweight title.

In UFC 52, Liddell finally won the seemingly elusive light heavyweight title after knocking out Couture in the opening round.

Liddell then successfully defended his title four times: first by TKO against Jeremy Horn in their rematch, then by knockout against Couture in their third fight, and by TKO against Sobral and Ortiz, both rematches.

Liddell’s fight with Ortiz would be the last time he would win by stoppage. In his rematch with Jackson at UFC 71, Liddell would lose his light heavyweight title via TKO in the first round.

A subsequent lost by decision to Keith Jardine started some rumors that Liddell might hang up his gloves.

However, a fight with dangerous veteran Wanderlei Silva was scheduled, and Liddell did not disappoint. In a grueling bout, Liddell prevailed via unanimous decision. Both Silva and Liddell received Fight of the Night honors. Their contest was also named 2007’s Fight of the Year at the First Annual World Mixed Martial Arts Awards.

After the fight, many fans believed that Liddell would eventually reclaim his title.

After almost a year of inactivity, Liddell faced rising star Rashad Evans at UFC 88. Evans ended Liddell’s comeback with a second-round knockout.

Chuck Liddell has now lost three of his last four fights. In two of those losses, Liddell could not make it the full three rounds. He will also be turning 40 next year.

Liddell has a scheduled fight against Mauricio Rua in April, and it may be his last chance to prove that he is a contender.

Many people will point to Liddell’s age as one of the factors that has contributed to his slump of late. Based on his recent fights, there may be truth to that claim. His last two losses have been dealt by Evans and Jardine, fighters much younger and fresher than he.

However, age is not the only factor in Liddell’s recent decline. He reached the pinnacle of success, and he became complacent. As a result, he lost his hunger and drive. He needs to regain that hunger if he wants to be champion again.

Recently, in boxing, the older guys have been taking the young guns to school. Bernard Hopkins just gave Kelly Pavlik a boxing lesson he will not soon forget, and Sugar Shane Mosley destroyed the seemingly invincible Antonio Margarito.

Age is not everything.

There are always a few good fights left in older fighters.

Does Chuck Liddell have a few good fights left in him? Let us just hope that for the sake of his countless fans, the answer is yes.

Mosley Strips off Margarito’s Air of Invincibility

(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on January 27, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

It’s already been a few days since Shane Mosley’s one-sided beat down of the supposedly resilient, durable, and granite-chinned Antonio Margarito but the aftermath has left boxing fans and pundits alike abuzz and asking the same question: What happened?

For those who didn’t give the 4-1 underdog Mosley a sliver of a chance against Margarito, the result still seems to be a paradox. And for good reason. At the very least– in Mosley’s last fight prior to Margarito – although he gamely dispatched perennial cannon fodder Ricardo Mayorga with one second left in the final round, it wasn’t exactly a cakewalk for Sugar. The hittable and predictable Mayorga, a self-confessed cigarette smoker even while on training, gave Mosley all he could handle in the course of the fight. In fact, entering the 12th round, Mayorga had a one-point lead in one of the judges’ scorecards.

At the very most, Margarito looked absolutely stellar, nay, invincible, when he demolished Miguel Cotto last July 2008. Cotto fought an almost perfect fight– using combinations in the early rounds and frequently landing, while utilizing superb footwork to avoid danger. But Margarito seemed to shrug off Cotto’s best shots– add to this the Tijuana Tornado’s constant offensive pressure—and the onslaught proved too much to handle for Cotto. The end came in the eleventh round as Cotto wilted under a barrage of punches.

So, based on the aforementioned instances, to say that it was a surprise that Mosley dismantled Margarito the way he did, is a severe understatement.

Since the beginning of the first round, it was clear that Margarito wouldn’t be able to smother Mosley with his relentless pressure. True, Margarito is a slow starter and he picks up his game in the middle rounds. But in this fight, Mosley’s hand speed showed from the outset and Margarito seemed flustered, getting trapped a few times against the ropes without any answer for Mosley’s attacks.

From the second round until the middle rounds, it was clear that Margarito had bitten off more than he could chew. Mosley kept pumping the jab, throwing lightning combinations, and kept hitting Margarito with his overhand right. Sure, it was Margarito who kept on pressing forward to take the fight to Mosley. Sure it was Margarito who was the aggressor. But it was also Margarito who frequently got tagged with shots to the face. And body. One could also notice that Margarito’s timing was off, and he was just a few punches too late; he couldn’t retaliate and he was being overwhelmed by the human dynamo that was Shane Mosley.

By the later rounds, the severe beating that Mosley dished off took its toll on Margarito. The fighter that had once shrugged off Miguel Cotto’s best shots had visibly slowed down, and his punches didn’t have enough sting anymore to hurt Mosley. Margarito didn’t seem to have his legs anymore. In the eighth round, a Mosley left hook staggered Margarito and drove him to the ropes. Mosley followed up with a barrage of punches and dropped Margarito. Margarito managed to get up at the count of nine and staggered toward his corner. The temporary respite came to an end for Margarito 43 seconds into the ninth round, after a blitzkrieg courtesy of Mosley prompted the referee to stop the fight. Margarito’s corner threw in the towel almost simultaneous with the stoppage.

So what happened?

First off, before trying to answer that question, let’s try to get a couple of issues out of the way. Before the fight, it was reported that Margarito had to re-wrap his hands several times because Mosley’s camp found out that Margarito had tried to wrap his hands illegally. There is also some talk that Margarito had

some weight problems prior to the fight and might have drained himself making weight. Did Antonio Margarito’s camp try to gain undue advantage by using illegal hand wraps on purpose? Is there any truth to the unverified reports that Margarito was weight-drained, thus affecting his stamina and performance? The first question can only be answered by a proper investigation and in the case of the second, we could only speculate; best to take in all the talks with a grain of salt.

The point is, trying to pass off the hand-wrap fiasco as something that might have affected Margarito’s concentration and trying to use the weight-drain issue as an excuse is just plainly taking away all the hard work that Mosley put in. It is plainly taking away a legendary and dazzling performance showcased by the brilliant Sugar Shane Mosley.

But to go back. What really happened?

What happened — as thousands of spectators at the Staples Center and millions of viewers around the world witnessed – was Margarito getting schooled by the savvy veteran. What happened was Mosley’s team formulating a game plan and their fighter following it to the hilt. What happened was Margarito painfully learning the old boxing adage that speed kills. What happened was Mosley turning back Father Time and giving a performance for the ages, something that will be talked about for years to come.

To put it simply, Sugar Shane Mosley effectively stripped off Antonio Margarito’s air of invincibility. And he did that by chipping away at Margarito’s granite chin one punch at a time, one round at a time for nine agonizing (for Margarito) and spectacular (for Mosley) rounds.

Nothing could be more convincing than that.

Looking back on the House that Royce Gracie built

(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on January 22, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

I was flipping channels the other day when I stumbled upon a rerun of the 2006 fight between Royce Gracie and Matt Hughes in one of our cable sports networks. I admit I wasn’t able to catch the fight live three years ago, having to content myself with reading the results afterward. And at that time I wasn’t too eager to watch even the delayed telecast when I learned that Hughes TKO’d Gracie in the first round.

This time, however, I decided to watch the fight, no matter how agonizing it would be for me.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Matt Hughes. In my opinion, he is one of the best MMA welterweights of all time. But Gracie was my childhood MMA hero ever since he burst into the scene in the early ‘90s with a string of submission victories over much larger opponents. Between 1993 and 1994, he won 11 matches by submission and was the tournament winner of UFC 1, UFC 2, and UFC 4. He also fought to a draw with Ken Shamrock in the super fight at UFC 5. These results contributed to the movement towards grappling, cross-training and mixed martial arts. Gracie summed it up best, in a pre-fight statement prior to the Hughes bout: “This is my house, I built it.”

Perhaps the most memorable fight by Royce Gracie that I witnessed was against wrestler Dan Severn. The fight was Gracie’s final UFC victory and it lasted 16 agonizing minutes as there were no rounds or time limits at that time. For most of the fight, Gracie was continuously pinned underneath the 260-pound Severn. The match ended when Gracie locked his legs in a triangle choke for a submission victory.

In the Hughes fight, however, it could be argued that it wasn’t the same old Royce Gracie that stepped into the Octagon. Not that I am taking anything away from Matt Hughes. Prior to the fight, Hughes pointed out that MMA had evolved and improved immensely since the early days of the UFC. By that time, fighters were already more well-rounded in both the stand up and the ground game. In fact, to prepare, Gracie had cross-trained in Muay Thai and was even frequently shown in publicity materials from Fairtex.

Gracie’s crash course in Muay Thai, however, didn’t prepare him for the punishment that Hughes dished out. Not a few fight fans expected Gracie to dominate Hughes on the ground, but it was the other way around. Gracie stepped into the Octagon wearing MMA trunks in lieu of his trademark jiu-jitsu gi, and sported a shaved head. A few minutes into round one, Hughes hyperextended Gracie’s arm in a kimura but Gracie refused to tap and held on with a poker face. Hughes went on to win the fight by TKO due to strikes at 4:39 of the first round.

In a later interview, Hughes stated that he purposely let Gracie out of the arm lock because he knew that Gracie would not submit and would rather allow his arm to get broken.

If there’s one lasting legacy Royce Gracie should successfully impart on current and future MMA fighters, it’s his heart and fighting spirit. How many fighters today would rather suffer a broken arm than have his will broken?

This year we should look forward to a lot of exciting fights. In fact, this month alone, there are several highly anticipated MMA events and one of the biggest for 2009 — the rematch between Georges St.-Pierre and BJ Penn at UFC 94 – is just around the corner, happening at the end of this month. Affliction Entertainment’s Day of Reckoning comes even sooner, on January 24, and its main event features current World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko defending his belt against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. On January 25, the little guys take center stage at WEC 38, where WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner will defend his title against number one contender and undefeated Donald Cerrone. Also featured on the card is the highly anticipated rematch between former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver.

Yes, we should all be excited because Mixed Martial Arts is here to stay, and it has evolved and improved throughout the years.

But we all should not forget the fighters that came before and helped make MMA what it is now. And Gracie is one of those fighters that we should be thankful for.

Indeed, it is one wondrous house that Royce Gracie built.

Another year for Pacquiao, Silva to prove doubters wrong

(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on January 9, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

After three successful fights in as many weight classes last year (first when he eked out a split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez, second when he annihilated David Diaz to win the WBC world lightweight title, and third, his eight round drubbing of Oscar De La Hoya) Manny Pacquiao is the consensus 2008 fighter of the year among boxing writers and pundits.

Thanks to his fantastic showing, Pacquiao is in perfect position to enjoy even more lucrative fights this year. First on the list is Ricky Hatton, who has been salivating at the prospect of fighting the Filipino ever since the Pacquiao — De La Hoya fight pushed through. Should Pacquiao defeat Hatton, the most logical opponent would be Floyd Mayweather Jr. And if Pacquiao chooses to fight three times this year– win or lose against Floyd Jr. — he can have a farewell bout at the end of the year (perhaps a third fight with Marquez at Jr. Welterweight?) before hanging up his gloves.

Of course when we say fighter of the year, we should also look beyond prizefighting and take a look at the best among the practitioners of Mixed Martial Arts.

I don’t know if Anderson Silva is the consensus MMA fighter of the year, but I do know that in my book he is. The Spider showed that he is still the man to beat at middleweight when he won via submission over Dan Henderson in March. A lot of people believed that Silva’s reign as UFC Middleweight Champion would come to an end against a dangerous, skilled, and experienced fighter such as Henderson. But Silva once again proved his critics wrong.

Silva then climbed up to light heavyweight and took on James Irvin. Not a few wondered how Silva would handle the extra weight, not to mention how he would fare against a bigger opponent. Silva knocked out Irvin in 61 seconds.

However, Silva’s last fight for 2008 against Patrick Cote left a bad taste in some fans’ mouths. Instead of going for the kill early, Silva appeared to be toying with Cote. He didn’t show his usual deadly form, much to Dana White’s chagrin. The fight ended quite unfortunately when Cote blew out his knee and the referee was forced to put an end to the fight.

I attribute Silva’s less-than-stellar showing in his last outing to boredom. He has fought every possible contender in his weight class, annihilated every one of them, and he needs to step it up. Maybe Dana White should consider putting Chuck Liddell in the Octagon opposite Silva? Or how about the winner of the upcoming George St.-Pierre – BJ Penn fight? The point is, as good a fighter as Silva is, he needs to be fighting top contenders instead of tomato cans for him to be challenged. Give him an opponent who he knows could hurt him and even take him out, and Silva wouldn’t even think of toying with the other guy. I guarantee you’ll see the old Silva back in action.

In Pacquiao’s case, it has always been and will always be, proving other people wrong. Nobody gave him a shot to beat Lehlo Ledwaba, everyone thought Marco Antonio Barrera would school him in their first fight, boxing experts thought Erik Morales’s length and reach would be too much for him, and lastly, majority of the sports and boxing media thought the Dream Match was a farce and a huge mismatch.

Of course Pacquiao, as recent history has told us, cut through all of these opponents (and then some) like a hot knife through butter. Or, more appropriately, like a violent, ravaging Pacific storm through a sleepy seaside town.

Do I hear Erik Morales recently making noises about how Ricky Hatton will flatten Pacquiao? What, Pacquiao will go down in the sixth or seventh round because he will tire and lose steam?

With all due respect to Morales, a great champion and future hall-of-famer, since when did anyone of us see Pacquiao tire? Heck, the Pacman can easily give the Energizer Bunny a run for its money. Hatton, on the other hand, has had stamina problems in the past, of which, perhaps can be attributed to his hard living in between fights. Hatton is tough, a strong body puncher, and he has knockout power in both fists. But stamina is not one of his strong suits. He is a good pressure fighter for the early to middle rounds but for the rest of the fight he plods along and holds. Whether Hatton can outhustle, outwork, and finally overpower Pacquiao remains to be seen. But I dare go on the record here and say that I highly doubt it. I believe it will be the other way around.

For Pacquiao and Silva, the year 2009 will be one of the most important years of their careers. And it is not just because it is another year to earn more money through the hurt business. More importantly, another year is upon them to show to the world that they can continue to fight the best, stay on top, and prove the critics wrong.

Again.