The Most Eagerly-Anticipated Pre-Recorded MMA Bout Ever
Published by Jim Genia on September 29th, 2009 in Current Events

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Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson will meet in the cage for the third episode of the tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, and not since the release of the Zapruder footage of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination has pre-recorded violence been so eagerly anticipated. How can that be? If the outcome has already been determined, shouldn’t the appurtenant hype of such a suddenly irrelevant match-up be dulled? Given the ratings this usually stale reality show has generated thus far in the new season, and the vast number of eyes expected to tune in when the former backyard brawler and the ex-IFL champ throw down, apparently not. Kudos to Kimbo for that.

Much has been said about Kimbo’s origins – so much so that it barely warrants any detailed rehashing, suffice to say that he parlayed YouTube stardom into headliner status for the doomed EliteXC, and his fall to TUF castoff Seth Petruzelli on a live, CBS-broadcast event marked the end of that upstart MMA promotion. The story has been told and retold ad nauseum. But what is news is the fearsome-looking puncher’s ability to attract viewers, which, based on the press releases SpikeTV has proudly circulated, is an ability that has remained intact. People will tune in when promised some Kimbo, and regardless of whether they’re watching to see him win or watching to see him lose, the bottom line is that they’re watching. Despite his very public loss, the Internet hero, the prefabricated MMA star who was a marquee player before even his first sanctioned bout, is worth his heavyweight self in gold. The UFC and SpikeTV have their smashed ratings records as proof.

Of course, while Kimbo may be a huge reason why the upcoming episode of TUF is a big deal, that’s not to say that Nelson’s status as legitimate, top-flight competitor isn’t playing a part. He may not be making the same media rounds (conference calls, interviews and appearances on late night TV) as his opponent, but Nelson is ever-present as the man everything Kimbo is not. He’s trained and competed in the sport for years, clawing his way up the ranks of the minor leagues until his record included wins over every notable non-UFC heavyweight out there. In 17 bouts Nelson has only lost four times, with two of those coming by way of controversial decisions (to Ben Rothwell and Jeff Monson), and though erstwhile UFC champ Andrei Arlovski may have knocked Nelson out on live TV, no one will disagree when you say “Roy Nelson is a certified badass.” No one. Nelson would likely be fighting on a UFC pay-per-view card if not for his detour to the TUF House, and of all the competitors sequestered away for this season – the UFC vet, the pro football players and all-around goliaths – on paper, it is Nelson alone who is expected to earn the title The Ultimate Fighter. Feelings for Kimbo aside, all who know MMA know the soft-bellied but skilled Nelson is the “substance” to this star-powered pairing, and all who know MMA know that outside of a puncher’s chance, the backyard brawler is in trouble.

So why do people care about this bout that happened months ago? Why the appearances on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and the influx of interviews? Because ultimately, it’s not whether his arm is raised in victory or his head hangs in defeat, but whether the big puncher entertains. And like all pornographer bodyguards-turned-bare-knuckle boxers-turned-MMA fighters, Kimbo seems to do that in spades.