Kimb-rock – Aldo – Injury – Money

I’m not a ratings guy but apparently Bellator 138 hit it out of the park. Rare solid undercard followed up by 92 years worth of men who haven’t fought in a combined 10 years and had a questionable history and circumstances leading into the bout.

The result. What could you really expect? It looked suspect. A come from behind win from the guy with a 4-2 win loss record. The elephant in the room. Was the fight fixed? For starters that would be a federal crime. Google Bobby Mitchell and read how Richie Melito’s career backfired in bouts he would have won anyways. Who really knows. Two people can keep a secret if one is dead. There was no reason in plain site to fix it.

No push for guys over 40 and one who never had a prime. I don’t know a sportsbook on the planet that needed Shamrock to win. Everyone had him and it almost cashed.

My questions. Being old make you dumb? If this was 2002, 2006, or any of the years Ken Shamrock fought Tito Ortiz, would Ken have used strikes when he had Kimbo’s back before sinking in the choke? I would say yes. He has genuine dislike for Tito. Well he didn’t here . Hindsight. He lost. Turn the page.

Next.
Jose Aldo potentially injuring a rib prior to arguably the largest and most appealing UFC bout in years. Ribs hurt. People get injured. Bad timing. Aweful timing. Should he fight hurt? Manny Pacquiao took heat not so much for fighting Floyd Mayweather injured, but for making excuses after getting schooled.

I commend Aldo for disclosing the injury prior to the bout if it’s legit and not just discomfort. Fighters fight injured. He’ll be leaving chips on the table. The UFC has so much invested in the challenger and this bout puts the UFC in a tough spot because you don’t want to get him beat in a ‘tune up’ or interim title bout. Not to mention the Irishman vs the Brazilian with the gangster mystique really appeals to viewers on both sides. Conor McGregor has people buying the PPV to see him win and people buying to see him lose.

A page out of Floyd Mayweather’s book. Brilliant. As a fan, I’d wait. No in between bouts to risk an epic bout that truly is going to be a global event but the UFC has guys way beyond my pay grade with pencil to paper right now and likely extra money on the table to make this happen if physically possible. Why always unfortunate news in my blogs. It’s about solutions to problems. It’s early still. Things can change. Who ever fixes this problem is due for a raise if they can pull it off. Hindsight will be 100% but if they do fight lets learn from Freddie Roaches mistakes. Don’t make excuses like Manny did.Only Jose Aldo knows how injured he is as did Manny.

Guys have different tolerances to pain.I for one don’t want to find any late replacement that Conor doesn’twalk in as an 8 to 1 odds type favorite to take Aldo’s place simply because I wouldn’t want to risk him getting upset at the hands of an Edgar or Mendez type.

Happens all the time in boxing.
Zab Judah vs Carlos Baldomir pre Mayweather always comes to mind.