This past weekend’s Bellator 138 main event between Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock has received its fair share of controversy — from fans just not liking the idea of a 51-year-old taking on a 41-year-old to some fans saying that the finish of the fight — which was Ken Shamrock getting knocked out — was staged because Bellator wanted Kimbo Slice to win the fight to maintain his status as a major draw. However, even though the fight and the finish of the fight have gotten criticized, it also drew a lot of attention, which is Bellator’s goal.
Bellator is attempting to build their brand with fighters who have big names even if they’re well past their prime, which is what we saw this past Saturday night. This is similar to what we’ve seen from Bellator in the past, as they’ve had a Stephan Bonner vs. Tito Ortiz fight main event a card.
Now, it appears that they’re going to go for another “freak-show” fight at some point later this year involving the man who came out victorious on Saturday night, Kimbo Slice.
After Bellator 138 came to a close, MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas interviewed former NFL running back and 2-0 MMA fighter Herschel Walker, who expressed his interest in fighting again.
“I still fight, I’m still training every day, so if the occasion comes, I’ll step back in there and fight. It’s just an idea, and I’m still training, and I can fight. I think the gym knows I can fight, because I’m in a great gym at AKA. If I need to fight I will, if I don’t I’m happy because… You know, I love to see guys who become my teammates… I love to see them excel.”
Walker, who says he still trains every day, is 53-years-old and hasn’t had a fight since he defeated Scott Carson via TKO in the first round in January of 2011. Walker says he’s maintained a good relationship with Bellator President Scott Coker, who was the CEO of Strikeforce when Walker fought for the promotion.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer said during the Observer’s post-Bellator 138 coverage that Scott Coker may be looking to book Kimbo Slice vs. Herschel Walker at some point this year. There was some speculation that Coker may match Kimbo up with Bobby Lashley, who had a dominant victory at Bellator 138. However, the feeling is that Lashley would crush Kimbo. Bellator doesn’t want that to happen, so they’ll continue feeding Kimbo guys that he can beat.
[Image via Robert Laberge / Getty Images ]
