It was the best of results, it was the worst of results.
Depends on your vantage point as to what to make of Saturday night's stunning "upset" of ultra-popular Kevin Ferguson (aka Kimbo Slice) by Seth Petruzelli, a former Ultimate Fighter grad who hadn't fought in a year and was taking on the bruising behemoth on a mere two hours' notice.
Though can you really call it an upset when a true mixed martial artist with 15 fights under his belt beats a street brawler turned MMA fighter with only three under his?
But it was certainly upsetting to some.
For Kevin Ferguson, the result was obviously not good. The legend of Kimbo Slice, whether it was legitimate or a creation of the media and viral YouTube "marketing," might be officially dead. However, if he wants there could be a silver lining. He got beat by a legitimate MMA fighter with youth and energy on his side, so it can be a learning experience.
Kimbo just looks right now like a guy who has no idea about how to be a mixed martial artist, lying on the ground arms wide to the side, without even doing anything that resembles intelligently defending himself as he took a barrage of hammer-fists to the head. And then he seemed to object to the referee calling the fight. Sorry, buddy this isn't like your street fights where as long as you're still conscious you can keep going.
For Seth Petruzelli, this was the best result you could imagine. Instead of going more-or-less unnoticed, win or lose, in a fight on the undercard, where his result likely wouldn't even get mentioned on the telecast, he was thrust onto the biggest stage, and now his name is one people likely won't forget. (Not to mention his hair.)
And he also gets the accolades of being a light-heavyweight and stepping up to fight a heavyweight who you know can at least throw a devastating punch. But he probably knew better. He wasn't going to let Slice show him how hard he can punch. Petruzelli said MMA fighting has always been his dream. While that dream came true a while ago, after Saturday he must be on cloud nine.
For EliteXC, it wasn't a good result at all. He was their star, the one on which they were hoping to have many future main events to build around. Well, if not many, at least one. Now, I'm not so sure they can use him anymore; certainly not as headlining fight. How do you do that after a loss like Saturday's? If he had lost to Shamrock, even in 14 seconds, that would have been one thing. But not to Petruzelli. (By the way, if EliteXC was looking to Petruzelli to be their next star, certain photos making rounds on the internet will certainly come into play.)
For CBS, it is a mixed result. Like EliteXC, they probably would have preferred to build on the mainstream notoriety of Kimbo Slice. But on the other hand, that result fit in perfectly with the "melodramatic" style of the network's typical programming. You know the painfully cheesy lines you always here on "CSI"? They're nothing compared to play-by-play commentator Gus Johnson's exclamations:
"Slice goes down. Slice in trouble! Oh my goodness!! Slice getting pounded now, and they stop it!!!"
"Rocky!! Rocky's here!!!!"
(At this point, I truly thought he was going to lose his voice.)
"Seth Petruzelli shocks the world! The most incredible victory in the history of mixed martial arts!!"
(C'mon Gus, let's not get carried away here.)
"It can happen. Believe!"
(Okay, too late.)
For Ken Shamrock, it must have been a double disappointment. First he doesn't even get to fight in the showcase event. And then the chance to be the first to "teach Kimbo a lesson" was taken away. As much as he wanted Kimbo to be taught a lesson, he wanted to be the one to do it. One wonders if he would be even interested in fighting Kimbo Slice now. (There are some who are suggesting he never was going to fight, but only lent his name to EliteXC so they could hype the card. Conspiracy theorists unite.)
For the fans, it was a mixed result. Obviously a big Slice supporter is disappointed. The casual MMA fan probably enjoyed it. But the hardcore MMA fan was probably smiling ear-to-ear. Finally, Kimbo is exposed. Beaten so easily by a guy the UFC cut. Somewhere, Dana White is having a chuckle.
For those in attendance? They were probably hoping for a little more action than 14 seconds. But isn't a result like that all the more memorable? The adrenaline, even for the fan, from seeing Kimbo go down so stunningly, and watching the "underdog" dancing around the ring arms raised in seemingly just as much disbelief is an experience not soon forgotten.
I end with the words of Johnson's sidekick, colour commentator Frank Shamrock (and Charles Dickens would be rolling in his grave):
"If you have a dream, if you're willing to step into a cage and fight for your life. You can be anything you want."
It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.
Tale of two fighters, my friend. Tale of two fighters.
