EliteXC: Kimbo vs Ken Shamrock
by Franky Redzepi

Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock:

Kimbo Slice (-325) will make his CBS headlining return when he faces off against "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock (+250) on October 4th. Everyone thought we'd be seeing Kimbo face off against Brett Rogers after their post fight trash talk session, but it wasn't meant to be. Ken Shamrock is the much bigger draw, and that means a lot more than a good fight in this business sometimes. EliteXC needs to deliver on this card, and putting Kimbo against Shamrock is the best way to deliver to the masses. I'm not sure if it's the best fight, but people will definitely watch it.

I picked James Thompson to beat Kimbo in the debut of MMA on network television. That didn't exactly happen, but the fight ended controversially and the world saw Kimbo exposed. We all saw that Kimbo could be taken down, we saw that he could be dominated positionally, and we saw that when someone is willing to fight back that Kimbo isn't an unstoppable monster. I have no doubts that Ken will be coming to put Kimbo out, but i have doubts on how Ken will approach this fight. Ken hasn't won in a long time, and he can be dropped pretty easily in this stage of his career. Sakuraba put him down, and Buzz Berry was able to do it last time. Ken needs to take Kimbo down and go for his leglocks, if he stands it could be bad news.

Ken Shamrock is far from a terrible striker. The guy has some decent boxing, but I really believe he was on the downside of his career a few years ago. It has become pretty obvious that Ken can't take the punishment he was once able to take. Question Kimbo all you want, but Kimbo does train hard and he can definitely hit hard. Kimbo being tested by Thompson the way he was can only help him for the future. Kimbo has to know that his cardio wasn't up to par, and he has to know that his ground game and takedown defense needed work. I can't remember the last time i saw Ken even go for a takedown, so I have to wonder if he'll try for one against Kimbo. It seems like Ken has fallen in love with boxing, and that falls right into Kimbo's hands.

I'd love to see Ken win this one. Nothing against Kimbo, but I'd like to see the hype train derailed a bit. Ken really isn't the guy to derail that train, though. Unless Ken starts dropping for rolling knee-bars and heelhooks, he probably won't win the fight. If Ken can take Kimbo down he has a very real shot at winning, but I don't see it happening. Even if Ken goes for the shot I think he'll have a tough time taking Kimbo down. Ken won't be very big at Heavyweight, and we all see how Tito overpowered him at 205. Kimbo should be able to shake Ken off him if they get into a clinch at any given time. I don't picture Ken winning this is any way. I don't see Kimbo on his back in this fight at any time. The game is pulling away from Ken, I think, and he won't be able to handle Kimbo's power. Kimbo finishes this with a knockout in the first.

Kimbo Slice wins by First Round KO/TKO.

Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley:

Jake Shields won his title against Nick Thompson on CBS, and now he gets to defend it for the first time against Paul Daley on CBS. Both of these guys are champions, actually. Jake Shields the EliteXC champ, and Paul Daley the Cage Rage champ, but the EliteXC title will be the only title on the line. These guys definitely have contrasting styles, with Shields being primarily a grappler and Daley being primarily a striker. I was very surprised to see Jake finish Nick Thompson the way he did in his last fight. I thought it would take a long time, but give Jake credit, he has definitely been finishing fights quick as of late. Lets see if Jake can keep it up against Daley.

Jake Shields is a very good submission guy with very good takedowns. He isn't the type of guy who is constantly struggling to find a way to get on top, it isn't hard for him. Daley will definitely have the striking advantage, but it isn't the big advantage Shields has on the ground. Daley also has to stay on his feet to be able to strike, and I think that will be a very tough task for Daley. There aren't many people in the MMA game who have top control like Shields, and we saw that in his fight against Thompson. Once Jake got on top the fight was basically over. Daley has shown us in the past that he can be submitted, and he has never faced a grappler near the level of Jake Shields.

This is a fight between two high level guys, and these types of fights are usually tough to call, but I think this one is easy. I really don't see how Shields can lose this one. Unless Daley has some new high level takedown defense he's ready to unveil, he probably won't win the fight. Jake's takedowns are too good and his overall ground game is too good, even his striking is improving. Wrestling is a problem we see with many of the fighters from England because they don't have the same level of wrestler over there to train with. I have no doubt Daley is training to defend the takedown, but he isn't ready to defend a Jake Shields takedown and top game. I really don't see this fight going past two round. Shields finds the submission within two rounds.

Jake Shields wins by Second Round Submission.

Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson:

I guess Affliction cancelling its show was a blessing in disguise, because now we get a very good fight for free. I would've preferred Arlovski vs. Barnett...but we can't be too greedy I guess. Roy Nelson doesn't look like the typical fighter, but don't get confused, the guy can definitely fight. He has power in his hands and his ground game is definitely the real deal. Ask Brad Imes about Roy's power, and ask FabianoScherner about his ground game. Most of us know what Arlovski brings to the table already. He has great boxing with maybe the biggest right hand in the Heavyweight division. He's also incredibly light on his feet, and he does have a ground game to fall back on if he needs to. This one should be interesting.

Arlovski and Nelson have one clear common opponent in Ben Rothwell. Arlovski finished Rothwell with strikes and basically dominated the whole time, while Nelson lost a controversial decision. I thought Nelson won, but Arlovski definitely dominated Rothwell much more in his fight. One thing I could see being an issue in this fight is speed. Nelson is a big heavyweight, and he's used to fighting other big and plodding guys. Arlovski is a big guy, but he isn't slow at all. I think Arlovski can pick his shots easily with his speed advantage if he wanted to. Nelson also hasn't fought a kicker as effective as Arlovski, so we don't know how he'll deal with that. Nelson is basically just taking that next step in competition, as Rothwell was. Nelson picked a bad time to fight Andrei, because we saw the old aggressive Andrei return in his old fight. He isn't fighting for decisions anymore, Arlovski is fighting to hurt you and to finish the fight.

I really think Nelson needs to put Arlovski on his back. When Rothwell put Arlovski on his back in their fight we saw a glimmer of hope, but then it was smashed away. Rothwell was able to land some pretty effective elbows, and Arlovski didn't really bother to control the posture. Nelson is much better on the ground than Rothwell, especially on top, so Arlovski needs to be sure not to end up there. I really do believe this fight will come down to the speed and athleticism difference, though. Nelson has never had to deal with someone like Arlovski yet, and I think he's gonna have a hard time catching up with him. Arlovski will be able to pick his shots and throw his kicks while he backs out from throwing punches, and I see that being a never ending pattern. I see Arlovski landing something big before the third round, and I see him taking home another finish.

Andrei Arlovski wins by Second Round KO/TKO.