MMA Fighter Claims EliteXC Told Him To Fight Kimbo Standing Up

EliteXC Denies It Paid Petruzelli To Fight Slice Standing Up

TAKE DOWN: UFC President Dana White said of Petruzelli's comments, "It disgusts me. I’ve been busting my (expletive) for 10 years flying all over the planet to show everybody what a great sport this is and what amazing people are involved in it. Then CBS throws this guy who fights at people’s barbecues on the main event because they’re trying to compete with us, and he gets knocked out in (14) seconds by a guy who didn’t win ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and couldn’t fight in the UFC. Then the guy turns around the next day and says, ‘The promoters actually paid me to not go to the ground with this guy. They paid me to stand up,’ which I’m pretty sure is illegal.” White added Slice "is a joke. It was bound to happen. These guys have lost $60[M] trying to get this thing off the ground. They’re building their promotion around a guy who can’t fight. It’s kind of (expletive) stupid, isn’t it? You’re in the fight business and you’re building your business around a guy who can’t fight" (BOSTON HERALD, 10/9).

SLICED UP: In Miami, Armando Salguero writes under the header, "Anyway You Slice It, EliteXC Event Was A Sham." EliteXC with Saturday's event "showed itself incapable of putting on a legitimate sporting event, particularly when the main event ended in 14 seconds." The fight card was "no more interesting than a car wreck" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/9). In Oakland, Monte Poole writes after Saturday's fight, fans "all know Kimbo is a hoax with a heartbeat, as fraudulent as an Internet pitch to make you a hard-bodied billionaire in two days." For CBS execs, "seeing Slice exposed by a light-heavyweight who couldn't cut it with MMA market leader UFC was a kick to the groin of the integrity of the sport." And for EliteXC, "who dream of wider acceptance, this was equal parts embarrassment and nightmare" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 10/9).

Print This Article