Slice vs Shamrock Bigger than Arlovski vs Barnett?

Over at MMA Fanhouse, Michael David Smith talks about the problem that presents itself in this sport.  The basis of the post was that the Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock fight is bigger than the Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett fight.

Obviously, hard-core MMA fans know that Kimbo vs. Shamrock (the EliteXC October 4 main event) is nowhere near as good a fight as Arlovski vs. Barnett (the Afflcition October 11 main event). But right now, that message hasn’t gotten through to everyone. With EliteXC on network television and Affliction on pay-per-view, it’s not really an apples-to-apples comparison, but in the eyes of the average man on the street, Kimbo-Shamrock is the bigger fight.

I agree and disagree Michael.  We’ve seen Arlovski vs Barnett already.  In regards to who is the more talented fighters, yes Arlovski and Barnett take it hands down.  The other factor is they’re not on the same night.  If the fights were on the same night, I could see this posing a problem.  But because they are a week apart, I don’t think it plays as much of a problem.

The reason Kimbo vs Ken is a bigger draw is because Kimbo hasn’t lost yet and Ken is a big name in MMA.  Elite XC’s crowd draw isn’t die hard MMA fans and they are catering to their audience.  They know their viewers aren’t the hard core fans and know what the average MMA fan will want to see and those are big names.

Last 3 posts by Mat Houchens

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