 Online
Bookmakers Want More Kimbo Slice, BJ Penn and Frank
Shamrock
This past weekend marked one of the most eventful in
fight history, followed tragically by the Chris
Benoit murder suicide. For online bookmakers
like
Sportsbook.com
Online Gambling
and
Bookmaker.com,
Kimbo Slice, BJ Penn and Frank Shamrock all
contributed to a solid performance to their bottom
line.
Kimbo
Slice bout against Frank Mercer
drew in more traffic to the Sports911.com website
than any other Mixed Martial event ever,
demonstrating the remarkable marketing power Slice
has.
"Slice needs to be
looked at beyond his YouTube following as someone
who can now draw a broader audience to MMA and to
the entire online betting spectrum," remarked Payton
O'Brien, Senior Editor of Sports911.com.
Slice was rumored
to be featured as part of the selection process on
The Iron Ring, a new television series airing on BET
which features mixed martial arts prospects, but
Kimbo has since denied any role in the new program.
Cage Fury Fighting
Championships (CFFC) is an American mixed martial
arts (MMA) promotion that put on the Slice/Mercer
event. Founded by Felix & Amy Martinez, the
promotion regularly promotes in Atlantic City, NJ,
having just completed its fifth event. Their
organization is one of the fastest growing in Mixed
Martial Arts.
Rayne Maiker of
TouchGloves.com writes:
With no
professional experience, Kimbo promised to prepare
for his debut in the cage. Recruiting Bas Rutten, a
well known MMA trainer and former UFC Champion to
lead his training camp, Kimbo came into the ring
weighing 239.5lbs, a sign of a prepared fighter
weighing much lower than he himself had anticipated.
Kimbo was able to end the fight in about a minute,
by putting Mercer in the much feared guillotine
choke after a barrage of elbow, muay thai knees and
combination punches.
Many expected Kimbo to stand and go blow-to-blow
with Mercer but Kimbo impressed even the most
critical of viewers with his ring savvy. Not only
did Kimbo win, but he did so convincingly with
decisive combination punches and martial arts moves.
It took Slice only 1 minute and 10 seconds to
dispose of Mercer.
That website interviewed Kimbo and provided a
glimpse into the next potential fight he will be
involved in. Online betting companies are sure
to mark their calendars in September with rumors
that Kimbo Slice will be taking on MMA legend Tank
Abbott.
Ultimate Fighter
Finale 5 winner BJ Penn proved another unlikely
success story in the world of Internet traffic,
illustrated by the fact that the
BJPenn.com
site crashed immediately following his win Saturday
night
"BJ Penn attracted
a significant number of readers to the Sports911.com
website following his win," O'Brien confirmed
Wednesday. "We did not feature as much heavy
promotion for Ultimate Fighter 5 as we would a
regular marquee UFC event."
The Ultimate
Fighter 5 finale on Spike TV drew 300,000 more Men
18-49 and 261,000 more Men 18-34 on Saturday, June
23 than the coverage of the Yankees and Giants on
Fox earlier that day. In fact, during primetime, the
3-hour Spike telecast (9:00pm-Midnight) outdrew
anything else on television – cable or broadcast –
with Men 18-34 and 18-49.
“The reason our UFC programming consistently beats
all other sports on broadcast, cable and pay tv is
The Ultimate Fighter’s ability to build stars like
Manny Gamburyan and Nate Diaz who resonate with our
audience, stated Kevin Kay, General Manager, Spike
TV.
Frank Shamrock's
MMA bout with Phil Baroni also drew significant
numbers of readers. That fight was co-produced
by EliteXC and Strikeforce.
"With these events,
our own sponsor pages can draw more traffic than
many of the other articles featured on
Sports911.com," O'Brien stated.
Case in point, the
Bookmaker.com
section became the fifth most read on Sports911.com
during some periods of the weekend.
Bookmaker.com
- the oldest established North American facing
bookmaker online - already has betting odds on the
next three upcoming UFC events: UFC 73, UFC 74 and
UFC 75.
---
Christopher
Costigan, Sports911.com
Originally
published June 27, 2007 10:03 am ET
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