(Yeah, that’s a Confederate flag on his shirt. What? Too soon?)

You may recall that we speculated about a potential match between IFL heavyweight champ Roy “Big Country” Nelson and Elite XC’s Kimbo Slice not so long ago. Apparently we’re smarter than even we realized, because IFL CEO Jay Larkin is telling Five Ounces of Pain that it’s a very real possibility:

“If Kimbo wins, we’ll make that match (Nelson vs. Slice) without hesitation,” said Larkin. “We”ll do in on an IFL card or an Elite card — we don’t care. Promotions working together is the only way for this business to grow.”

Two things in response to this: 1) promotions working together is the best (though not only) way for them to gain ground against the UFC, so Larkin has a point there, and 2) the IFL obviously has way more to gain from this fight than Elite XC does, so don’t be surprised if it never happens.

Right now Elite XC has a network deal, some big name fighters, and enough hype to choke a horse. The IFL has a six-sided ring. You tell me whose prospects are brighter. When you consider that Roy Nelson is not only a major threat to actually beat Kimbo, but also relatively unknown and far less marketable to mainstream fans, you have to wonder what the upside would be for Elite XC.

It’s also telling that Jay Larkin is the one talking up this fight, while Gary Shaw is concentrating on blowing people’s minds with MMA’s Tiger Woods this weekend. That’s Kimbo, just in case you haven’t been keeping up. One can only imagine what Shaw will liken him to if he wins tomorrow. MMA’s Alexander the Great? Seems appropriate.