Kimbo Slice: the new Tank Abbott

I havent written in this blog in forever, mostly because although I've been watching UFC, between the Demian Maia loss, and generally lackluster cards, I haven't really had anything to write about. I was talking to the doctor and P this weekend, and got to thinking about Kimbo's place in MMA.

I can point to a few holes in his game, and one big mental error that cost him the fight with Roy Nelson. That having been said, I like Kimbo. He seems pretty engaging, and anyone with knockout power can be fun to watch. I think the problems in his game are correctable, and he definately looks like the most marketable of the TUF competitors.

First of all, his loss to Roy Nelson (the nail in the coffin as it were), came as a result of him throwing a knee shot in the 2nd round. He actually seemed to have Nelson on his heels, and Kimbo was striking effectively. When he threw the knee shot, he off-balanced himself, became easy to take down, and once on the ground, was easy pickings for Nelson and as Rampage put it "his bellay". Now, while I disagree with a TKO due to nuggies, the best defense for that is to not be in that position in the first place. If you are facing a grappler, don't let them take you down, it's not that hard.

One fighter who has excellent takedown defense is Chuck Liddell. Most people don't know that Liddell was a very good wrestler in college. If you look at Liddell's fighting style, it would give an excellent blueprint for Kimbo to follow. Liddell rarely kicks, and I can't remember him ever throwing a head kick. I love head kicks, but unless you have really good leg flexibility and are comfortable on the ground, they should be avoided in general. Even great kickers like Mirco Cro cop dont throw kicks higher than waist level with any regularity. I'm not saying don't kick. I thought when Kimbo threw and outside leg kick, it was a solid strategy. The other part of solid takedown defense is keeping a low, wide base. Liddell has knockout power in his hands, so does Kimbo. By keeping a low, wide base, you don't lose punching power, but you make yourself much harder to take down. It's not impossible, world class wrestlers or Judoka will be able to get a takedown on just about anyone. Narrowing your base with ineffective offense just plays into their hands.

The holes in Kimbo's game (besides takedown defense) are wrestling and his ground game. Those are very fixable with work. Will he ever be able to beat Brock Lesnar? I don't think so. However, I think with work, Kimbo will be a solid midcard heavyweight, that people will like to watch fight. In effect, he is Tank Abbott.