Long time mixed martial arts (MMA) veterans and recent Bellator pick ups Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock went to war last night (June 19 2015) at Bellator 138 inside Scottrade Center in St. Louis Missouri.
Prior to last night Slice had not competed inside a cage for nearly five years though he didn't entirely leave combat sports. In that time period Slice started a professional boxing career earning seven straight wins over admittedly mediocre competition.
Plus there were heavy rumors that one of Slice's opponents threw the bout.
Still even those matches were at least two years ago meaning no one was sure how Slice would perform until he was actually fighting.
Similarly Shamrock's last match came in 2010. However the legend's career started much earlier as Shamrock has been competing since the early '90s. Despite the damage such a lengthy career took on him Shamrock was still chomping at the bit to finally face off with Kimbo Slice.
Somehow this fight managed to live up to expectations in the worst way possible.
To watch full Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock video highlights right now click here.Shamrock knew were his advantages lie and he wasted little time in shooting for a double leg takedown. Despite an inability to bend low enough to properly shoot he still managed to drag his foe down with a trip moments later. However Slice quickly returned to his feet.
In the clinch Shamrock landed a couple decent knee strikes before the two fighters broke apart. Once again Shamrock didn't even pretend to throw any punches he just dove for Slice's hips. And once more he somehow landed the takedown as Slice fell due to his awkward single leg.
The former street fighter turtled up and Shamrock hopped onto his back easily. From there he slipped an arm under the neck and locked in a rear naked choke. He failed to finish the submission despite the fact that Shamrock had the submission in tight for at least 30 seconds.
It wasn't perfect positioning but an experienced grappler like Shamrock really should've been able to put the finishing squeeze on.
Nonetheless Shamrock abandoned the attempt and Slice scrambled to his feet. With his one moment of offense defended Shamrock basically stood still and waited for Kimbo Slice to punch him in the face. Slice did just that sending Shamrock tumbling to the mat for a first round knockout win.
This fight was a shit show of truly epic proportions.
There are really only two options here. Plenty of fight fans at least that I saw on twitter and in the MMAmania comment sections believe it was a fix due to Shamrock's complete inability to finish a locked in choke. While I certainly see the merits of that argument that's not my opinion.
Instead my opinion is the more depressing of the two this is simply the best Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock have to offer in 2015. Neither fighter's body is working properly and that resulted in some wonky action.
Either way it's just not a good look for Bellator. On the same day they made a huge announcement with their Bellator Dynamite event in September which is the most interesting thing Bellator has ever done and alongside legitimately top notch fighters like Patricio Freire Michael Chandler and Daniel Straus this monstrosity aired.
It makes sense from a ratings point of view but it has to devalue the Bellator brand as well.
As for the future of the two fighters involved there's not a lot to say here. Hopefully it wasn't a fix. If I can keep that optimism for a moment longer I'll also hope that Bellator only matches either man with fellow MMA seniors or not at all.
Yet another strange chapter in combat sports' history.
Last night Kimbo Slice survived an early and possibly scripted scare to come back and knock Ken Shamrock out. Where does Slice go from here Where does Bellator What hope is there for any of us
For complete Bellator 138 Kimbo vs Shamrock results and play by play click HERE
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