The alleged "match-fixing" between Seth Petruzelli and Kimbo Slice undermines all the recent efforts of trying to make MMA a mainstream sport.
After years of trying to legitimize the sport of MMA to the mainstream media and the general public, all of that hard work to educate the masses appears to have taken a hit over the past seven days.
The worst stems from a match-fixing scandal that alleges Elite XC promoters tried to bribe Seth Petruzelli to prolong his fight with Kimbo Slice. Petruzelli, a last-minute fill-in to fight Slice last Saturday, won the bout 14 seconds into the first round. In a radio interview conducted with a Florida radio station on Monday, Petruzelli said: "The promoters kind of hinted to me, and they gave me the money to stand and trade 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 to stand up and punch with him."
The allegations of bribery and match-fixing, which haven't been proven in court, would be considered a federal offence in the U.S. Calls for an investigation by the media and from prominent athletic commissioners such as Keith Kizer from Las Vegas were originally shot down by the Florida State Athletic Commission, but a preliminary investigation is now being conducted. If employees of Elite XC are found guilty, it will rock the MMA landscape and taint the sport for years to come.
Before Saturday's show aired, word quickly spread that Ken Shamrock had withdrawn from his main event bout vs. Slice. It was bad enough that Elite XC had the aging veteran in their main event as Shamrock's main-event days are long behind him, but his replacement, light-heavyweight Seth Petruzelli, destroyed Kimbo in 14 seconds.
Slice is another story altogether. He proved in his last fight against James Thompson that he is not a high-level mixed martial artist, yet he maintained his status as Elite XC's meal ticket. While many MMA purists have been tirelessly lobbying the media that MMA athletes are not street thugs and barroom brawlers, Elite XC chose to crush years of misconception by placing (and promoting) Kimbo as an internet street fighter.
When Kimbo was exposed by Petruzelli's right hand, CBS tagged the bout as the biggest upset in the history of mixed martial arts. It was a slap in the face to all MMA fans who have followed the sport pre-Kimbo Slice. It was an embarrassment as well to a network that is taking a big risk in airing a sport that has not fully grasped mainstream affection. To add fuel to the fire, Elite XC VP Jared Shaw could be seen cageside yelling at the referee, embarrassing himself and his organization. When in the public eye, an executive should remain professional at all times and leave the emotional breakdowns behind closed doors. In the hours and days after these, the MMA cookie continued to crumble.
The day after the fight, pictures of Petruzelli in a less-than-flattering light were being posted on all of the biggest MMA websites, lending further credence that this was an embarrassment for Kimbo Slice.
While Elite XC has tainted the sport, the UFC is also to blame for its content in this season's Ultimate Fighter Reality Show. The biggest and best organization in the world should re-evaluate its goal of what its reality show is supposed to do. I always hoped it was designed to discover, cultivate and promote talent for a variety of weight divisions, trying to create contenders and champs. While it has done that with Forrest Griffen, Matt Serra, Rashad Evans and others, what is embarrassing for the sport is to continually see some of the selected fighters act the way they do. While I am definitely a fan of drama and comedic antics, what I find frustrating is the constant showing of drunken binges that not only destroys the house in which they love, but efforts to change the perception of MMA fighters as something less than real athletes.
During last week's episode, Junie Browning went on a drunken rampage. For the fringe fan and the sport's critics, it reaffirms the belief that MMA is full of thugs. Why the UFC continues to showcase this type of drama is a tough pill to swallow. The UFC needs to showcase real athletes, real stars and to promote them for who they are, not what they do with an unlimited supply of alcohol. Why not show the athletes who are fathers and husbands while also showing the real struggle these athletes endure to get to the big show. If the motto is "As Real As It Gets" then showcase that.
For the better part of the past decade I have spent countless hours educating anyone and everyone that would listen that the sport of MMA is legitimate and its athletes are real people with great stories to tell. From San Diego to New York, B.C. to Moncton, I have been to hundreds of events and been on dozens of mainstream radio stations to spread the word. There are a dozen more media figures that do the same (and probably more) and to see these past seven days crush our work has been frustrating. The sport is here to stay and it's not going to fade away, but it's these unnecessary steps backward that can be avoided with some intelligent management. I'm all for a good time, seeing these guys have fun and what not, but why not just keep the dirty laundry in the basement? Many may not agree with my sentiments, and I can respect that, but after years of educating, it's been a difficult week seeing all of it crumble the way it did.
