Lastly, EliteXC was desperate to find a replacement for Shamrock, but one that would not jeopardize their meal ticket, Kimbo. They needed to find an “adequate” last minute replacement to make sure that Kimbo would success, thus EliteXC would as well.

By offering Petruzelli a “bonus” for keeping the fight standing, it would play right into Kimbo’s hands. Even though he got word of a new opponent just hours before the fight, a stand up brawl would take Kimbo back to his street fighting days, one in which he is very comfortable, and what provided him the opportunity to perform on this stage. It would be a winning situation for all, including Petruzelli.

As released by the Florida State Athletic commission and reported on 5thRound.com yesterday, Petruzelli was paid $50,000 for his win over Kimbo, which included a $15,000 win bonus. However, during his appearance on 104.1 FM yesterday, he said he was paid in the “six-figure range.”

On a side note, it is common practice for fighters to be paid additional compensation that is not reported through the States’ Athletic Commission. However, those types of bonuses (ie. percentages of Pay-Per-View buys and ticket sales) are usually rewarded to organizations’ biggest draws, not for a last-minute replacement that was initially slated to be competing on a non-televised preliminary bout.

Later on in the day Monday, it seems as though EliteXC brass got a hold of Petruzelli after his radio interview, perhaps having yet another talk with the fighter, as he later had a slightly different story to tell Sam Caplan of FiveOuncesofPain.com.

“What was meant to be said was that I wanted to keep the fight standing for myself because I knew that was what the crowd, the promoters, and everyone wanted to see because that’s more exciting than just taking someone to the ground,” Petruzelli told the MMA website. “That was my thing only. I wanted to keep it exciting, so I decided to keep it standing. It had nothing to do with anybody else. That was all me.”

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