Joe Ferraro

Kimbo Slice defeated Houston Alexander by decision, but Showdown thinks he should have finished him.

Herschel Walker provided us with a glimpse of what future MMA fighters can achieve, especially those who get into the sport with the mindset derived from years of being a professional athlete.

His performance was exactly what it should have been for a guy fighting for the first time, and I believe it was better than another ratings grabber, Kimbo Slice, who in his last fight (his seventh) still showed a lack of understanding for the ground game. I firmly believe that Slice's potential has yet to be reached, despite his age, but Walker (who is twelve years is senior) showed a more advanced level of MMA skill in his debut in the sport.

Kimbo is a far better striker, but for some reason, is unable to apply the other aspects of MMA during competition. By all accounts, sources have told me that during training, he looks great, but when it's time to showcase his skill under the bright lights, he seems to forget all that he is learned. Considering he worked under the tutelage of the legendary Bas Rutten, spent over three months with the coaches on The Ultimate Fighter and represents American Top Team, it baffles my mind when his cardio is so poor and that he was unable to finish Houston Alexander in the second round of their fight. He had Alexander's back but did not do what was necessary to easily finish the fight, or at least advance his position to make finishing the fight an easier task.

I've been a fan of Slice's from day one but somehow wish he would showcase the skills he apparently has at his disposal and not keel over at the end of a fight as if he ran a 25-km marathon. Walker on the other hand was able to stuff a takedown, transition from position to position on the ground and worked well to finish off Greg Nagy.

While Nagy was nowhere near the calibre of opponents that Kimbo has faced thus far, Walker was able to defeat someone on par with his own skill level. When Kimbo was paired with Alexander (someone arguably on the same level as him) and the opportunity to end the fight on the ground presented itself, he simply did not do what appeared obvious: control, stabilize and lock in a choke or punch his way to a TKO.

From the onset of his bout, Walker had that "eye of the tiger" look that Kimbo has lost over the past few years. It seems as if that raw, fearless fighter from the streets in Miami, who used to have zero respect for his opposition, now is hesitant to go in for the kill. I almost feel that now that Kimbo has been taught how to fight MMA, he knows his opponents have those same skills, so he needs to be defensive, as opposed to being offensive. When Kimbo brings that raw energy to a fight, he has the power to knock guys out fast.

I'm no Ricardo Liborio -- or any of the star-studded instructors at ATT -- but priority number one for Kimbo is to master the art of the takedown defence. I believe it was episode five of TUF 10, when Kimbo made a comment that Teaching him BJJ, Wrestling and Submissions should simply be done to get him to understand what to look out for, defend, and get the fight back to his feet, ala Maurice Smith from the SEG days of the UFC. He needs to let those fists go, watch his distance (so he doesn't get taken down) and hammer opponents to victory.

What the American Kickboxing Academy did with Walker was stellar. He was able to retain and execute the basics of MMA ground fighting. I wonder if this is a byproduct of being a professional athlete, one who spent years learning and understanding the specifics of a comprehensive football playbook. A professional, who from a young age must keep himself in tip top shape throughout high school, college and the pro ranks. I discussed this at length with my producers for the radio show and TV show during the final four of TUF 10.

When the original cast was announced, I stated that none of the four football players would go far on the show. I then wondered out loud if there was any coincidence that three of the four made it to the quarter-finals, two of them made it to the semis and one of them actually made it to the finals. It proves the theory that this current evolution of the MMA skill set and fighter must be extremely athletic, very intelligent, yet still possess stellar stamina. One's fighting skills will only take you so far; think Scott Junk (6-2-1), an experienced fighter who I predicted to go far on TUF 10 but was knocked out in his first fight -- by a football player with no previous fights on his record.

Walker, at age 47, may have added further proof to the theory that modern day mixed martial artists must truly be athletes to be successful in the sport. The days of a fighter who possesses just an intermediate level of MMA competency defeating someone with the same level gradient, yet who has a long history of athletic prowess are long gone. Do not confuse this with the old adage that the fighter with better cardio will defeat another whose cardio is weaker; to the contrary.

In this day and age, give ATT, AKA, Xtreme Couture, Zahabi MMA, etc., a tenured pro athlete to mold vs. an accomplished street fighter to polish, and I'm willing to bet the former defeats the latter, more often than not.

Misc. Strikeforce thoughts:

By dismantling Marius Zaromskis, Nick Diaz proved my original prediction wrong. Diaz's "punches in bunches" theory prevailed again and it was amazing to see him land those multiple combinations. But calling out GSP afterwards, sorry Mr. Diaz, I do not like your chances. Plus, with the UFC frowning on co-promotion, this fight is dead in the water.

I was very impressed with Marloes Coenen... for a submission whiz, her striking was very technical. But, Cyborg Santos, my goodness, what a machine.

Robbie Lawler's lack of leg-kick defence was puzzling; I felt as if I was watching his fight vs. Pete Spratt all over again. But what was truly confusing was Melvin Manhoef's complete abandonment of his striking defence. One mental mistake -- a technical error cost him more than he could possibly imagine when it comes to North Amercian MMA cachet.

Note to Mr. Bobby Lashley: good on you for building your career slowly, but the time has now come to get truly tested. I'm not talking about Jason Guida tested, I'm talking about officially climbing the MMA ladder and taking on some tougher competition that will challenge your mind and heart and whether you truly want to do this. I want to see how you react when you are in trouble and your wrestling isn't working for you.