Signed,
NFL, MLB, NBA, Boxing!

Maybe its required because it endangers the health and safety of the fighter who takes the risk. “But that’s his own choice, no one’s forcing him!” Yeah no one’s forcing the guy with a mortgage and little rank in the sport to earn an extra incentive if he tries to stand with the guy who hasn’t been fighting as long or training as hard but ends-up making at least a mil a fight (endorsements etc). Just because you use ego and/or financial despair to commit a crime instead of a gun, doesn’t excuse you commiting the crime.

On the other hand, maybe people are making a big deal because its trying to undermine the safety and long-term legitimacy of of an American industry.

And haven’t we had enough of that bullshit for one decade?

PS – people bitched their asses off about SHAMrock going down for Franklin, and still do. This shit smelled fishy from the get-go. When Ken fell to Rich, the sport was just beginning to go mainstream. If Shamrock had given us evidence in the form of a quote we’d have more than iffy footage to go on. But he didn’t. Seth did.

PPS – While you’re right about Seth being iffy in front of the camera, due to experience, it generally works in the direction of people talking too much and being too revealing because they’re trying to connect with their audience. SEE: Most Gina Carano interviews where the reporter sees how uncomfortable she is and just lets her ramble on even after she’s answered the question a few times. It happens a lot in interviews.

I also think that you’re missing the point. No one is forcing Seth or anyone else to do anything. They are simply giving him a bonus if he fights a certain way. And that’s only from what we’ve all heard, who knows what the actual conversation was.

If you’re gambling, you’re gambling. I don’t think Seth being made an offer that he could choose to either accept or not to accept affects gambling that badly. And I say that as a guy who legally gambles on MMA.

The irony in all this is that Seth doesn’t even have a solid ground game.

Take a look at ESPN’s football coverage they show you brutal hits over and over again. They don’t show linemen stunting or pulling to open a hole for a running back.

Is there a clause in NFL player contracts asking certain players to only play a certain style of football (man-to-man, zone) as opposed to giving it their best effort to do their job?

If a sports bettor in Vegas knew that one football team in a game was only going to play the ‘Tampa 2′ D on every single play instead of mixing up their coverages, that certainly would effect how much money they bet on a team and on which team, wouldn’t it?

Petruzelli might not be a rocket scientist. I’ve seen a lot of cases of people thinking they were being funny or just being themselves and really coming off bad by what they said to the media.

As for point 7, you don’t need bonuses for the undercard guys who won’t make TV on CBS. I’m sure everyone on this board is a “hardcore” MMA fan. We love all aspects of the game. Elite XC in order to survive needs to bring in a much larger audience than UFC. Elite needs in the neighborhood of 5 million people to watch on CBS for CBS to sell ads to pay for the show. UFC makes a fortune if 500,000 PPVs are ordered. Let’s be honest, jiu jitsu is not accessible/enticing for most people new to the sport. Elite wants KO’s and highlight kicks if possible I’m sure.

Take a look at ESPN’s football coverage they show you brutal hits over and over again. They don’t show linemen stunting or pulling to open a hole for a running back.

On an unrelated note, I really wish that Fight Opinion was accessible using the PlayStation 3 web browser. It always says “Forbidden” or “Unauthorized” whenever I try to access the site using the PS3 web browser.

In this investigation everyone wants to do are you going to look at Ken Shamrock vs. Rich Franklin and Shamrock vs Ortiz II & III?

Red herring argument because it has nothing to do with this current story.

Here’s what has been reported so far:

1) Petruzelli said promoters ‘kinda hinted’ to him that it would be worth his while to keep the Kimbo fight standing up.

2) He then backtracked fast from these comments after Jeremy Lappen issued a denial.

3) Dave Meltzer then said that he had heard about Petruzelli being asked to keep it up standing up (from sources outside of Petruzelli before Petruzelli made his statements in that Orlando radio interview)

4) Bryan Alvarez then reported that he was told that Ken Shamrock was encouraged to keep the fight against Kimbo as a stand-up affair.

5) Petruzelli backed off his radio comments (again), complaining that the media was twisting his words.

6) Petruzelli, in another media defense, claimed that he got a bonus for the KO and that EXC offered contractual bonuses for KOs, submissions, etc.

7) Lappen, in an SI interview, said that some fighter contracts in EXC have KO bonuses but not submission bonuses, etc. Notice that he said that only some fighters, not all, have these provisions in their contracts. Furthermore, think about this — having a KO only bonus for certain fighters but not a) submission bonuses or b) KO bonuses for everyone?

How is this manufacturing a story? As alluded to in the MMA Memories article, we wouldn’t have a story if Petruzelli hadn’t opened up this can of worms in the first place. It does bring up an interesting comment from Fightlinker, which is the following — if Petruzelli hadn’t opened his mouth about this, would Dave Meltzer have gone public with his comments that he was told by sources that Petruzelli was encouraged to keep the fight against Kimbo standing up?

There’s a lot of serious and legitimate questions that need to be asked and answered here.

Love your site. Been a big fan for a long time. But you’re really going out on a limb here to make a stink about this story when there isn’t all that much to it.

Big deal Seth was offered a KO bonus and not a sub bonus. Elite XC wants KO’s, not grappling matches. That isn’t fight fixing. If the fight were going to be fixed Kimbo would have won. I see nothing wrong with offering him a bonus for a KO but not a sub. Seth has the free will to go out for a sub if he can get it and win for the bout agreement or he can go for a KO and the bonus money.

I highly doubt Keith Kizer is going to get involved based on hearsay and innuendo. There is an assumption that just because Seth Petruzelli said something it is fact and he’s unflappable. He isn’t used to media coverage, he isn’t a public speaker or someone who has been thrust into the limelight before.

I’m not a huge Elite XC fan, but I think this is a clear case of the media trying to manufacture a story.

In this investigation everyone wants to do are you going to look at Ken Shamrock vs. Rich Franklin and Shamrock vs Ortiz II & III?

Then EliteXC\’s Jeremy Lappen slips up and says in a separate interview that EliteXC doesn\’t have submission bonuses. Oops.

Seriously, if an investigation is not done that looks into this matter from all angles, then the guilt extends beyond just Petruzelli and whoever it is that, in Petruzelli\’s own words, \”kind of hinted\” to him that it would be worth his while financially to keep the fight standing.

If this gets swept under the rug as some kind of misunderstanding, then the guilt extends a heck of a lot further.