After appearing on national network television, on the covers of magazines, and on computer screens all over the world, Kimbo Slice could have gone anywhere for the next step in his fighting career and picked up a lucrative paycheck in the process.
Instead, he chose to enter a house for six weeks with 15 other heavyweight hopefuls as a member of The Ultimate Fighter 10 cast to fight his way to a UFC contract.
On paper, Kimbo, born Kevin Ferguson, comes to TUF with a resume similar to many past cast members - 3-1 as a pro with two KOs and one submission win due to strikes. But the 35-year old from Miami is no ordinary prospect. A former high school football star, he first burst into the world’s consciousness through the streetfighting videos on youtube.com that got everyone talking about the concussive punching brawler with the unforgettable moniker and look.
But by 2007, he was looking to take his fighting to the sporting arena, and after a win over former heavyweight boxing champ Ray Mercer in an exhibition MMA bout, he turned pro in November of that year with a 19 second win over Bo Cantrell. Victories over former UFC star Tank Abbott and former PRIDE participant James Thompson followed, and Kimbo became a national phenomenon. Even an MMA legend like Wanderlei Silva became a fan.
“I like his style, he’s aggressive fighter, but I think he needs to fight more with the professional guys,” said Silva Tuesday during a media teleconference to promote June 13th’s UFC 99 event. “This (bringing Kimbo to TUF) is very good for the UFC. He’s tough and he’s gonna put a lot of the heavyweights in trouble.”
And though he lost his most recent bout to Ultimate Fighter alum Seth Petruzelli last October, when it came time for Kimbo to choose his next fighting destination, there was no question where he wanted to be, and truth be told, six weeks of intense training with no outside distractions may just be what the doctor ordered for him. UFC welterweight Marcus Davis, a member of TUF’s second season cast, agrees that this is the perfect move for Slice if he wants to prove himself to be a UFC-level fighter.
“It’s a great business move with the UFC,” said Davis. “It’s either gonna really expose that he really wasn’t prepared for MMA at all as a whole or if it’s not such a tough cast, he can once again come out of it looking like he’s some kind of killer. But I definitely think that he needs to go through something like this before he should be fighting in the UFC.”
With only four pro bouts, Kimbo obviously isn’t the most experienced heavyweight in the game, and he could very well be competing with pros who have more experience than him. With every fight, he will also be facing someone intent not only to move further through the competition, but to be “the guy who beat Kimbo Slice.” But the edge that he holds over all of them is that when the lights are shining bright and you’re dealing with cameras in your face all day, he’s been there and done that.
And when it’s all over, he hopes to be the last man standing, and one worthy of a UFC contract.
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