I won’t be as critical of Kevin Iole at Yahoo! Sports as many other writers have been in the past, but I’ve wholeheartedly agreed with nearly every single posting I’ve seen on Iole from time to time. He’s been blamed for being a troll in the UFC’s hype machine, a “nuthugger”, and teacher’s pet to Dana White, and for the most part, his writing on the UFC would definitely lead me to believe those claims. People also state he isn’t a real MMA fan or historian, and the list goes on at the number of insults I’ve heard in regular conversation with hardcore MMA fans. I don’t mind his writing, and I’m by far not the best writer in the blogosphere or in any sphere, but I can critique one opinion that he mentions in his mailbag regarding the CBS/EliteXC fight in May:

Question: I feel EliteXC is doing MMA a huge disservice by putting Kimbo Slice as the main event on such an important card. I am a huge Kimbo fan but, lets face it, he is still more of a spectacle at this point in his MMA career. Why not legitimize our sport by featuring a championship bout between two thriving middleweights, Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith? Both men have appeared on UFC cards in the past, both are legitimate MMA fighters, and both appear to be just as marketable to the general public as Kimbo. What’s your take?

Iole: I don’t have a problem putting Kimbo on the card, but I find it horrible he’s in the main event against James Thompson. How CBS would accept Thompson as the opponent in a main event is beyond me. The guy has lost two in a row and six of his last eight. It’s a disgrace that a guy with a record like that would be put into a main event of such a significant card in the sport’s history.

I find it unbelievably ignorant that Iole can’t see why James Thompson is fighting Kimbo Slice as the main event on this card. Yeah, it’s a crap fight to have as a main event when you think of it in terms of quality, but in terms of entertainment, Kimbo Slice is guaranteed to “tee off” on James Thompson’s world famous weak chin. Even if we look at the opposite outcome, James Thompson isn’t going in the cage to submit Kimbo via heel hook or gogoplata. He’ll also be looking for the big knockout. Thompson is also known for his exciting opening round charges that have grabbed the attention of fans everywhere.

Sure, Smith vs. Lawler is the quality matchup we as hardcore fans all want to see, but there is one concept here that many writers are ignorant when analyzing the fanbase. The fanbase isn’t you. If you are writing about MMA on a daily basis, the majority of fans out there have nowhere near the knowledge that you have when talking about these fights. Do you want to see the fanbase that EliteXC is trying to pull in?

Go to a bar on a Friday night in a college town. Sure, fans will watch the fights and likely see a great fight between Smith and Lawler, but if Kimbo flatlines Thompson in the opening :30 seconds of the fight, those same fans sitting at that bar will be talking about that fight the next day and maybe even the next month.

Entertainment will grab viewers’ attention, and a fantastic knockout by Kimbo Slice will only up his drawing power and captivate casual fans to want to see him again. I’m not sure how people don’t “get it”.

Yesterday was an exciting day for MMA fans everywhere. Tim Sylvia had reportedly signed on to fight PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko on July 19 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, but reports are now coming out of Russia that contradict the previous report from Sherdog’s Greg Savage… big surprise. Fedor’s manager, Vadim Finkelstein, states on the M-1 Mixfight website:

“At the moment we can’t certainly say the bout will take place come July because the contract is not signed,” Finkelstein is quoted as saying on the website M1Mixfight.com. “However, the both parties are involved in the negotiation process and we are about to break the finishing tape although we haven’t come to an agreement concerning every detail as of yet”

Great, some more obstacles to bull through in order to make this fight happen is exactly what made other fights disintegrate. The quote makes it sound as if they are close to a deal which begs the question as to how much money was thrown Fedor’s way. I highly doubt they gave him the $2 million dollar contract, but it could have been close. Hopefully we will see this deal come through.

Kimbo vs. Thompson to be announced this week

Moving to the other end of the spectrum of quality matchups, Kimbo Slice will officially be announced to take on James Thompson later this week according to NBCSports.com. Sam Caplan reported recently that Thompson was the frontrunner to take on the street brawling Kimbo, and it’s definitely a smart move for EliteXC to feature this fight on CBS.

It may not be a quality matchup, but it will give the viewership tuning in a sense of what Kimbo does… knock people out! Thompson possesses one of the weakest chins in the MMA game today, and the light switch flips off once he gets tagged by a couple blows from most of his opponents. His matchup with Kimbo should be no different, but you never know what to expect from Thompson.

Kendall Grove vs. Evan Tanner

Evan confirmed on his website that he will in fact be taking on TUF winner Kendall Grove over the summer. On paper, the matchup is intriguing because Tanner’s history and quality of opponents far outweighs Grove’s record. Grove has been weak chinned in his recent fights, but he still possesses some range, a large reach, and a formidable height for him to use in all facets of the fight. 

I think this fight comes down to Evan Tanner’s abilities to pound out Grove. Can he get through the length of Grove? If so, he could easily expose Grove’s chin to a crushing blow to end it. Regardless of my assessment, it should still be a tough fight to call at this point. We’ll see how Evan does with the training.

Burkman vs. Hazelett confirmed for June 21

Josh Burkman will reportedly take on Dustin Hazelett in June according to MMAWeekly.com. I’m not high on Josh Burkman’s style of fighting, but he could spell trouble for Hazelett if he can maintain top control on the ground without getting submitted. Hazelett is a very slick grappler, one of the better grapplers in the UFC, and he has smooth transitions from guard to a submission position. I’ve been impressed by his jiu-jitsu skills, and I don’t see a reason why he can’t win this one. The only real threat is Burkman’s strikes, which are looping, slow, and very easy to spot.

Ben Saunders vs. Jared Rollins at UFC 86

Looks like the UFC is rewarding Rollins for a great fight against Koppenhaver with matchup in the Octagon. Saunders has some abilities to avoid the ground and pound, and his length will definitely cause some problems for Rollins. Also, Saunders is training out of American Top Team, which will likely increase his skills substantially by the time we see him at UFC 86.

Kimbo Slice vs. Tank Abbott

Let's get down to the nitty gritty of this matchup from the get go without delving into the potential of Kimbo Slice. Right now as it stands, Kimbo possesses one skill that will win his this battle of two very similar styled fighters... his standup. Both fighters will come in wanting to put the other man down, but Kimbo does possess some type of submission game that is always in the mix when he fights. He put Ray Mercer down to the floor and submitted him with relative ease to nullify the one skill that he had. Will Kimbo do the same to Tank?

There's potential there for it, but I imagine Kimbo will strike a bit with Tank. Tank's power will be formidable, but does he have the technical prowess to put Kimbo down? I doubt it. Tank looks out of shape in his training photos over the past few days, and his cardio is always terrible. Add in the fact that he's been fairly weak chinned, relatively inactive for most of the year, and the fact that Kimbo actually has Bas Rutten helping him train. I have to go with Kimbo here.

Leland's Prediction: Kimbo Slice via TKO, Round 1

Scott Smith vs. Kyle Noke

This should actually be a pretty damn good fight for the promotion. Smith brings a 12-5 record into EliteXC with some UFC experience that can be summed up in his win over Pete Sell. If you don't remember, Sell damaged Smith badly with a gut shot, moved in for the kill, and then Smith unleashed a punch from hell that put Sell out cold. Other than that fight, he wasn't successful in the UFC with losses to David Terrell, Patrick Cote, and Ed Herman, although those opponents are rather tough for power striker like Smith. He'll come into this fight looking to punch his way to victory, and he definitely has the capacity of skills to beat Noke.

Noke is an up-and-comer in the MMA scene even though his 14-3-1 record would likely give you a different sense of his career. One of the only Australians to be successful so far in his career, Noke is looking to extend his wins and begin proving that he can hang with mid-echelon talent. Smith is a perfect test. Noke is well-rounded with a good ground game and some power in his hands, although he has managed to prove that he doesn't haven't the finishing power of many other Middleweight counterparts. The big question in this fight is whether Smith can defend the submission against Noke's wrestling ability. Smith's weakness is the ground, and Noke is definitely skilled enough to give Smith a run for his money. I can't jump on the Aussie MMA train just yet.

Leland's Prediction: Scott Smith via TKO, Round 2

James Berto vs. Yves Edwards

I'm not sold on Berto. His record looks great, but the level of competition that he has beaten isn't at all as impressive as you would think. He's went to decision against some guys he should have finished, and his main weapon seems to be the ground game, specifically the heel hook. Yves isn't about to be submitted by the heel hook, and his game is much more well-rounded. He's also recently switched camps and now trains with American Top Team, a great move to get back to his winning ways.

Leland's Prediction: Yves Edwards via submission, Round 2

James Thompson vs. Brett Rogers

I won't delve too much into this one. "The Colossus" is exactly that, a huge, strong striker who is mainly known for his bull charges at the beginning of the fight that are reminiscent of Bald Bull. He's fairly weak chinned, and subpar opponents have taken advantage of it. "Butterbean" Eric Esch and Neil Grove both knocked out Thompson in recent fights.

That being said... Rogers might be a good bet here. He's coming into the bout at 5-0 and has shown some big power in all of his fights. A weak chinned Thompson may fall victim once again to the big hands of lesser known striker. I'm picking Rogers here for one reason alone. Thompson hasn't shown us anything that indicates he's a changed fighter. He's still one dimensional, reckless, and only has big sloppy punches that have the potential to wreck someone. Rogers should put him to the floor immediately and punch him out.

Leland's Prediction: Brett Rogers via TKO, Round 1

Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Silva

I'm actually looking forward to seeing this fight. It's a step in the progression of Ricco's recent statements regarding his weight, and it'll be interesting to see what he will be able to do here. Although I imagine he will loom in the upper limit of the weight class due to Silva's size, but will he have his skills back to take on Antonio?

Silva has some heavy hands and is very quick for a big guy. Specifically, his knees are dangerous in the clinch, and he uses them often. It'll be up to Ricco to take this to the floor if he wants to have a chance at winning this one. Ricco's traverse back to the top may have hit a roadblock with this fight.

Leland's Prediction: Antonio Silva via TKO, Round 2

Rest of the card
Rafael Feijao vs. John Doyle: I'll take Feijao in this one. He has some great power in his hands, and should be able to dispatch of Doyle rather quickly. Feijao via TKO, Round 1

Mario Rinaldi vs. Dave Herman: Herman is my pick here. Rinaldi hasn't shown a strong skillset against some tougher opponents earlier this year, and his weight slows him down quite a bit when he balloons over 265 after the weigh-ins. It could be tough for Herman to deal with it, but he has huge power in his hands. Herman via TKO/KO, Round 1

Jon Kirk vs. Yosmany Cabaezas: Kirk should take this. His submission game is much better, and Cabezas is only 3-0 in his career right now. Kirk's experience will most likely play a factor as well. Kirk via submission, Round 2

Eric Bradley vs. Mikey Gomez: Gomez has a vast amount of experience on Eric Bradley, and his submission game should be his key to success. This is Bradley's third professional fight, and Gomez won't be an easy task. Gomez via submission, Round 1

Mike Bernhard vs. Lorenzo Borgomeo: Pick 'em - Borgomeo via submission, Round 1