Kimbo still a big draw

[Warner2BruceTD]

Last night's show did a 2.9 rating with 4.1 million viewers, making it not only the most-watched episode in history (old record was 2.8 million viewers for the final episode of season 3), but also was the highest-rated debut for an original series in Spike history.

Had to see this coming.

The big shock, to me, is the Fight Night did a significantly lower 1.9. That means alot of people (casuals) couldnt give a shit about what was a pretty decent lineup of fights, and watched something else until Ultimate Kimbo came on.

This tells me that Kimbo brought in alot of viewers that dont nessacerily have much interest in UFC, but definately still have interest in Kimbo.

[Liquidrob]

Gina > Kimbo on Showtime we know that

Lets see if Fedor can beat Kimbo on CBS

[Kuzzy Powers]

Not surprised at all... when I seen everyone in the chat box talking bout the show that would NEVER watch MMA I knew the experiment worked. In reality.. Kimbo may be a bigger draw then MMA in itsself.

[CrimsonGhost56]

gina being a legit fighter > kimbo knocking out bums in his backyard

[EmpireWF]

I'm doubting Fedor can do better CBS ratings than Kimbo.

But Strikeforce is better run than EXC so lets hope they get the word out.

[Warner2BruceTD]

I'm doubting Fedor can do better CBS ratings than Kimbo.

But Strikeforce is better run than EXC so lets hope they get the word out.

Hard to say until we get a feel for the promotion/hype.

I'd put it at even money right now.

10/7 is a key date for the future of MMA, the outcome will be very influential to alot of domino's that will fall.

And no matter what anyone says, a Rogers KO win is disasterous for Strikeforce. Nobody will care about Fedor ever again in this country if that happens (if they even care to any serious degree now, outside the hardcores), and he will be seen as an overhyped farce who lost to a nobody.

If Rogers wins, he MUST cut a great promo and get himself over. He hasnt shown much charisma to this point in his promos.

Of course, Fedor smashing him nullifies the previous two paragraphs.

The worst outcome of all would be a dull 3 round decision for either man.

[JrRawlins]

Hard to say until we get a feel for the promotion/hype.

I'd put it at even money right now.

10/7 is a key date for the future of MMA, the outcome will be very influential to alot of domino's that will fall.

And no matter what anyone says, a Rogers KO win is disasterous for Strikeforce. Nobody will care about Fedor ever again in this country if that happens (if they even care to any serious degree now, outside the hardcores), and he will be seen as an overhyped farce who lost to a nobody.

If Rogers wins, he MUST cut a great promo and get himself over. He hasnt shown much charisma to this point in his promos.

Of course, Fedor smashing him nullifies the previous two paragraphs.

The worst outcome of all would be a dull 3 round decision for either man.

there is no way Fedor outdraws Kimbo slice.... i know countless people who are not MMA fans... not even casual MMA fans, and still wanted to see Kimbo Slice fight.... cant even remotely say the same about Fedor... if your not a MMA fan, Fedor could walk by you on the street and most people wouldnt know who he is....

[Liquidrob]

there is no way Fedor outdraws Kimbo slice.... i know countless people who are not MMA fans... not even casual MMA fans, and still wanted to see Kimbo Slice fight.... cant even remotely say the same about Fedor... if your not a MMA fan, Fedor could walk by you on the street and most people wouldnt know who he is....

true, but it depends how much buzz they get going, CBS is actually paying half of Fedors salary, if you see constant Fedor promos during college and pro football, CSI, etc...average Joe will want to watch even if they never heard of him

plus, main stream media might follow this, he is actually a legit fighter and not a youtube star

I can already hear Jim Rome who wants to be a MMA guy now 'This isnt Kimbo Slice, this isnt a guy who fights at a Sunday BBQ, this is the best HW in the world'

[JeremyHight]

Gina > Kimbo on Showtime we know that

Lets see if Fedor can beat Kimbo on CBS

The sport has grown a LOT between the fights. If Gina and Kimbo both went on at the same time, Kimbo would have crushed Gina in ratings.

[EmpireWF]

They should run ads on CBS of guys who can talk, describing Fedor's success, history and greatness. Also run clips of his KOs, gotta do that.

If the casual fan just sees a commercial of talk about Fedor beating Big Nog, Babalu, Cro Cop, Lindland, fucking Zulu, etc, it won't mean a damn thing.

[Liquidrob]

They should run ads on CBS of guys who can talk, describing Fedor's success, history and greatness. Also run clips of his KOs, gotta do that.

If the casual fan just sees a commercial of talk about Fedor beating Big Nog, Babalu, Cro Cop, Lindland, fucking Zulu, etc, it won't mean a damn thing.

The only footage they have I believe is AA, Tim, Choi and probably Linland, not sure about Linland because they never show that, so who knows

AA and Tim is enough at this point, like you said they just have to show it and market it properly

[BigBiss]

Jim Rome is a Joke how many years did he trash Nascar before finally "getting it" right around the time they launched a huge ad campiane.

[Epidemik]

Its all about Promotion

If you see constant barrage of Fedor and his emotionless demeanor
I mean show some buff big bad ass motherfuckers laid the out and then show Fedor standing over them people will get the message that this is one badass dude

Can Fedor outdo Kimbo ratings wise... CBS and Strikeforce better be on their A Game

O yea and Gina is Hot

[Warner2BruceTD]

The sport has grown a LOT between the fights. If Gina and Kimbo both went on at the same time, Kimbo would have crushed Gina in ratings.

UFC has grown.

Gina/Cyborg vs. Kimbo/Tank, head to head on equal power networks? Tough call. Whichever was promoted harder.

Gina/Cyborg was pushed much harder than that Kimbo fight. Showtime had Gina replays on all week long leading up, and Gina hit the radio/talk circuit pretty hard. Kimbo/Tank had very little mainstream publicity IIRC. That's why one week out, I figured Gina would beat him.

Fedor can beat the Kimbo CBS number, with the right promotional push. Right now I say no, but my answer can change based on the level of hype I feel.

Also, a quick KO will hurt the rating. Longer fights do better. Kimbo/Thompson went 3 full rounds (ok, almost 3 full rounds) and was a good fight in a trainwreck kind of way. Kimbo/Petruzelli could have beaten that number, but was too short to build an audience.

Fedor/Rogers figures to be short.

[Liquidrob]

Just checked the college game, looks like November 7th will be LSU vs Alabama, pretty good lead in game for the Fedor/Rogers fight