Notes from FanHouse in Newark.
The fighting didn't end when Kimbo Slice stopped James Thompson in the third round of tonight's main event in Newark. Brett Rogers, a heavyweight who won his match in 61 seconds to start off the televised portion of the card, took the podium during the press conference and called Slice's performance "garbage" and said it was "unacceptable" to give that to the fans.
Slice wasn't there yet but he did show up later and the press asked Rogers to elaborate on what he meant. He was much clearer this time, saying that Slice tapped out when Thompson had him down on the ground during the second round of their match. Slice asked if that was a challenge and, as you can see from the photo above, things got pretty heated. Every fighter, cornerman and Elite XC employee kept the men apart but it was a good three or four minutes before things cooled down and Slice left.
From my vantage point at cageside, I didn't see Slice tap out. There was discussion along press row about a tapout but everyone seemed to say they heard someone else say it first. Thompson said he didn't and Slice obviously denied it so either Rogers saw something different or he's a savvy marketer who knows how to put himself in position to fight the league's big dog. Promoter Gary Shaw said the next CBS show would be in August at the earliest, perhaps he found himself his main event?
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