Fedor Emelianenko vs Kimbo Slice? Don't Count On It

There has been some talk in the MMA blogosphere over the past week about the possibility of a Fedor Emelianenko vs "Kimbo Slice" fight sometime in the future. The Andrei Arlovski / Roy Nelson fight on the October EliteXC on CBS card has gotten people thinking about the possibility of more EliteXC / Affliction co-sponsored fights, and Fedor vs Kimbo is a natural extension of that thought process.

While a Kimbo vs Fedor fight would certainly generate a tremendous amount of buzz in the MMA world, there are multiple reasons that this fight will never happen:

1. Kimbo would get destroyed. Let's say that EliteXC somehow manages to survive (they are dealing with a multitude of financial issues right now). Do they allow their biggest star to get absolutely destroyed and discredited in front of a national audience? If you think that Kimbo could somehow pull off a victory of Fedor, then you're crazy.

2. Fedor is too expensive. Let's say that EliteXC somehow convinces Affliction to let Fedor fight Kimbo Slice on a CBS show. First off, Affliction would want some sort of compensation for allowing this to happen. Second, EliteXC would need to pay Fedor's fee, which is going to be close to a million dollars for the fight. There is no way that they have that kind of money - not even close.

3. EliteXC would never let Kimbo fight on an Affliction card. Unless EliteXC goes bankrupt (which is a very real possibility), they would never allow Kimbo to fight on an Affliction PPV card, unless they were in serious financial straits. Why would they allow their biggest star to get destroyed and return to their promotion with his tail between his legs? Unless Affliction offered EliteXC an absolute pile of money to "borrow" Kimbo for one fight (which I doubt would happen), then there is no upside for EliteXC.

4. Fedor would never agree to this fight in the first place. The risk/reward profile for this fight would be completely out of whack for Fedor to even contemplate. Everyone expects him to destroy Kimbo, so winning would surprise or impress no one. But what would happen if he lost? Fedor's future earning potential would take a massive hit. There is just no reason for Fedor to accept a fight with Kimbo.

While a Fedor / Kimbo fight would certainly be entertaining, the logistics of putting together such a fight just don't work. This is probably a good thing for "Kimbo Slice" anyways.

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