Fluke Head Butt Sidelines Shamrock, Stops Kimbo and Smashes Promotion’s Hopes

Those worried about the health of aging Mixed Martial Arts legend Ken Shamrock leading into his bout against Internet legend, Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson were given cause for relief when in a strange twist of fate, Shamrock was forced to withdraw due to an accidental head butt received in training.

Shamrock appeared at the Elite XC weigh-in Friday October 3rd in good health and even instigated a bit of drama by shoving Kimbo from behind when Slice had the audacity to turn his back on the MMA veteran.

Sometime between the weigh-in shenanigans and the match scheduled to air live on CBS Saturday October 4th, Shamrock, one half of the headlining heavyweight bout suffered a head butt while training.  As a result of the injury which required six stitches, the Florida Athletic Commission refused to allow Shamrock to compete.

Seth Petruzelli an Alumnus of the UFC’s reality TV show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ who had originally been scheduled to fight on the Elite XC undercard stepped up to replace the injured Shamrock.

Though 0-2 in his UFC fights Petruzelli needed only 14 seconds to put an end to Kimbo Slice’s three-fight undefeated streak.  Petruzelli’s lightning win seems to support arguments made by Kimbo’s critics who have repeatedly stated that the notorious street fighter has no business headlining a Mixed Martial Arts event.  One can only imagine the UFC’s President Dana White chuckling with glee at the outcome of this main event.

While the loss is certainly a set back for MMA newcomer Slice it is Pro Elite, Elite XC’s parent company that will likely be feeling the pain as the organization has banked heavily on Slice’s popularity and sought to build him as it’s heavyweight star.

In other fights, Elite XC welter weight champ Jake Shields 22-4-1 once again proved his mettle by finishing capable challenger Paul Daley 18-7-2 with a second round arm bar submission.

Former UFC champion Andre Arlovski 14-5-0 was surprised early by a game Roy Nelson 13-3-0 who pushed the talented Belorussian hard throughout the first round.  In the second Nelson continued coming forward weathering a barrage of Arlovski strikes before finally succumbing to a devastating punch combination just after the three minute mark.

Undefeated Gina Carano, raised her record to 7-0 with a unanimous decision win over Kelly Kobold.  Carano’s superior reach seemed to be too much for the very scrappy and competitive challenger.

In an exciting match-up Benji ‘Razor’ Radach 19-4 faced a very aggressive Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua 16-9-1.  The Brazilian pushed the pace as the two entered the second round until a slip put him on his back.  Radach, wasting no time, pounced on his fallen opponent forcing a referee stoppage due to strikes.

In all, Elite XC’s main card proved to be solid with strong performances offered by most of the competitors.  Despite the excitement of the event however it remains to be seen whether Pro Elite which has been suffering financial hardships, can survive the in-ring destruction of its most marketable fighter Kimbo Slice.