Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson vs. Ken Shamrock (Heavyweight Bout)

This fight has all the right ingredients for a media zoo, which means big ratings for the fledgling EliteXC promotion as it desperately looks to seek approval from the powers that be within CBS, after their second CBS show tanked in July, erasing any memory of how well their first show did at the end of May. The main factor in why the event in May did a lot better was due in large part to the star power and cult following surrounding the man they call "Kimbo Slice". The legendary Internet street fighter took MMA by storm when he started fighting professionally in 2007. He has since graced the cover of ESPN the Magazine and signed a lucrative endorsement deal with TapouT clothing. Combine that with the careful matchmaking within EliteXC and he's riding three consecutive stoppage victories in just many fights. Granted the opposition he has faced thus far has been mediocre at best, that doesn't take away from the dynamite he is packing in every punch. However, in fighting as in life, you can't be so enamored by the glitz that you ignore reality. The reality of Kimbo Slice is that he has only been training MMA for under 2 years and his anemic ground game was exposed in his last bout against James Thompson, which was on the brink of being stopped at several points in that fight, due to Kimbo's inability to escape from bad spots on the ground.

Now he is facing a man in Ken Shamrock, who has helped define the sport from its very inception in this country at UFC 1 in 1993. Though people are quick to point out that Ken Shamrock is just a shell of his former self, he is still a founding father of modern day MMA and a first ballot UFC Hall of Famer with a wealth of combat knowledge that one could only hope to accrue over an entire career in this sport. At 44 years of age, Ken's body has not had the luck of his colleague Randy Couture in the fact that it has physically deteriorated to the point where it can no longer do what his mind is telling it to do. In a nutshell, Ken hasn't won a fight since June of 2004 and that was a win over Kimo Leopoldo, who was also at the twilight of his career. Critics are also quick to point out his string of losses over the past few years, but forget to realize that three of those losses were to Tito Ortiz, one was to Rich Franklin, one was to Kazushi Sakuraba, and another was to Don Frye, which many felt was a fight that he won. Those six losses were to four men that all belong in the MMA Hall of Fame.

Ken is intelligent enough to know that he won't last a round with Kimbo Slice if he looks to trade hands. Kimbo will weigh a good 30-plus pounds more than Ken at fight time, all of which will be from his solid muscular physique. Ken's jaw has been his weakness of late, which even cost him a flash KO loss in 2005 to Kazushi Sakuraba who is a middleweight not known for any punching power. Likewise, Ken is well aware that his only chance at derailing the Kimbo Slice Express is to take this fight to the ground as soon as possible. This means clinching and testing Kimbo's suspect grappling acumen. This could very well be Ken's swan song and where the EliteXC is likely hoping to use it to propel Kimbo Slice into the realm of legit, I see this as a very distinct possibility to do the opposite. This is a very winnable fight for Ken on the ground, combined with the fact that he has twice submitted Kimbo's grappling coach Bas Rutten during their prime. I don't see Kimbo having enough submission defense to withstand a potentially career threatening knee injury from one of Ken's notorious leglocks. Where it's true that Ken hasn't submitted anyone since 2001, that's mostly due to the youth and submission awareness of his opponents. I predict that Ken, who is well known for his poker skills, has one last ace up his sleeve and will submit Kimbo with a first round heel hook.

Prediction: Ken Shamrock via Heel Hook.



Jake Shields vs. Paul "Semtex" Daley (Welterweight Title Bout)

Jake Shields is only the third person to be promoted to the rank of black belt in jiu-jitsu by Cesar Gracie with David Terrell and Nick Diaz being the other two. Jake has also been unbeatable in MMA, since dropping a narrow decision to Akira Kikuchi in December of 2004. That is a streak of 10 wins with the last 6 coming by way of stoppages either from a submission or TKO. More impressively, names such as Dave Menne, Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, Renato "Charuto" Verissimo, Mike Pyle, and Nick Thompson are included in that streak. In July, he was finally given the official title of the EliteXC's welterweight champion after submitting Thompson in 63 seconds. Instead of basking in the glory of winning the title in front of a large CBS audience, he was quick to ask for another fight to defend his title. After a steady search, the EliteXC signed a very dangerous opponent in an Englishman by the name of Paul "Semtex" Daley to fight Shields in his first title defense.

Daley is a very charismatic fighter with 26 fights to his credit with 16 of his 18 wins coming by way of KO or TKO. Four of those TKO wins have come against tough UFC veterans Duane "Bang" Ludwig, Mark Weir, Sammy Morgan, and Jess Liaudin. The powerful Muay Thai specialist, who has spent most of his career fighting in his native Cage Rage promotion, has been training intensely in Holland with Dutch powerhouse Melvin Manhoef. Daley helped Manhoef get ready for the finals of the DREAM middleweight tournament in September, while preparing himself for the biggest fight of his career against Jake Shields. The interesting thing about this fight is also the most obvious. Shields will be looking to take this fight to the ground for a quick submission, where Daley will look to keep the fight standing for one of his trademark KO's. However, I don't see this going the Englishman's way, as Shields is too good at exerting his will on others, especially on opponent's with inferior ground games. I predict Shields will end this fight via Rear Naked Choke in the first round.

Prediction: Jakes Shields via Rear Naked Choke.



Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski vs. Roy "Big Country" Nelson (Heavyweight Bout)

Just a month ago, Andrei Arlovski thought he was facing Josh Barnett on the same Affliction card on October 11th, that Roy Nelson would be facing Paul Buentello. As the world anticipated these two premier heavyweight bouts, Affliction pulled the plug on the tentative Las Vegas show and postponed it until January. That is where EliteXC stepped up to sign Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson as an added special attraction to its third CBS show. This was EliteXC's way of ensuring a ratings increase, after their second CBS show in July paled in comparison to its first show at the end of May.

Since Arlovski and Nelson were in the midst of their respective training camps, both fighters will come into this fight in good condition, even though the bout agreements were just signed 10 days ago. As far as preparation, the advantage would have to go to Arlovski due to the fact that he was already getting ready to fight