By Robert Rousseau
In a recent interview with this writer, Brett "The Grim" Rogers said the following regarding the Kimbo Slice's performance against James Thompson at EliteXC's inaugural Saturday Night of Fights.
"One thing that really ticked me off, he (Slice) lied about the tapping issue (in the James Thompson fight). I know for a fact he did (tap) and he said he didn't. So, I may have to show it to the world. You know- yeah, Kimbo does tap."
In fact, the war of words almost transitioned to a fight at a press conference. But the bottom line on all of this is the following: Kimbo Slice vs. Brett Rogers should happen.
Kimbo Slice vs. Brett Rogers in EliteXC
Here's what we know about Kimbo Slice. First, he holds a 3-0 professional MMA record. Second, he's stopped each of his opponents by way of stoppage due to some significant athleticism, power, and better than advertised technical boxing skills.
Last, he nearly lost to James Thompson due to difficulties staying off the ground. In other words, though he has been working tirelessly with Bas Rutten, one of the best MMA fighters in the history of the sport, he is still not where he needs to be in terms of the submission and wrestling game.
Then again, could anyone really expect a man with little in the line of ground fighting experience to be where he needs to be there after only three fights?
The interesting thing is that we also know very little about Brett Rogers. Rogers possesses an undefeated overall MMA record of 7-0; thus, he has more MMA experience than Slice in this regard. In addition, anyone that saw his fights against James Thompson and Jon Murphy knows that he hits like an actual truck. But his ground skills?
He rates them as a 'B', but most of us have never really seen him in action there.
In the end, if this fight goes off it's likely to be two things-short and vicious. Both fighters prefer to bang it out on their feet. Then again, Rogers has also noted that if it hits the ground he's willing to play the submission game there.
Would Rogers be able to take advantage of Slice's still improving ground skills? Who would win the stand up battle if both choose to throw down? Both very good questions.
Perhaps we'll all find out soon enough.
