The Sports Informant

When you step into a ring or octagon, you better be ready to take a punch. Just ask Kimbo Slice.

Slice went from being a national sensation to a worldwide joke on Saturday night, losing his CBS live televised Mixed Martial Arts fight to a relatively unknown fighter in just 13 seconds. He lost to Seth Petruzelli. Who? Exactly.

Slice, the former backyard street fighter turned knock out artist in the octagon, has had nobodies and has-beens lined up for him his entire short MMA career. His last fight before Saturday’s had him nearly losing to another nobody, only to squeak out a win on a referee’s bad judgment (or should I say lack of judgment?). I was looking forward to him fighting MMA legend Ken Shamrock, despite Shamrock’s over-the-hill status. At least Shamrock’s still in shape, unlike everyone else Slice has fought. Shoot, Slice isn’t even in shape.

But Shamrock was scratched last minute to a cut that needed stitches and Petruzelli, a fighter with decent experience but no big wins to mention, jumped at the opportunity to make a name for himself.

Slice surged forward at the opening bell, lunged and took a shot to the chin that knocked him to the ground. That was it.

No slugfest, no battle of brutes. Just a sloppy attack by a rookie ring fighter (Slice) and a “right place at the right time” luck shot by Petruzelli.

In a month, we won’t remember Petruzelli. I’m guessing Kimbo hopes we don’t remember Saturday night, too.

I have no doubt Slice will knock out several more guys in his career. He’s capable of knocking out a tree. But until he learns to fight in a cage, and not outside of a bar, no talented professional Mixed Martial Artist should lose to him again. The hype has passed. If he’s not fighting an out-of-shape bouncer on YouTube, Kimbo Slice can’t be a winner.

I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar

The most entertaining fight of the night, which has been echoed in several thread posts on fight Web sites, was Gina Carano’s victory. Carano is a knockout. Yes, that’s a play on words, because she hits harder than any woman I’ve ever seen, but it’s also her beauty that makes her fairly significant. As much as I hate to admit a woman needs to be attractive to be successful, especially in the fight world, her looks and charm are the main reason the fan base tunes in every time she’s in the cage.

Let me rephrase before I get sued. I hope the sport grows to a point where women fighters, attractive or not, compete in the spotlight just like the men. I believe women are capable of exciting finishes and wars of attrition, and as long as Carano keeps winning, it’s a natural progression that women become an important part of the sport.

With a vice president possibly being an attractive woman in less than a few months, it’s about time women surge forward into the spotlight.

An encouraging side note: Female fighter Cris Cyborg is not attractive one bit, and yet, she’s one of the more exciting fighters out there. Don’t be surprised if very soon she fights Carano and knocks her out cold. That’d change things a bit, wouldn’t it?