Written by Gene Zarnick
| 30 September 2009
Okay, so I don't know for sure if it's rigged, but I'm throwing it out there. You can be the judge after tonight. Everyone is watching this season for one reason; Kimbo Slice. The first episode we saw him announced as a special fighter who comes out after everyone. That's a little suspect on its own. Dana White has previously said he'd never have Kimbo in the UFC and then he for some reason changes his mind and makes the stipulation that the only way he will get into the UFC is to win the Ultimate Fighter. I have no problem with him changing his mind and making it seem like he really has to fight his way in, but we know that Kimbo is the moneymaker of the show. He is the staple on the show that brings the viewers in. Kimbo is everywhere; from trailers for his box office bust/straight to DVD release of "Blood and Bone" to basically being on commercials for commercials for the Ultimate Fighter. There just has to be something more to it than just being a gimmick for UFC.
Now here's where I'm really coming from. The first two weeks of the show had Rampage in control of the fights. Now of course everyone is going to think that he will setup the perfect fight for Kimbo in one of the first two weeks, but instead he pulls the better maneuver for the show and uses up one of the best wrestlers on the show the first week and one of the better fighters on the show the second week, which then limits who Kimbo could face in his first round matchup. At the end of last week Rashad gets control of the fights and puts Roy "Big Country" Nelson up against the one, the only, Kimbo Slice. Now I know Roy is probably the most experienced there, but this has to be the best fight for Kimbo. If there's someone you want Kimbo to fight it would be the fat guy. Kimbo will probably knock him out tonight and if not then Kimbo can easily out endure him. It just seems a little too obvious that this would be the setup fight from the beginning and airing it week three gets the viewers to watch for a couple weeks and then finally get what they want.
Only time will tell if my inkling is correct or not, but I wouldn't blame Dana White if it was. I don't think the fights are rigged, but the matchups could easily be setup. The UFC has a large fan base, but I don't think they've really found the next way to expand. It seems like every pay-per-view they are getting about the same buy rates and they also seem like they are having a problem building up new superstars. Brock Lesnar is a huge superstar because he came from WWE and then turned into a champion. Other than him there really aren't many new, up and coming fighters that semi-fans of UFC would recognize. UFC needs someone to be another face for the UFC, someone who people will want to see, and someone who is recognizable to more than just UFC fans. Kimbo Slice is that guy; and I think that guy has his trail mapped out to at least be in the finals of the Ultimate Fighter. Either way, I'll be watching!
