With a crazy finale to a very decent night of fights, Kimbo beat Tank Abbott at least one time, if not more because of the overly nice refereeing. Trash, or some kind of debris was flung into the cage during the main event, and the crowd all in T-shirts with Kimbo printed on them, cheered and bounced around. A few pictures later, and the fighters and press shuffled into a well guarded post-fight conference room to hear from the fighters and Elite XC. Sportsbook.com had Kimbo Slice at -450 odds to win his fight over Tank Abbott.
Gary Shaw took the microphone after a long delay as most fighters shuffled in slowly. Notably the main event fighters were not present at the commencement of the conference. Kimbo would wonder in later preceded by a trimmed down entourage.
When he did arrive, he seemed mostly disinterested in what had to be said and was focused on getting the right brand of water he was promoting, having Bas Rutten speak for him on issues of technique. Kimbo Slice made sure to mention at least twice he was expected at a South Beach club and needed to get going. His rush was of no consequence to Gary Shaw who said the evening was not about him, and yet he kept the focus of the conference on himself. He spoke before every single fighter, and referenced his treatment of the fighters, or his promotion, or how great his staff was at every turn.
Even when he was thanking people it felt like the focus was on him. One of the funnier moments of Shaw’s remarks came when Scott Smith mentioned he had asked a few days earlier as a joke for a Rockstar Energy Drink which was a brand sponsoring the event. Shaw made sure the press knew he got him a few drinks, but that his bill would be reduced by the cost. He said that part was a joke but Sports-Odds.com has yet to confirm no deduction was made.
While that was obviously a joke, Shaw was serious for a minute as he made sure to mention that all men over 40 should have a prostrate cancer screening. He himself was a survivor of the common form of cancer. Not only was he happy to be a survivor, he was happy to set a record for the gate taken in at the Bank United Center at his old alma mater, the University of Miami. Shaw hopes to return to the campus or the American Airlines Arena. The arena host to UFC 42: “Sudden Impact” back on April 25th, 2003.
Kimbo Slice had no specific return date but thinks late spring as an estimate. Judging by Shaw’s criticism of Dana White for allowing Brock Lesnar to lose, expect his opponent not to be the most dangerous that he can find. The fighters at the conference all said to expect them back with Elite XC soon. Yves Edwards thanked his new American Top Team family for all they did to help him out of a slump that saw him losing to two of their members recently. His fight with a knock out win was one of the best of the night.
After the conference, some of the combatants went right for the clubs, others were seen right across the street at the hotel they were staying at for the weekend. They met at the Holiday Inn buffet in which most shelled out $20 to eat. One person not eating globs of food was Anderson Silva, the UFC Middleweight Champion with a fight coming up the first weekend of March. He was however present, along with the UFC Heavyweight belt holder Antonio Nogueira.
Both were in the corner of Rafael Feijao who had scored a big win earlier that night. Other attendees to the late night buffet included some of the undercard, Yves Edwards who looked dead tired when he does not have his glasses on, and his posse of American Top Team members including Mike Brown and Marcos 'Parrumpinha' Da Matta. Also showing up for the all you can eat hotel meal was James Thompson who had another knockout loss.
