Either everyone is lying about Kimbo in training, or he has severe anxiety/adrenaline dump when he hits the cage.
There was a line I remember specifically from the Kimbo documentary that aired just before the fights on Spike: "When I tell Kimbo to do 2 tens, he does 3 twenties." I think that is a complete farce. Now, Kimbo blamed the weight disparity on his performance, and that is actually a very good argument to make, but I only see it as truthful if the heavier guy is lying on top of the lighter guy or is pushing him into the fence the entire first round. We saw none of that. What we saw was Kimbo get a takedown and be on top for a majority of the first round. The only thing that could have possibly weighed on Kimbo was Dada holding on for dear life. Granted, that is tiring, but that in no way should have equated to the exhaustion we saw Kimbo exhibit.
Gracie is a dirty bastard
Again, he defended himself perfectly by saying that he is a fighter and he is hired to fight until the referee stops him. Most of the blame does go to the referee. Even on replays, I was not entirely sure it was a low blow. Clearly the shot hit at least the side of the pelvis. I think it's possible that as the shot moved inward, it could have shifted the cup, pinching Shamrock's nuts. In the post-fight conference, Shamrock said (paraphrasing) "I would have stopped, apologized, and given the guy his 5 minutes to put his nuts back in place."
The honest man does exactly what Shamrock says. If he doesn't notice that he delivered an illegal blow, at the VERY least he apologizes if he did. "I'm sorry if I did, I didn't notice." I think a lot of that could be lost in translation or a cultural difference, but honor is honor. If you are a true fighter, as Gracie says he is, his job is to fight until stopped within the rules of the match.
I've got a much longer post on penalties brewing in my head, so I'll leave that one there. To me, saying "back in the day, we didn't have rules" is not a viable defense, and he should be very ashamed - or at least disappointed - with that win.
John McCarthy is still the best ref in the game
The best moment of the Kimbo fight was McCarthy. I think we can all agree to that. If it wasn't McCarthy telling Dada "if you move from that spot again, I'll take a point," it was the justified stand-up from full mount. John did everything in his power to make that fight fair and watchable.
Guillard may be done
I really hate to say it because he is one of my favorite fighters, but the sentiments expressed in the live chat may be true. I think it's clear to say that his best days are behind him, and he needs to find himself gainful employment before he suffers permanent damage. I believe he has a gym and some other things, so I'm not too worried about that. I'm actually more worried that he continues fighting.
We will see more of this, unfortunately...
They asked the Spike exec at the post-fight conference if this was the type of thing he wanted to see on Spike. I took from his response that he was not happy with the fights themselves, but I'm sure he will be ecstatic when the ratings come back. I seriously doubt they were padding their numbers when they say that it was trending world-wide on Twitter. Even my few friends on Facebook, none of who would call themselves fight fans, were talking about it. Not only that, but the crowd was clearly invested in what was going on.
I had all the feels
I was very disappointed with the end, but I went back and tried to remember how I felt throughout the entire event, and I actually ran the gamut. Joy, disappointment, boredom, excitement, surprise, anger, sadness... it was all there.
There was a line I remember specifically from the Kimbo documentary that aired just before the fights on Spike: "When I tell Kimbo to do 2 tens, he does 3 twenties." I think that is a complete farce. Now, Kimbo blamed the weight disparity on his performance, and that is actually a very good argument to make, but I only see it as truthful if the heavier guy is lying on top of the lighter guy or is pushing him into the fence the entire first round. We saw none of that. What we saw was Kimbo get a takedown and be on top for a majority of the first round. The only thing that could have possibly weighed on Kimbo was Dada holding on for dear life. Granted, that is tiring, but that in no way should have equated to the exhaustion we saw Kimbo exhibit.
Gracie is a dirty bastard
Again, he defended himself perfectly by saying that he is a fighter and he is hired to fight until the referee stops him. Most of the blame does go to the referee. Even on replays, I was not entirely sure it was a low blow. Clearly the shot hit at least the side of the pelvis. I think it's possible that as the shot moved inward, it could have shifted the cup, pinching Shamrock's nuts. In the post-fight conference, Shamrock said (paraphrasing) "I would have stopped, apologized, and given the guy his 5 minutes to put his nuts back in place."
The honest man does exactly what Shamrock says. If he doesn't notice that he delivered an illegal blow, at the VERY least he apologizes if he did. "I'm sorry if I did, I didn't notice." I think a lot of that could be lost in translation or a cultural difference, but honor is honor. If you are a true fighter, as Gracie says he is, his job is to fight until stopped within the rules of the match.
I've got a much longer post on penalties brewing in my head, so I'll leave that one there. To me, saying "back in the day, we didn't have rules" is not a viable defense, and he should be very ashamed - or at least disappointed - with that win.
John McCarthy is still the best ref in the game
The best moment of the Kimbo fight was McCarthy. I think we can all agree to that. If it wasn't McCarthy telling Dada "if you move from that spot again, I'll take a point," it was the justified stand-up from full mount. John did everything in his power to make that fight fair and watchable.
Guillard may be done
I really hate to say it because he is one of my favorite fighters, but the sentiments expressed in the live chat may be true. I think it's clear to say that his best days are behind him, and he needs to find himself gainful employment before he suffers permanent damage. I believe he has a gym and some other things, so I'm not too worried about that. I'm actually more worried that he continues fighting.
We will see more of this, unfortunately...
They asked the Spike exec at the post-fight conference if this was the type of thing he wanted to see on Spike. I took from his response that he was not happy with the fights themselves, but I'm sure he will be ecstatic when the ratings come back. I seriously doubt they were padding their numbers when they say that it was trending world-wide on Twitter. Even my few friends on Facebook, none of who would call themselves fight fans, were talking about it. Not only that, but the crowd was clearly invested in what was going on.
I had all the feels
I was very disappointed with the end, but I went back and tried to remember how I felt throughout the entire event, and I actually ran the gamut. Joy, disappointment, boredom, excitement, surprise, anger, sadness... it was all there.
