Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

Seth Petruzelli came to the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., with little fanfare and almost no chance to make any kind of impression on anyone aside from those in the arena who would watch his scheduled undercard match before the bright lights of the CBS broadcast cameras went live.

By the time he left, millions knew his name.

The journeyman fighter destroyed the man and myth of Kimbo Slice, taking the fight on short notice and then making it a short night of work, requiring just 14 seconds to score a stunning but decisive knockout in the main event of EliteXC’s Saturday night fights.

Slice stalked Petruzelli early, but with his back against the cage, Petruzelli rocked Slice with a short right that put him down. Slice fell to the ground, and Petruzelli unloaded with a series of hard rights to the jaw. Slice ate a few of the shots before the referee called a stop to the action in what is one of the fastest knockouts in EliteXC history. The spotlight-stealing Petruzelli ran around the cage in celebration before graciously offering an excuse for Kimbo's loss.

“Honestly man, it was a crappy situation for both of us,” he said. “It’s unfortunate what happened to Ken [Shamrock]. [Kimbo] stepped up to fight at the last minute. I imagine both of our heads were messed up about it.  This isn’t street fighting; you’re supposed to have a set fight you can prepare for. He didn’t train for me, and I didn’t train for him, but that's what happens.”

Petruzelli was asked to face Slice (3-1) after Shamrock was forced to withdraw after being injured in the last 24 hours. The 44-year-old veteran was warming up with his training partner when he sustained a cut over his left eye that required six stitches to close. He was examined by Florida state boxing commission executive director Thomas Molloy and ringside doctor Dr. Allan fields, who decided Shamrock could not be cleared to fight.

That left EliteXC scrambling for a replacement for Slice, who was the center of the marketing campaign for the event. Fighter and announcer Frank Shamrock, who normally competes at 185 pounds, reportedly offered to fill the vacancy, but was denied. Frank Shamrock broke his arm in his March fight with Cung Le and likely would have not been medically cleared to fight by the state athletic commission. Eventually, Petruzelli was offered the spot and accepted, and Slice agreed to the fight just 40 minutes before the EliteXC broadcast was set to go live.

Petruzelli (10-6) had been scheduled for a light-heavyweight fight with Aaron Rosa, and after weighing in at 205.5 pounds on Friday, gave up a significant amount of size to Slice, who weighed in at 234.5 for the heavyweight fight. Even after rehydrating, Petruzelli was likely 10-15 pounds lighter than Slice, but it mattered little.

Petruzelli is a well-traveled fighter who began martial arts training as a child. Before joining the cast of the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, he fought for several promotions, including the WEC and King of the Cage. While with the UFC, he officially went 0-2 as a light-heavyweight, losing to Wilson Gouveia and Matt Hamill. Prior to handing Slice his first defeat, his best win came against MMA legend Dan Severn in 2004. Though known in the MMA world, he was not easily recognizable to casual fans.

SPECIAL FEATURE Kimbo-crazy Check out photos from the life and times of the MMA phenomenon.

Slice, meanwhile, had been trumpeted by EliteXC as one of the best fighters in the world, despite the fact that he was still inexperienced after only two years of full-time training, and some of the major media bought into the hype. His ratings draw, however, was unquestioned. In his first fight on CBS in May, he drew over 6.5 million viewers to watch him defeat James Thompson.

With Slice EliteXC's best known fighter, it will be interesting to see how they move forward with the luster off their crown jewel.

Their other marquee fighter, however, found a better fate, as female fighting star Gina Carano stayed unbeaten, earning a unanimous decision victory over Kelly Kobald-Gavin. Carano made good use of her marked advantage in the standup game, connecting on 50 percent of her strikes in penetrating her opponent’s defense.

Kobald-Gavin came in hoping to take the fight to the ground, but was only able to score a single takedown, and that with only seconds left in the second round. The win likely sets up a future showdown with Cris “Cyborg” Santos, who was victorious on the undercard with a decision win over Japanese fighter Yoko Takahashi.

EliteXC also co-promoted a fight with upstart organization Affliction, and Andrei Arlovski, a former UFC heavyweight champion, took advantage of his new spotlight with a second round knockout over Roy Nelson. After a relatively close first round, Arlovski broke through in the second, utilizing his significant reach advantage to connect from the outside. He landed a knee from the clinch with 3:30 to go, then followed up a hook with a straight right on the button to end the bout.

EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields won his 11^th straight fight, catching Paul Daley with a second-round arm bar for the submission win. The two came in with polar opposite gameplans, the champion preferring the ground game, where he holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu, and the challenger focusing on his standup. While Daley expectedly got the better of the standup exchanges, Shields was clearly leaps and bounds better than Daley when the action went to the mat. Shields passed his guard at will and repositioned himself to inflict damage and look for submission. Finally, with about 90 seconds left in the second round, Shields caught Daley’s arm and sunk in the arm bar.

“I wouldn’t mind going to 185 and going for two belts,” Shields said after. “Robbie Lawler is a great champ. I wouldn’t mind going up and challenging him.”

In the night’s other televised bout, Benji Radach scored a devastating knockout over Murilo “Ninja” Rua. Rua slipped on the canvas as he was closing the distance, and Radach immediately pounced, dropping a heavy right on his fallen foe that immediately ended the bout.

Ortiz nearing deal with EliteXC
Ex-UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz sat ringside at the fights, and was interviewed by a ringside reporter during the broadcast. Ortiz said that he was “about a week” away from signing with EliteXC. He added that he was expecting to undergo back surgery soon and would not be active until 2009.

Full results
Nicolae Cury def. Jorge Bouchat via submission (strikes) – Rd. 1
Bryan Hamade def. David Gomez via submission (guillotine choke) – Rd. 1
Mikey Gomez def. Lorenzo Borgomeo via submission (arm-bar) – Rd. 2
Conor Heun def. Edson Berto via TKO (strikes) – Rd. 2
Cris "Cyborg" Santos def. Yoko Takahashi via unanimous decision
Benji Radach def. Murilo Rua via TKO, Rd. 2
Gina Carano def. Kelly Kobald-Gavin via unanimous decision
Andrei Arlovski def. Roy Nelson via TKO, Rd. 2
Jake Shields def. Paul Daley via arm bar submission, Rd. 2
Seth Petruzelli def. Kimbo Slice via KO, Rd. 1

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