Of course, you should be reading my weekly MMA columns CBSSports.com on a regular basis. But in the event that you haven't been keeping up with them, this week's edition is a must read.

In this week's article I convey my belief that the initial success of crossover stars Brock Lesnar and Kimbo Slice could inspire additional athletes to make their MMA debuts. I present six candidates that have had their names linked to MMA in the past and analyze whether a crossover is realistic for them or not.

I decided to reach out for some expert analysis for the piece and former NFL defensive end and professional wrestler Bill Goldberg, EliteXC play-by-play commentator Mauro Ranallo, CBSSports.com columnist Gregg Doyel, JarryPark.com host Ariel Helwani, and 15 Rounds.com and CBSSports.com writer Gary Herman are all quoted in the article.

CLICK HERE to check out the article.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

Michael Woods has an excellent article on Tank Abbott available at ESPN.com.

Woods had access to Abbott after his knockout loss to Kimbo Slice this past Saturday and Abbott was surprisingly complementary towards Slice in his post-fight comments. Abbott's statements are a stark contrast to many comments he made about the Internet street fighting legend in the weeks and days leading up to the fight.

"I just ran into one [hard shot]," he said. "Kimbo definitely came out differently than I thought he would. He's improved his punches; they are straighter. He didn't come out like he did in his videos. But I was whacking him, and he wasn't moving, like a telephone pole. Usually when I hit someone, they move."

Abbott was also impressed by the determination Slice showed during the contest.

"I'm pretty strong," he said, "and I was whacking him, and it didn't seem like it bothered him at all. He was still there. I give him his due. Hindsight being 20/20, next time I would have shot on him."

The name of Ken Shamrock has been floated around as a potential future opponent for Slice. It's a fight that Abbott pretty much thinks Kimbo has in the bag.

"Shamrock would get his head taken off," Abbott said. "Kimbo will just work at not getting taken down; then, Ken's in trouble."

To read Woods' article in its entirety, including UFC president Dana White's thoughts on Abbott and EliteXC's promotion of the event, click here.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

Strikeforce heavyweight contender Paul Buentello was a guest on MMA Weekly Radio on Monday night and renewed his request for a possible fight with EliteXC heavyweight Kimbo Slice.

“People want to see it," Buentello is quoted as saying in an article on MMAWeekly.com that chronicles the radio appearance. "I think everybody wants to see it. Me and Kimbo should lace up the gloves. Everybody wants to see it and I think it’s time. He’s fighting all the guys I’ve already knocked out and I’ve already exposed. He needs to get off that buffet line I put out there and come over to my Paul Buentello taco shop and see if we can get to work.”

This is not the first time Buentello has asked for the fight. He stumped for the fight a year ago and seems more interested than ever following Slice's win against Tank Abbott at EliteXC's "Street Certified" event in Miami this past Saturday.

While several fighters have gone on the record to ask for a match with Slice (real name Kevin Ferguson), Buentello is asking for the bout while also offering words of praise.

“Everybody asks me ‘when are you going to fight Kimbo? You should fight that Kimbo guy,’” the article quotes Buentello. “Just give him much respect, he’s been training and accomplished a lot in a year or so. He’s really putting his hands together, he’s really putting his game plan together.”

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

ProElite.com's Erik Naranjo recently conducted an interview with Tank Abbott in anticipation of his bout with Kimbo Slice on February 16 in Miami.

In the interview, Tank reveals that he's been training hard for this fight. When it comes to most fighters, that wouldn't sound like much of a revelation. But if you've followed Tank's career at all, you know it's a pretty noteworthy development.

Check out the video below:

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

Here's some recent video of Triumph United paying a visit to Kimbo Slice out in Los Angeles right as Kimbo begins his training camp for Tank Abbott and their EliteXC fight on Feb. 16 in Miami. In this video, Kimbo talks about how disappointing his last fight was against Bo Cantrell and his thoughts on his next fight vs. Abbott.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) has learned that the long-awaited heavyweight clash between Internet street fighting legend Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and former UFC staple Tank Abbott is scheduled to be the main event of EliteXC's next show on Saturday, February 16.

The show, scheduled to air on Showtime at 10:00 p.m. ET, is slated to emanate from Miami, Florida. A venue has not been officially announced but the University of Miami has been rumored as a location.

In addition to Slice vs. Abbott, a middleweight matchup between Australian Kyle Noke and former UFC fighter Scott Smith is also scheduled. Antonio Silva and James "Colossus" Thompson are slated to compete on the card as well, in separate bouts.

Abbott and Slice had been scheduled to fight each other on October 12 in Atlantic City, NJ for the Cage Fury Fighting Championships promotion. However, the promotion ran into financial difficulties and was forced to cancel the card. The cancellation allowed Slice to become a free agent, and he signed a lucrative contract with EliteXC soon after. 

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com