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Seth Petruzelli went into the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, last October as just another Ultimate Fighter washout. Booted from the UFC after consecutive losses, Petruzelli was simply looking to hang on long enough to legitimately be called a journeyman. He was scheduled for the undercard and a little worried about his fight with Aaron Rosa. When the evening was over, he had shattered a street-fighting legend and changed his own life forever. And that was just the beginning of the excitement.
Kimbo Slice, a viral video sensation and the main attraction for a struggling Elite XC promotion, was scheduled to fight a fading Ken Shamrock in what was expected to be the most viewed fight in American MMA history. Shamrock was in the building that evening, but he wasn’t able to fight. He had sliced his head open during a hard sparring session that afternoon and instead of gluing the cut shut, a time honored tradition among fighters, he got stitches. That meant no main event, which sent Elite XC officials scrambling. They considered Ken’s adopted brother Frank Shamrock, one of the evening’s announce team, but he didn’t have the proper clearances to legally fight and was also 50 pounds lighter than Slice. The promotion instead turned to Petruzelli.
“I was warming up for my undercard fight and I was about 45 minutes from going out for my match,” Petruzelli said. “They told me Ken Shamrock was hurt and offered me the Kimbo fight and I accepted right away. I thought it would be awesome. The nerves actually kind of went away when they offered me that fight. I was nervous about my undercard fight, but the pressure kind of went away because there was nothing to lose. It was a win-win situation. I was taking it on short notice so if I went out there and lost, well, I did my best. If I won, obviously all this would happen.”
The entire spectacle took just fourteen seconds. It took Petruzelli longer to offer this explanation than it did for him to knock Slice out.
“All I remember is him rushing me. And I saw his chin stick out,” Petruzelli said. “I was trying to throw a push kick and his chin stuck out and I threw kind of like a jab hook and caught him right on his chin. He went down to his knees and all I remember was seeing the blood on the ground and following up. I kept going and going and going. I knew if I just kept punching him the ref was going to have to jump in.”
Post fight there was pandemonium. Elite XC had promoted Slice as a top fighter. Although insiders knew his reputation was inflated, and savvy gamblers took advantage of the change to make a killing betting on Petruzelli, to most fans this was an epic upset.
“It was probably the biggest moment in MMA history,” Art of Fighting promoter Nick Smith said. “It was Rocky-esque. We’re hoping that his name can work for us and draw some attention to our promotion. Him being from Florida and Kimbo being from Florida made it huge.”
His August 22 bout with Chris Baten at the USF SUN DOME will be Petruzelli’s first fight since defeating Slice. Smith is counting on Florida fans remembering Petruzelli’s amazing knockout. It’s a challenge because it all happened 10 months ago. After what should have been a launching point for his career, Petruzelli struggled to get a fight.
In the aftermath of the Slice win, Petruzelli did an ill-advised radio interview where he suggested that Elite XC executives may have offered him a monetary incentive to give Kimbo a fighting chance and keep the fight on their feet, trading haymakers rather than submission holds. Although he later clarified his statement and Florida officials found no evidence of wrongdoing, the damage was done. The struggling Elite XC closed its doors; Seth Petruzelli had fought and won the promotion’s final fight. Many fans were laying the blame for the company’s demise on his doorstep.
“Even my fans were saying ‘You killed Elite XC.’ They don’t know what went down before I knocked out Kimbo,” Petruzelli said. “That was just a nail in the coffin. They were $45 million in debt before I ever went out there and fought. It wasn’t my fault they had poor management. On forums and online I was the scapegoat for it. It kind of sucks, but what are you going to do?”
Instead of opening doors, Petruzelli’s fighting career actually cooled off. Strikeforce took over most Elite XC fighters and took their spot on Showtime. But conspicuous by his absence was Seth Petruzelli.
“I have been talking with Strikeforce and as of last month they said enough time had passed from the Kimbo debacle that they wanted to use me again,” Petruzelli said. “I guess the controversy is why they weren’t using me before. It’s not my fault. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
While he is looking ahead to future appearances for Strikeforce, Petruzelli isn’t ruling out a return to the UFC to face the newly-signed Slice. “I’m happy for him getting in the UFC,” Petruzelli said. “I hope he goes all the way through The Ultimate Fighter because it’s nothing but good things for me if he does.”
With all the talk of future engagements, it’s easy to forget about the fight this weekend with Baten. Petruzelli isn’t prepared to take his first fight since Kimbo lightly. Baten is an African-American police officer, also from Florida and will likely be an overwhelming crowd favorite. Never politically correct, Petruzelli is willing to fan the flames a bit for this showdown.
“Bob Sapp, Kimbo, and now this,” Petruzelli said. “What is it with the big scary black guys? I don’t know what that is about. But I haven’t lost to a big scary black guy yet.”
Racial tension, a cage, and two large, powerful men? It’s a recipe that ensures fireworks.
“These guys are going to stand and bang and that fight is going to be awesome,” Smith said. Reminded of Petruzelli’s past controversies, Smith clarified. “They can do whatever they want in the cage. If you look at their style, stylistically, that’s how they match up. We match up styles. We don’t tell people how to fight. It’s up to them in the cage.”
Art of Fighting 4 is Saturday, August 22, at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, FL. In addition to the Petruzelli-Baten fight, the show features Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz vs. Tom “Trauma” Sauer for the first ever WFO World Title.
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