Credit to Trp for calling this one. Mercer came in just to get a check. He either figured he could walk right through Kimbo, or just didn't care either way. Kimbo, to his credit, looked like he did learn a little bit about MMA, but I wouldn't get too excited about it, since it was Ray Mercer, and not an actual MMA fighter. I think Tank Abbott is the perfect next fight for him. First off, he's a known name among even casual MMA fans. He is also completely inept when the fight goes to the ground. He is also well past his prime. I can see Kimbo beating Tank the same way he beat Mercer. If Kimbo can get him to the ground, Tank will fold like he does everytime anyone gets him on the ground. It'll be another 'name' on the resume of Kimbo, and a great way to build him up, but he still gets killed if he goes in there with any legit MMA fighter. I don't think he'd have a chance even against the likes of a Butterbean or a Brock Lesnar. I think if he does beat Tank, Butterbean will be his next fight. The important thing is, Kimbo finally got his bread.... TFK
I just don't see Kimbo beating Tank, even though Tank is washed up. Tank is more schooled in grappling and was good at wrastlin', as Rubio used to say.
It's amazing how great Kimbo is with only 9 weeks of MMA training under Bas Rutten. He's learned muay thai knees and punches, double underhook takedowns, and a guillotine chokehold. Not bad! I wonder what Mercer might have been able to do if he'd taken 9 weeks of MMA training. Maybe know how to escape a guillotine choke? ::
shit, mercer had an arm in, and kimbo didnt even close his guard if I remember right.....horrible showing from Mercer props to Kimbo....he trained hard and with all the right people, but if Sean Gannon's foray into REAL MMA is any sign of whats to come of Kimbo's career, then dont jump on the bandwagon yet
I won't jump on any bandwagon but Kimbo is strong enough and is willing to fight enough to give borderline MMA's guys a run for their money.. And one of the big 'tells' for me is the fact that he didn't walk in thinking he didn't need to train or learn anything. He seemed fairly modest and apparently realized he needed more than whiskers and a punch..
Even guys from the early 90s who knew only basic grappling knew enough to escape guillotine chokes. Hell even Steve Jennum knew how to escape that crappy choke.
And you know this how? Because he beat a 46 year old ex-boxer turned MMA fighter who has zero mma ability? :: Even borderline MMA guys know a few basics on the ground. Mercer has none unless you count his year of highschool wrestling from '78 which he's so proud of. LOL! Let's see Kimbo against a Barnett or Antonio Silva. Somebody will get his leg snapped completely off and I doubt it's gonna be Kimbo doing the snapping.
Nah, even heavy bags will swing back towards you when you hit them really hard. Mercer was more like.......hmmmm...........one of these I'd say.
Easy brother.. I didn't say I expect Kimbo to win. I simply said he would give the borderline guys a run for their money.. He can fight with the bottom of the pickle barrel... And trust me, the Mercer fight means nothing. I think I was clear about how that would turn out..
First it was Kimblo is such garbage, Mercer will beat him with one arm tied behind his back, now it's "let's see how he does against so and so"
Take note that Kimbo trained with Bas Rutten in MMA for 8 weeks to prepare for this. As soon as I heard that, I knew right there "Instant takedown and choke attempt." That's how Bas teaches his students. You couldn't expect a half-assed ignorant fool like Mercer to spruce up his skills. Hell even in the pre-fight conference, Mercer didn't even know the name of the event he was fighting in. He thought he was fighting in the UFC. That's how 'out of it' he was concerning his new chosen profession.:: But back to the topic, now that Mercer is out of the way, Kimbo will take on legit MMA fighters unless they try to milk his name against very limited opposition. A Kimbo/Tank fight is a very good sale towards the demographic which they're able to reach. Good fight on paper for the casual followers who like to see sideshow events.
And don't think for a minute that it was an accident that Tank was at ringside ready to talk smack right after Kimbo's win.. And yes, my guess is that he will try to milk his name (and this win)...
A lot of these boxers are completely ignorant about MMA to the same degree as most viewers. Think about it Tyler. How many times do you hear or read posts on here from guys who say "MMA is nothing but some idiots rolling around on the floor"? That's the same mindset that most of these ageing proud boxers have of MMA. They all think MMA is just a bunch of drunk tatooed idiots rolling around on the ground, void of any skill. That's the perception Mercer had, and he figured his left jab should seal the deal. Most people just have no clue. None whatsoever. :dunno: If the boxers knew what the hell they were doing, they would make a real driven effort to train in MMA to give themselves the best chance. Kimbo did this with an 8 week preparation under the legendary Bas Rutten while Mercer did nothing other than punch a few heavy bags and talk about how he was a good wrestler back in highschool in 1978. I'll put it this way. Kimo a year ago would've had a tough fight with Mercer. But a Kimbo with only 8 weeks of mma training can learn enough to take care of an ex-boxer who knows nothing about the ground or how to avoid a choke. Mercer's a punching bag at best, plain and simple. He's made no effort whatsoever in MMA. You can't teach an ignorant old dog new tricks.
How do we know Mercer didn't train MMA? Fighting usually goes to the ground, this is common sense :dunno: You need to know the basics, Mercer would have to be brain dead to not think it could go to the ground. I just think he plain ol' got beat.
Well mainly because there was no mention of it. If he trained, he didn't train to fend off the ground. He trained on a heavy bag at most. I don't think he took the fight seriously at all, as if he expected a cake walk and a decent check. Afterall to most people, MMA is nothing but 2 idiots rolling on the ground.:: And on top of that, Mercer probably expected Kimbo to fight the same way he always does in his street-boxing videos; basic standup. Kimbo pulled a fast one on Mercer and everyone else. What's odd is that Kimbo's own street rules specifically stated in every fight that no opponent is allowed to take him down. They pretty much outlawed every wrestling/grappling move against Sean Gannon in the Kimbo/Gannon street fight even though Gannon could've finished Kimbo about 18 different times in that fight. This is a good result though I think. Mercer's an old f*ck and he's going nowhere in any combat sport. Kimbo can drive a few sales and get some interest going for the CFFC for as long as it lasts. A Kimbo/Tank fight should be a hot ticket.
To be fair, that Gannon fight was straight up fighting......like the rest of his fights prior. Then since he wouldn't play fair, Kimbo started grappling, but by that time....he already had his energy zapped from chokes. It's a testament to his will that he kept fighting after being choked out three times. Let's not forget that Gannon's face looked like hamburger, no wonder he didn't want the rematch. Not saying he is good at MMA, but I am saying they should market him fighting the special rules of stand up fighting, to me that is more fun to watch anyway. They should make another sport :clap: Damn, I sound like I am Kimbo's promoter ::
Holy shit.. With the internet popularity of the Gannon-Kimbo fight I can easily see them promoting the fuck out of an MMA rules rematch between them..
good call on who they're selling to....the night of the fight, some guy comes up to me and asks if I watched the "Kimbo fight" ..... he then goes on to tell me how, "Tank, the guy who is champ of MMA" called him out....exactly what they were going for
