In the pre-fight banter heading into their bout for  this coming weekend’s UFC 99, welterweights Dan Hardy and Marcus Davis have not been shy in sharing their dislike for the other, so much so in fact, the two are making a strong case for the promotion’s prestigious ‘feud of the month’ title.

The whole schmaz started when Hardy referred to Davis as a “plastic Irish man”, a comment which, due to the former pro-boxer’s Irish ancestry, gave birth to the UFC’s latest ‘this isn’t hype, this is real’ Octagon soap opera. In the UFC 99 promotion trailers, Davis has professed his intense hatred for Hardy, so much so, that the British fighter apparently believes that his pre-fight rhetoric could be getting to the welterweight. In an interview with Setanta sports, (thanks to MMABay for the heads up) Hardy was quoted saying:

 I think he’s already broken. He’s gonna need a couple of weeks with Dr Phil after this fight.

He seems to be struggling with the build-up, especially for somebody of his experience. He’s 36, he’s had over 100 fights so you would think he would be able to handle this stuff a little better.

Now, questioning whether or not Davis should celebrate his ancestry in the fashion that he does is one thing, but bringing Dr. Phil into the equation is an entirely other, far, far, far more offensive matter….How would Hardy like it if Davis said that the Brit would have to appear on the Rachael Ray show? Or even worse The View?

Unfortunately betting lines do not include odds as to whether or not after the fight ‘bitter rivals’ will in fact hug and make-up. None will soon forget the olive branch ceremony that Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz had after their third bout, where after Ortiz once again pummeled his arch-nemesis, (in a bout that was less competitive than a Globetrotter’s game) the two were quick to share a tear jerking moment of peace and tranquility.

Will the same thing happen between Davis and Hardy Saturday? Probably. Will it be a good fight? Probably.

To bet on UFC 99 go here.

Seriously wtf happened? 14 seconds? All this Kimbo hype for 14 seconds?

Sure, hats off to both ex-UFC’er Petruzelli (11-4) and Slice (3-1) for agreeing to fight each other last minute, as Ken Shamrock had to bail out due to a cut he suffered above his eye while training earlier in the day.

But 14 seconds? Seriously. Wtf Kimbo.

In related EliteXC news, Gina Carano not only won her fight, but came out in the audience later looking not only like she didn’t even fight but also looking passable for a date. Who is she, Wonder Woman?

Andrei Arlovski knocked out former Krispy Kreme donut competitive eating champion IFL title-holder Roy Nelson, and Jake Shields defeated Paul Daley.

If you have 14 free seconds watch the Kimbo fight below.

Kimbo Slice KO’d by Seth Petruzelli
 

11:00PM - Kimbo looks a little out of sorts before coming out to the cage. Or maybe that’s just how he always looks.

11:02PM – Here’s what we know about Petruzelli from the other fights we’ve seen him in:

11:03PM – So Petruzelli is an ex-UFC’er. We think this could be bad news for Kimbo. Then again, he’s knocked some tough looking dudes the fuck out. Then again, many of those dudes were bums who probably would blow a dude for crack. And then again again, Kimbo couldn’t even knock David Blaine out, and he’s a faggy magician. That’s never a good sign.

11:05PM – All right, fight is about to start!

11:06PM – Ding! Here we go!

11:06PM and 14 seconds - Really? 

11:07PM - No seriously. Really? All that hype and…really?

11:08PM – Never live blogging again…

Ken Shamrock is old. The dude is 44. But unlike Randy Couture, he hasn’t aged very well. Dude has been knocked out in his last five fights. His last victory coming in 2004 against a guy named Kimo. Who? Exactly.

Three of Shamrock’s beat downs came by the hands of fellow washed up UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz. Face it, Shamrock is way past his prime. We don’t doubt he has a ton of heart…but heart alone can’t knock someone the fuck out.  

When breaking this fight down the thing that jumps out most at us is the weight difference. Shamrock isn’t a true heavyweight and when he gets inside the ring against Kimbo Slice he is probably going to be outweighed by 40 or 50 pounds.

Believe what you want but that makes a huge difference. Look back at all of Ken’s previous fights and he has never been in the ring with a guy anywhere as big as Kimbo. Yeah, he still has all the skill set to submit Kimbo, but Ken may not have the strength to take Kimbo to the ground to pull it off. If this fight makes it to the ground you have to like Ken’s chances of pulling off a submission. But that’s a big if. Kimbo is going to be pushing forward forcing this fight to stay standing and avoiding the ground at all causes.

Most of the Kimbo haters think he is just a street fighter who wants to brawl. What the haters don’t realize is that Kimbo’s punches are very fast and powerful and would probably give most low-to-mid-level MMA fighters problems. This is a big strong dude who throws bombs from every direction. If one of those bombs connects you can bet Shamrock is going to hit the ground fast.

We all know that Kimbo is not a very well rounded fighter yet, but he only has three fights under his belt. Give him a fucking break. It’s no secret that Bas Rutten has been working him to death on his overall ground game; including his BJJ, submissions, ground and pound, and ground defense. Look for Kimbo to show great improvement on his sprawl, which will force Ken to abandon his takedown attempts and force him to stand with Kimbo.

And here is a fun fact. Ken Shamrock’s last submission victory was almost seven years ago against Sam Adkins at WMMAA 1 – Megafights in 2001.

At first glance we thought that there might be some good value betting on Ken Shamrock (like most people seem to doing). But the lbs advantage and pure power of Kimbo, when weighed against Shamrock’s age, diminishing skills, and his recent fight history, gives us no choice but to go with Slice.

Only two ways this fight can end. Either Kimbo by KO, or Shamrock by submission. That’s it. This is the classic lesser of two evils pick. Were not really putting our good money on Kimbo as much as we are betting against the fighter formerly known as Ken Shamrock.

Bet Kimbo at -325. We’re throwing down $750 to win $230.

Bet on Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock

Here’s some more news from around the MMA blogsphere:

• Ken Shamrock is not only going to beat Kimbo Slice, but he is going to break his leg [Sherdog]
• Jon Koppenhaver had first dibs on the name “War Machine” not the WWE [mmamania]
• Since Rampage is part werewolf he felt Wolfslair Academy was a natural fit [Cage Potato]
• Affliction is targeting none other than the Nascar faithful [Red Sweat]