His appearance on the latest season of the Ultimate Fighter reality show makes us wonder, can Kimbo Slice be a successful fighter in the premiere mixed martial arts organization?
Kevin, “Kimbo Slice,” Ferguson is an infamous street fighter that gained fame with his fights seen by millions on Youtube. He started an MMA career after the popularity of the sport rose due to the success of the UFC. He started fighting for the now defunct EliteXC promotion. Kimbo became one of the most seen fighters when EliteXC became the first fight promotion to run on national TV on CBS. His fight on their first event was seen by over 5 million people. While he was undefeated, Kimbo was seen by in the fight business as not a real fighter, but, still just a street fighter. In his next fight he was exposed after being knocked out in under a minute by a fill in who was also a lighter weight opponent, Seth Petrazelli. After the loss, Kimbo did not fight again largely due to EliteXC closing.
One of Kimbo’s biggest critics was UFC President Dana White. He thought Kimbo as a fraud, only able to beat hand picked opponents. He said the only way he would fight in the UFC is if he would earn his spot on the reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter. Nobody thought he would do it because he was highly paid as a star for EliteXC. People thought he was more interested in being famous and partying then training to be a fighter. But, as seen on this season of TUF, he has tried hard to earn a spot in the UFC. While he was defeated by a veteran fighter and season favorite, Roy Nelson, he showed a willingness to learn and a will to fight.
So, that brings us back to the opening question, can he be successful in the UFC? I think that answer is both yes and no. I think that against certain opponents he can compete and defeat them. He is a legitimate tough guy that has shown in past fights that he can knock people out. If someone wants to stand and trade punches with him they might be in for a short night. His biggest problem is his lack of a ground game. As seen in the Roy Nelson fight once the fight was on the ground there was nothing Kimbo could do. So Kimbo Slice can fight and possibly win in the UFC but because of his limited skills and advanced age he will never be a champion.
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