All thoughts that Bellator could compete with the UFC as a legitimate MMA company are officially out the window. UFC veteran Ken Shamrock is signed to face internet fighting phenom Kimbo Slice on June 20, in a Bellator event called “Unfinished Business”.
Though both are among the biggest “names’ in MMA, the fact that Slice is now 41 years old and that Shamrock is 51 should send red flags up everywhere. Not for Bellator, however, who is looking to top the slow, geriatric pace of the last “superfight” of Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar.
This match has no value as an athletic contest whatsoever. Shamrock is a historic figure and no one can take that away from him, but he is still fighting because the money is still there. Shamrock is at the very edge of where he can still use his body to make money, and anyone who has followed his ups and downs for the last 10 years knows that he has negotiated for many fights that have not happened, as he darts around trying to grab what he can while he has time left. The long history of boxing is filled with fighters and champions who end up tragically, and those stories are coming for MMA. Shamrock is a prime candidate.
The UFC has distanced itself visibly from Shamrock because they perceive him to be a train wreck. Less than 10 years ago, he was with the UFC earning money on both the television show and in fighting his feud with Tito Ortiz out. For whatever reason, an agreement for him to stay a few more years was not worked out and Shamrock went off to fight on the “B” circuit and try his own promotion. The promotion failed, obviously.
Ken Shamrock vs Kimbo Slice is going to be watched on Spike TV by millions, and it is an absurd embarrassment that should not be confused for sport. Perhaps considering Shamrock’s advanced age and the fact that he has nine KO losses in his career will make the Missouri State Boxing and MMA Commission step in and not issue Shamrock a license.
