RF23 - Sports Media Double Standard Continues...

Over the weekend, CBS debuted Showtime's EliteXC featuring internet backyard brawler and bad boy Kimbo Slice aka Kevin Ferguson. Slice, who came into the octagon, 3 and 0, with three knockouts was receiving a lot of criticism from other MMA fighters and writers. Criticism that went along these lines:

1. He's a fraud

2. He hasn't been tested on the ground

3. He's one dimensional

and the last.

4. He's not the face of mixed martial arts..

So lets tackle, if we will the claims.

1. He's not a fraud, he's fought and defeated every opponent put in front of him, including a game opponent, who was much bigger and more experienced on the...

2/3. mat, which goes to the claims that his ground game is weak. Slice was tested and the results are that he needs more practice on the ground. Which is a problem, because one of my criticisms of MMA is the minutes of two men on the ground just laying there, doing nothing...And I'm not alone in this, there were boos from the crowd when the fighters got unto the ground...which means, they prefer the stand up type of fighting where two guys, beat the bejesus out of each other. Now don't get it wrong, if they do that, it's boxing..Wrong! it's the fight club! It's straight "lets see if you can take my best punch, kick or submission hold." And Kimbo Slice in his fight proved that his willing to take his fight to the ground or stand up...

4. This is where I have a problem...a huge problem...about this time last year, the face of the MMA was UFC's Chuck Liddell and before him Tito Ortiz, but Liddell got the most press and props. He was on sports shows and on Sport Magazines propped as the "baddest man in sports." Lets talk about Liddell's game, he is a brawler, he prefers to stand and fight then hit the ground...Kimbo Slice is a brawler, and he prefers to stand and fight. Liddell was knocking people out...Slice was knocking people out..Liddell is white and Slice...is apparently not the face of the MMA...Even now, Liddell is getting press and more so than the man who knocked him out about this time last year, that man being Quinton Jackson. Jackson is black and at this point has not received all the bad boy or baddest man in the game props that Liddell got.

So let's discuss why, you have a sport that started off, predominantly white. Dominated by men of different martial arts or wrestling backgrounds and lets face it, if baseball is suffering a no-show from young black athletes, I'm assuming wrestling is a little spotted. But you take a sport, where a guy could get paid for just knocking a mofo out! and be done....Knock someone out, and look good doing it...Man, brotha's was lining up, don't believe me? On BET TV, there is a show called "Iron Ring" and guess what it showcases, black fighters doing their thing and guess who's in the audience...Every freakin' body! white, black and others..

Remember I stated earlier that one of my disappointments about the show, specifically the UFC is the lull of the ground game..Well, if you check out "Iron Ring" you won't be disappointed..It's action packed and if Liddell and Slice was on the "Iron Ring....."

Critique Number 4....would be absolutely right.