Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

EliteXC, you're up.

Facing perhaps the most make-or-break moment in the young company's history, the promotion will send out 44-year-old mixed martial arts legend Ken Shamrock to fight their poster boy Kimbo Slice on Saturday, Oct. 4. With no other major MMA events between now and then, EliteXC has less than two weeks of having the sport’s spotlight to themselves. Now, their job is to bring in a viewership closer to their first show (4.8 million average audience; 6.5 million watched the main event) than their last (2.6 million average).

A dropoff in ratings was expected when Slice and female draw Gina Carano were not scheduled for the July event, but the 40 percent plunge has obviously caused some concern in EliteXC, whose parent company ProElite is likely to be bought by Showtime Networks soon.

Their response was the Slice-Shamrock main event, which will take place in Slice's backyard of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The pairing is a calculated move with the hope of long-term benefit.

With their current heavyweight champion Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva fighting a positive steroid test and likely to be stripped of his belt, Slice can move into a potential title match, likely with Brett “The Grim” Rogers, with whom there is a built-in feud. That fight would be an easy one to promote, and could either finally validate Kimbo to the masses or make a star of Rogers. The risk is going through Shamrock to do it.

Both men have proven to be ratings draws over the years, but the fight certainly has its share of detractors from a pure sporting standpoint. While Shamrock is a true pioneer of MMA, he has only two wins this decade (the last coming in 2004) and has suffered five straight first-round knockouts.

Slice, while unbeaten at 3-0, had some of his weaknesses exposed during his May 31 win over James Thompson. Of course, it's perfectly normal for a fighter with only three bouts to have holes in his game, but the continued inclusion of such an inexperienced fighter in a headlining role has caused many MMA purists to scratch their heads.

From EliteXC's perspective though, they need a main event that will draw, and this one features names that many casual fans are aware of, giving it a chance to do the numbers that will keep it viable for network TV.

"The press want to paint a picture," said EliteXC vice president Jared Shaw. "That's fine if that's what the press believes. But [Shamrock] has an 84 percent win percentage on submissions. Kimbo has a learning curve. So it's a dangerous fight for him."

Indeed, 22 of Shamrock's 26 have come by way of submission, which will make him a threat if he can get the fight there. Of course, with Slice's standup ability and what will likely be a 15-pound weight advantage, it will be no easy task. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that Slice's trainer Bas Rutten faced Shamrock twice and knows his game well.

"Kimbo's like a sponge," said Rutten. "You tell him something, the next day he starts doing it in training."

Shamrock says he is drawing motivation from the comments he hears that he is finished and being used to vault Slice.

"That is absolutely what it is, and I'm taking it as an insult to me," he says. "And I'm going to smash it back in their face."

Slice, while careful to voice a respect for Shamrock's legacy in the sport, has no fear of him.

"I'm honored. I'm bragging. I'm excited," Slice said. "The respect I got for a legendary fighter ... To lose to him is not a bad thing. But to kick his ass is a better thing. Either way, I look at it in a good way."

Shamrock, always the consummate showman and salesman, hasn't returned the respect, alternately calling Slice an "idiot" and a "jabroni" (slang for loser).

"I'm going to go for everything," Shamrock said. "In my opinion, from everything I saw, the only time he's knocked someone out was when they got tired. I don't respect his power or grappling ability. Whether it's a punch or sub, whatever is there, I'm gonna take it."

The war of words might help sell it to the casual fan that sees the commercial on an NFL Sunday, but with EliteXC putting most of their eggs in the Kimbo basket, what happens if Shamrock wins? Then Slice’s myth is shattered at the hands of a 44-year-old who, while a legend, clearly has his best days behind him.

Adding to the difficulty of Oct. 4 is the constant threat of Mother Nature. Hurricane season has already impacted the gulf coast and parts of Florida in the last few weeks, and another tropical disturbance is currently causing problems in the Caribbean and threatening its way towards the U.S. coast.

The weather, of course, is beyond EliteXC’s control – though it must be noted they selected an area often impacted during hurricane season. Still, they have their future in their own hands. EliteXC is in the third of a four-fight deal with CBS. These next two events are pivotal in deciding whether CBS sees MMA as viable programming on a long-term basis, or whether they will let their sister cable network Showtime carry the load.

"I think they're happy with what we're doing," said EliteXC head of fight operations Jeremy Lappen. "Obviously we delivered a huge rating with our first fight. Raings went down a little bit on the second, but everybody was still pleased with it and expected it in the middle of the summer. And we think this fight will be huge. So I think they're happy, and we're happy with the relationship."

Noons stripped of title for declining fight
EliteXC announced over the weekend that lightweight champ K.J. Noons was stripped of his title for refusing to fight top contender Nick Diaz.

"It’s a very unfortunate situation but we cannot have belt-holders who refuse to fight the top contenders," Lappen said in a statement. "We want champions who will fight anyone, anytime, anyplace. That’s the mentality all champions should have."

Noons reportedly turned down the match due to compensation and promotion issues.

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