SUNRISE, Fla. -- Life as a mixed martial artist will never be the same for Seth Petruzelli. What he accomplished last night at BankAtlantic Center will be remembered for many years.


Petruzelli became the first man to defeat Kimbo Slice in a sanctioned bout. A clipping right hand did the trick.

The victory by Petruzelli and the manner in which it occurred, highlighted a card that was coming apart at the seams hours before its start. But what Petruzelli accomplished made this one of the most exciting nights in MMA history.

And to think it almost did not happen.

Minutes before the doors opened and fans started pouring into the arena, Slice's original opponent, Ken Shamrock, was deemed unfit to fight. He sustained a nasty cut above his left eye during a practice session earlier in the day.

To his credit, Shamrock wanted the fight with Slice to go on. The two had sparred verbally for days and were eager to settle their differences. A shoving incident during the weigh-in served to intensify the situation.

But Florida State Athletic Commission officials refused to let Shamrock step in the cage. This sent ProElite representatives scrambling to save the card and, essentially, their league.

ProElite quickly turned to Petruzelli, who was scheduled to face Aaron Rosa in a non-televised light heavyweight bout. Petruzelli had fought as a heavyweight in the past and immediately seized the opportunity.

"It was an opportunity to step up," Petruzelli said. "It was something I wanted all my life."

Once Petruzelli became Shamrock's official replacement, the crowd of 9,414 was informed and instantly expressed its disapproval.

Who is this Petruzelli guy? Very few people, if any, in attendance knew who he was.

What the fans also did not know was that Petruzelli presented the greatest test of Slice's young MMA career. Petruzelli was younger, faster, stronger and he hit harder than the 44-year-old Shamrock.

More importantly, he was not a one-dimensional fighter. Petruzelli boasts good stand-up skills and above-average wrestling and jiu-jitsu moves.

He was better than Slice on the ground and comparable to him standing up. Petruzelli is the type of fighter Slice's handlers avoided -- until Saturday, at least.

"I'm definitely hungrier than Ken and I'm younger," said the 28-year-old Petruzelli, who improved to 10-4. "I have better jiu-jitsu on the ground. I represented a tougher fight for Kimbo, which makes him a man to step-up and do it."

ProElite had no choice; its future was at stake. The show needed to go on.

And Slice, despite his physical shortcomings in the cage, has a true fighter's mindset. He did not hesitate when Petruzelli was offered to him.

"[Slice] showed heart. He showed he is a true man and a true warrior," said Jeremy Lappen, head of fight operations for ProElite subsidiary EliteXC. "He stepped up on an hour's notice. It didn't go his way tonight, but he will be back and better than ever."

Slice never saw the punch. It was short and quick, similar to the one Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) delivered against Sonny Liston during their heavyweight rematch in May 1965.

Petruzelli's punch might not reverberate through American society like Ali's did, but it should have a significant impact on his future. He is no longer unknown to MMA followers.

And Petruzelli intends to capitalize on his newfound notoriety. He wants to prove he is no one-hit wonder. Immediately after pulling off the shocking win, he expressed a desire to fight Slice again.

He will try to convince ProElite that a rematch is a fight fans would embrace. But Petruzelli is quick to point out that he will be a much tougher opponent for Slice the second time around.

[+] EnlargeTom Casino/Showtim

Let's do it again: Seth Pertruzelli, left, embraces a rematch with Kimbo Slice.
"The style match-up was very good for me," Petruzelli said. "I do very well against boxers like him who are straight forward. I have a lot of wacky angles that people aren't used to.

"I cut about 30 pounds to fight Aaron Rosa; I wouldn't cut the weight next time. If I get the rematch I would train to take him down next time. I will train for a different type of fight the next time, for sure."

Petruzelli might not have a tough time persuading ProElite that a rematch is in order. Convincing Slice's management to do the same could prove more difficult.

Slice (3-1) was respectful toward his conqueror during the post-fight presser.

"Before tonight nobody knew who this guy was, now everybody knows who he is," Slice said. "I have nothing but good stuff to say about him.

"You beat me in front of my family, man, that's [messed] up. But it's all good. And I got the first black-eye of my life."

After making his remarks, Slice refused to take questions from reporters and quickly exited the arena. That is not the action of a fighter seeking to avenge a loss.

Maybe he realizes challenging the guy who handed him his first black-eye isn't a wise thing to do. On the other hand, Slice might be having a tough time absorbing his first professional setback.

After a couple of days, Slice might put it all in perspective and attempt to persuade ProElite that a rematch with Petruzelli is best for him and fight fans.

While promoting the Shamrock fight, Slice emphasized his improved ground skills and cardio. If Slice is confident in his abilities then he will seek a rematch against Petruzelli. Silence, however, might be a sign that Slice's run has finally come to an end.

(WAS THIS A FIX GONE WRONG?)


Petruzelli in center of Elite XC storm

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports 5 hours, 45 minutes ago

Related Coverage

* Elite XC VP denies allegations
* Iole: What is Kimbo's future?


Yahoo! Sports

Seth Petruzelli, after going from nobody to national celebrity for punching out Kimbo Slice, went on the radio Monday. He delivered a shot potentially more powerful than anything he threw Saturday.

He said his original plan against Kimbo was to get him to the ground and exploit his weak wrestling skills and submission defense. It made more sense than trading punches with a street brawler who outweighed him by 30 pounds. Petruzelli said he changed his mind though.

“The promoters kind of hinted to me, and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him,” he told “The Monsters in Orlando” radio show. “They didn’t want me to take him down, let’s just put it that way. It was worth my while to try to stand up and punch with him.”

The quote spoke of an attempt to if not rig the fight, then make it favorable for Slice, the main star and cash cow of the EliteXC promotion.

Such an action would be a disaster for mixed martial arts as it attempts to convince mainstream audiences it isn’t scripted pro wrestling or a farcical Toughman contest. If EliteXC gave Petruzelli money to fight one way, it would open itself to all sorts of investigations.

The allegation rocketed around the country, making bigger post-fight news than pictures of Petruzelli in drag (more on that later. Needless to say, it’s been a wild couple of days for him).

EliteXC’s Jared Shaw immediately denied the fixing charge to Yahoo! Sports and fellow executive Jeremy Lappen did the same to Sherdog.com.

Tuesday, Petruzelli said he got the story confused.

“What that meant was they offer a knockout bonus, submission bonuses, fight of the night bonuses,” Petruzelli said in a phone interview. “I think it just got misconstrued. I wanted to have an exciting fight and I wanted the knock out bonus so I wanted to keep it standing.”

So did they say anything about keeping the fight off the ground?

“They just said, ‘we want to see an exciting fight no matter what happens.’ I took it as I wanted the knockout bonus.”
ADVERTISEMENT

That explanation won’t appease some conspiracy theorists, if only because the original statement sounds more believable.

Then there is the general distrust of the organization, where the cards often seem more show than sport. Although the last two televised cards were mostly strong, memories remain of exploding cauliflower ears, silly introductions and using the popular but unproven Slice as a headliner.

Besides, it’s no secret Elite XC had a vested interest in Kimbo winning. Jared Shaw even charged the cage and screamed at the referee that Slice had been hit illegally. Shaw has since apologized for that reaction.

“He spent a lot of money to build up Kimbo,” Petruzelli said. “If I saw one of my guys I spent millions on getting his face pounded I’d get upset also.”

Then there’s CBS, which gave up any pretense of journalism in favor of unseemly propaganda.

The network previously embarrassed itself by comparing Kimbo to great sports figures such as Tiger Woods. This time, Gus Johnson’s declaration that Petruzelli’s triumph was “the most incredible victory in the history of mixed martial arts” was laughably ridiculous.

The worst was Johnson repeating the party line that Slice didn’t hesitate to switch opponents from an injured Ken Shamrock. That was simply a lie. Slice demanded a cash bonus on top of his $500,000 payout just to get in the cage with Petruzelli, according to Lappen.

“We made it up to him,” Lappen said.

For a stretch, the replacement wasn’t going to be Petruzelli but Frank Shamrock, Ken’s brother. Frank said Saturday he was even cleared by the Florida commission to fight. Lappen said he didn’t think that was true, although he did admit there were discussions with Frank.

CBS was certainly privy to that information since Frank was at the arena as its color commentator. It was never mentioned on the air though. Frank told Yahoo! Sports Saturday it was CBS officials who blocked him from taking on Slice.

When the broadcasts have no objectivity, perspective or news value and the promoters are openly rooting for one fighter and not the other, how can anyone believe anything these guys say or do?

For his part, Petruzelli said he wishes he hadn’t made the original comment. He swears no one from EliteXC has called him and pressured a retraction.

The entire thing has put a damper on his sudden surge of fame. That and the pictures on the internet of him in drag, of course.

“Man, people aren’t going to let those down, are they?” he said. “Everything in costumes was (for) Halloween. I always dress in crazy stuff. All the leather and that sort of stuff, it’s all done in fun.

“I want to put that to rest right now. I’m officially 100 percent not gay,” he said. “I’ve been happily married for two years and been with her for five years.”

He laughed at the entire speculation. He laughed at a lot of things Tuesday. And who can blame him? Last week he was a part-time fighter who was competing on the non-televised undercard for a four-figure payout. His main job was owner of a Smoothie King stand.

Now he’s an overnight celebrity after 4.59 million people watched him TKO Kimbo.

He just wishes he could do it again. He’s begging for a rematch and the big payout it would bring.

“But I don’t think he was receptive to that,” Petruzelli said. “Kimbo doesn’t want the rematch. He wants no part of that.”

He said that dropping Slice with a single short right despite leaning back on one foot was no fluke and he can do it again.

While Kimbo had a reputation for taking punches from his YouTube videos – he often let guys take free shots that didn’t faze him – Petruzelli said there’s a big difference between a professional fighter and those dudes.

“The thing is, they are arm-punching,” Petruzelli said. “It’s like little flicks with their arms. There’s no weight behind it, there’s no turning of the hips. It’s how you throw it and where you throw it.

“If we fight again, the same thing will happen.”

EliteXC should make it happen. Only this time demand its executives stay seated and its broadcast partner at least attempt professionalism.

Everyone could use the dose of credibility.

sh*t happens.

Kimbo need to sit his old azz down somewhere. you can't teach a street fighting fool to be a trained artist.
he need to sit his azz down and stop letting these white folks make money off his stupid azz.
every time he EVER fought someone real he lost. and by TKO. EVEN IN HIS STREET FIGHTS.

lmao@tanzie


post some evidence until then



"we dont believe you u need more people"

word @ #4

mister dean dont count as more people



i went on youtube to checc if i could find out any truth to your allegations and i seen him get knoccd down 1 time in about 45 minutes of footage.


he then piccd the guy up and demolished him, that dude was like 6'8'' 338

is that when the dude hit him when he was down and kimbo got mad?

yea rumor that is it


he had a yellow bandana on or something like that, big dude with loccs

honestly, tho...i don't understand how that shot to his grill put him down like that...it looked like just a jab...not even that stiff. at first i thought it was the straight kick to his thigh that threw him off balance from the first camera angle, which i couldn't understand why he didn't bounce right back up. but the second camera angle shows it's jab to the chin. i aint understand how he was stunned by it...maybe it was stiffer than it looked. but, i've seen where kimbo actually let his opponent hit him in the face...where he'd say, "go ahead, hit me." but, i don't think you can fake that his loss. he was dropped and couldn't recover. maybe a glass jaw can develop over time...

@rumor and anyone how doesn't know

It only take around 5lbs of pressure on the chin to knock someone out. When you see a punch coming your body has a chance to brace itself which can limit the damage you would take if you didn't see it. When you don't see a punch coming you won't be able to brace yourself it will will be a surprise and thats when most ppl get knocked out or hurt.

Watch any boxing mma highlights of ppl getting knocked out replay it and review its about 90+% of the punch they didn't see that got them. Kimbo didn't see that punch the kick was a distraction and Kimbo was coming in giving that punch more power + he didn't see it and thats why he got stunned.

Thats why this is shocking to many because it was such a bitch ass looking punch.

ahhh, New, i was actually was a mixed martial arts fighter before it was vogue...before there were weight classes. my specialty was Ninjitsu. But, i've fought many different styles: jeet koondo, mui thai, kempo, jutjitsu, etc...hell, i've been knocked out...a couple of times.

and you're right about the small amount of pressure it takes to knock someone out on the chin. but, that's when you are totally unaware...usually a sucker punch. but, kimbo was in a ring! he was tense and ready and charging. the reason only a few pounds on the chin can knock a person out is the head snaps back/forward/or to the side shorting out nerves at the base of the neck and skull. and this fact is based on an average person. have seen kimbo's neck? ...lol. and really, most jab produce more than 25 pounds of pressure. and many hit the chin. yet, few boxers are knocked out by a jab.

my point is, this had to be a absolutely perfectly placed punch, given kimbo's body and awareness. or he is developing a glass jaw, which happens when you've been hit often. yet, i'm still surprised it happened...even given my fighting experience. and it appears many experienced fighters were as well.

it shocked the hell out of me until I seen the replay about two times and they slowed it down and showed the angles. That punch landed smack dab on the tip of his chin and he wasnt expecting that.

He keeps his chin low in his fights to avoid from catching shot like that so Im sure he huuilt a comfort for not catching random shots on the chin, especially when he punches because ppl are suppose to be running or blocking when he punches not punching back (in his mind). He got hit perfectly with a bitch ass punch. It set up the onslaught and slowed him down enough to catch the rest of that ass whooping

but most don't know that a 1 2 combo needs that 1 before the 2. The one makes you blink and it is during that blink that the 2 is suppose to land abd that what hurts you, the one you dont see and cant brace for

There is an old saying "Don't fall in love with any fighter because they will break your heart"
That is historical

I WATCHED THIS SATURDAY & BOY WAS THAT THE FASTEST T.K.O. I HAVE WITNESSED BESIDES MY OWN FIGHTS!!!





KIMBO GOT TREATED AND LAID THE f**k OUT!

THEN WAS LOOKIN DUMB-FOUNDED!!!

"WE STILL GONNA HAVE THE PARTY"

GTFOH!!!!

i think it hit his eye didnt it


liek right near the temple

Nigga just got caught.
Happens to the best..and worst of them lol
He just didn't see the punch..dude was throwing a knee and he just got caught. Ran right into the punch

heavyweight got knocked da f**k out by a light heavyweight.

LMAO @ 9th!!!!


HE FELL SO QUICK I THOUGHT IT WAS UNREAL!!


WASN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO FIGHT THAT SHRIMP W/ PINK HAIR!

I was mad that Shamrock didn't fight..
Then this no name dude thats fighting out his weight class gonna fight him.
Fight was over by the time you could say What the f**k!
lol

That says alot about his chin and viability as a real MMA fighter.

You could tell he was dazed and it was real when dude was on top of him and his arms was straight out as he was giving him da bizness.

aint no taking no dive..he just mopped up.