2. EliteXC
How EliteXC handled their fight promotion still, almost 8 years after they went out of business, infuriates fight fans.
While the promotion had numerous big name, marketable fighters such as KJ Noons, Jake Shields, Gina Carano, Cyborg and yet they put all of their eggs into the Kimbo Slice basket.
Slice, who had already achieved fame as a YouTube street fighter, won his first 3 fights, including his 2nd ever fight against Tank Abbott, and a fight over James Thompson that almost saw Thompson’s ear get ripped off.
The problem was that Kimbo was never really that good. He could throw punches, but at no point in his career was Kimbo ever a legit challenger to a well-rounded mixed martial artist in his weight division.
When Ken Shamrock pulled out of their planned bout at the infamous EliteXC: Heat event, former TUF competitor Seth Petruzelli stepped in. Petruzelli knocked Slice out as the commentators shouted “Rocky!!” as if Seth had just toppled some unbeatable giant.
A hungover Petruzelli admitted on a radio show the next morning that EliteXC officials offered him a bonus to keep the fight standing, an investigation was launched, EliteXC filed for bankruptcy and so ended the least respectable mixed martial arts organization of all time.
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