UFC Ultimate Fighter 10 Kimbo Slice
70There has been a lot of talk over the past couple years about Kevin Ferguson, better known as Kimbo Slice, mainly criticism from MMA professionals and MMA fans. He became a well known figure because of his street fighting videos on You Tube. This led the promoters of the now bankrupt Elite XC to take advantage of this notoriety. He was immediately put on the fight cards as a main event or co-main event, and Elite XC used his street fighting image to promote him. The president of Elite XC at the time, Gary Shaw, responded to criticism about how he promoted Kimbo, by saying that he didn’t care about MMA fans and he was trying to attract a different crowd. This led many to assume that he was openly trying to make MMA attractive to WWE fans and trying to turn our beloved sport into a soap opera and some of the in cage displays of disrespect and drama seem to confirm this. His last opponent, Petruzelli, was encouraged to keep the fight standing up, and even offered money if the fight ended in a knockout, which is illegal, but no-one was ever charged because Petruzelli quickly changed his story after he realized what he was done. This was little consequence, because the fight ended in just 14 seconds as Petruzelli TKO’d Kimbo. Elite XC soon filed for bankruptcy and some of their officials attribute their downfall to Kimbo Slice.
Dana White, UFC President, was asked publicly asked if he planned of signing Kimbo. Dana made some comments about Kimbo’s lack of abilities and said that Kimbo couldn’t even win the Ultimate Fighter show. He also publicly offered Kimbo a spot of the next season of Ultimate Fighter that featured Heavyweights. I don’t think anyone, including Dana White actually expected Kimbo to take him up on that offer, but here we are. Although none of the other fighters have been announced, it has been confirmed by the UFC that Kevin Ferguson, a.k.a. Kimbo Slice, is a competitor on season 10 of the Ultimate Fighter reality show that began filming on June 1st.
This is the next step, and the right step in Kimbo’s career. Elite XC pushed him onto the main card way too soon against a bunch of has beens and never was fighters, and they marketed him in a way that was disrespectful to the sport, to MMA fans, and especially to the fighters that have given so much to clean up the image of MMA. I was a very outspoken critic of Kimbo fighting in the Elite XC, and for the first time I have respect for him as a fighter. He is ready to pay his dues and earn his way into the UFC. The UFC is also the promotion to clean up his image and promote him for what he desires to be, a Mixed Martial Artist. No matter what the outcome, Kimbo Slice, Rashad Evans, and Rampage Jackson on the same show is going to make for one heck of a season of Ultimate Fighter, and now that Kimbo has decided to turn his career around and become more than a sideshow, I hope he does well.
Do you think that Kimbo Slice will win Season 10 of the Ultimate Fighter show?
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Thanks. That was quick. I just finished writing it.
I just checked your profile real quick, it looks like you have a lot of intesting articles about marital arts. I'm going to go back after work and take a look at some if them.
I have never really cared about Kimbo and to be honest with you...he irritates the shit out of me...especially in that Dana webcast where he literally says "You know what I'm sayiong" like 400 times.
I think this is a good opportunity to gain some repect in the MMA community with a good run in the Ultimate Fighter. I know the show will probably delay his first fight so they can have him on camera often before they even have to worry about him possibly losing which there is a high likelyhood he would.
I think he looks intimidating and he has power and even if he has worked significantly on his ground game and submission defense...he still seems to have a glass chin and that could be trouble.
Thanks for the comments.
Your probably right about his inability to take a punch. He has been in so many street fights that he may suffer from some of the issues that some of the veteran fighters do. Your body hits a point where you just can't take those punches anymore and you quickly deteriate to the point that it doesn't take much to knock you out. Chuck Liddell is a good example of this. These fights where he got knocked out, 5-6 years ago those punches wouldn't have even phased him.
I do disagree with your belief that the UFC will try to pull punches and keep him on camera before he can loose. He is going to be on camera for the entire 6 weeks anyway, and with all of the trash Dana talked, there isn't going to be any favortism. Dana has never done anything special for contestants that have names. Jason Guida and Rashad Evans brother were both hyped up to be contestants of a previous season and Dana didn't even do anything to make sure they even made it into the house. Junie Brownings brother was also in that situation. Dana is in a no loose situation. If Kimbo looses, then it's the "I told you that the UFC was so much beter" and if happens to do well, then Dana signs a big name fighter and makes money off of him.
I don't have a lot of respect for Kimbo as a fighter, I don't think he is that great. I do respect the fact that he is trying to re-vitalize his image as a MMA instead of a street fighter. Only time will tell. Depending on the competition, he may have a chance of doing well, but in my opinion that would be about the extent of his glory, because I don't ever see him being able to compete at the top of the Heavyweight division. Could you imagine him going up Brock Lesnar, that would be a slaughter.
Kimbo isnt any good. He got beat up badly by the guy that wasnt even on the main card, and that big tall guy that he fought had him beat also. That was a sham!!!
The guy that knocked him out was Seth Petruzelli, who coincendently was on Season 2 of the Ultimate Fighter, and lost in the semi's to the Brad Imes, who was in turn beat by Rashad Evans in the finals. The UFC had given him a chance, but was cut after he was beaten by Wilson Gouveia and Matt Hamill.
What was really funny about the whole episode is that Seth inadvertantly told reporters after the fight that Elite XC encouraged him not to take it to the ground and offered him a large bonus if the fight ended in a knockout (and it didn't matter who got knocked out him or Kimbo). This is illegal and almost got Elite XC in alot of trouble, saved only by a change in story by Seth later. I try not to judge a fighter based soley on one knockout, because anytime you have 2 professional fighters, anybody has a punchers chance of getting a knockout if they connect cleanly at a pressure point.
The other fight you are talking about is James 'Colossus' Thompson. He has lost 8 of his last 10 fights and is known for having a weak chin. I did have some issues with the referee in this fight. If I remember correctly this is the fight that I noticed the ref wearing an earpiece, which seems kind of odd. Why would the ref need an earpiece? The end of the second round, Kimbo was on his back and taking shot after shot to the head for about 45 seconds. He clearly wasn't intellegently defending himself, and 95% of the time in this situation, the ref would have stopped it after the 4th or 5th shot if not sooner. Kimbo couldn't even stand up and the end of the fight and crawled back towards his corner until they got in the cage to help him out. The stoppage of the fight was kind of odd too. James had taken a couple shots to the ear, and he has really bad wrestlers ear and it started to bleed, but it in no way affected the fight. Then Kimbo got a couple shots to the head, but there wasn't a lot on them. James reached down at Kimbo's waist and looked like he was trying to take Kimbo down and they stopped the fight. I didn't see where he was in any danger, and he definetly looked in a lot better shape than Kimbo did at the end of the second round. This fight always stuck in the back of my mind as being kind of odd.
James "The Colossus" Thompson
But anyway, the past is the past, and Kimbo is trying to make a new start, and the nice thing about the Ultimate Fighter show is that they are trying to take decent fighters and make them a whole lot better by having them train with experience fighters and coaches. All we can do is wait and see.
Calling all UFC fans: UFC 99 is less than a week away. There is a challenge going on hub pages to see who can do the best job predicting the main event fights. Come check out UFC Challenge for UFC 99 The comeback hub page. Post your predictions in the comment section. After the fights, the hub page will be updated to acknowledge the winner. I am not making money off of my UFC hubs so this is not an attempt to self-promote, but rather an attempt to get UFC fans together for a little friendly competition. How well do you think you know MMA? Are you up to the challenge?
http://hubpages.com/hub/shorinryukarate hey if you dont mind could you take the poll on my hub i really would like to know what people think
Jrosemond:
I looked at the poll, and I don't think anyone of those options really drives a true martial artist. The truth is that traditional karate isn't really that effective as self defense, although there are some basic principles that can help. The ability to kick through boards is just silly. Anyone can do it as long as they understand that they have to target beyond the board and not target the board itself. If someone wants to be fancy like a movie, they probably are training Tae Kwon Do. As far as the belt, I don't care what color it is as long as it holds my pants up. One of my old Sensai's actually had a serious disagreement on this one. I already had an extensive background in karate, boxing, with a little bit in Aikido, Judo, and Muay Tai. I was a very good fighter, and used me and another guy (who was an ex-kickboxer) as the foundation for his tournament team. I went along with being pushed through to brown belt, because some of the national tournaments had heavy and full contact and required a brown belt. After that, I really had no interest in learning all of the required Kata's for the black belt.
Kick ass work. I had no idea about this. He will win if he doesn't get tapped. lol
I love martial arts for the sport. There just isn't any purer sport that stepping onto the mat against someone else to find out who is better. I'm a person who tries to avoid the fight out on the street (I had too much of that growing up in the ghetto and hanging around the wrong people). The fighting game, inside the dojo is pure and controlled. It isn't about hurting the other person, although I do enjoy a good knockout. The last dojo I trained at was supposed to be a variation of Wado-Ryu, although what I have come to learn about Wado-Ryu, it was far from it. The traditional classes did use traditional fighting styles, but tournament classes and practice used a half stance (basically a boxing stance) with the hands up covering the face, and checking most low kicks with the legs rather than the hands.
I did train as a kid in more traditional karate, but after getting into Muay Tai a little bit, and training as a boxer for a little while, I really fell in love with this non-traditional karate that I was learning. To me, this is what I enjoyed. I learned enough self defense the hard way on the streets, I can't stand the old Kung Fu movies, the only time that I ever did any board breaking was when I has asked to help out with a demonstration (and that took more than a few minutes to talk me into), and I only put my belt on when I was required to for formal classes (most of the time I trained in the Gi pants with one of the dojo T-shirts on).
Hey Marine:
It isn't just a submission that he has to worry about. Ken Shamrock, who he was supposed to fight last couldn't fight, and they pulled a guy off of the undercard to fight him, and it only took him a few seconds to knock Kimbo out. Kimbo has a questionable chin as well.
i agree i just put those options to see what these not traditional fighters and students (i refrain from calling them artest) think i am glad you chose none of them that makes me proud
Hands up, Chin Down Kimbo! Oh yeah, Sprawl!!! lol
Thanks Jrosemond. I'm glad to see that your not interested in karate because of one of those reasons either.
Marine:
I think your trying to say that you don't think Kimbo has much of a chance. I would agree with that. I was never impressed with any of Kimbo's fights. I don't think he is a very good Mixed Martial Artist, and his striking advantage is gone because he has taken too many punches on the streets and his chin is very suspect now. I read a rumor somewhere that Cabage Cabera was on this season as well. I really doubt it because he has been out of the UFC for so long, and I think he would be too old to really make a legitimate run now, but I would love to see him try a comeback. I don't know if you remember him, but there has never been a fighter with as solid of a chin as Cabbage (Wesley). I remember the fight that was stopped on a T.K.O. because Cabage wasn't defending himself, he was standing there looking right back as he was repeatedly punched in the face, not even dazed.
Nice hub man,dont know an awful lot about kimbo but i have seen his fights on youtube including the one where he was knocked out by petruzelli.I personnaly am glad he is on the show but cant see him winning it as i see him gassing and getting submitted.I know he can bang but dont know of his ground skilll credentials,only time will tell.
Everybody thinks that he will be easy to submit. I can't say that I disagree, but as we all saw in the Petruzelli fight he has a questionable chin. Many people don't realize this, but Petruzelli was also on the Ultimate Fighter show and wasn't that fabulous. Petruzelli isn't even a top notch MMA fighter. He was an undercard fighter for Elite XC that got his name by fighting Kimbo because Shamrock couldn't fight.
What I do like to see is that Kimbo will have the opportunity to do this the way he should have in the first place. Gary Shaw was making a mockery of MMA, trying to draw in Wrestling Entertainment fans showing absolutely no respect to MMA or the fighters that have devoted their lives to this sport. He used Kimbo, and threw him into a position that he wasn't ready for. Like anybody else, Kimbo needed years with a top notch trainer, which he had with Bas Ruten, and then needed to work his way up the ladder.
I'm not expecting a lot, but getting to work with world class wrestlers in Rashad Evans or Rampage Jackson will help him make great improvements to his game. The best strikers are also some of the best wrestlers. They have the ability to clinch and prevent being taken down to keep the fight standing. You can be the best striker in the world, but without a strong wrestling game to stay on your feet, your striking is ineffective. The wrestling background and legendary take down defense is what allowed Chuck Lidell to be an extremely agressive and effective striker because if someone tried to shoot, he could easily stop the take down. I think this will be a great advantage for Kimbo. If he really works on his wrestling, especially take down defense, with Rashad or Rampage, his striking game will be so much more effective. You would have to have a gambling problem to bet for or against Kimbo, because nobody really knows what to expect of him. There are also supposed to be a couple of other named fighters on this show, but they are keeping a tight lid on it. From my understanding, the fighters didn't have to fight there way into the house on this season, so if that is the case, Dana must have some serious confidence in the fighters that he brought in for this season. I can't wait for this next season.
I can't wait for this next season either! You have to respect Kimbo for taking the challenge on. Many people will already have written him off after the defeat to Petruzelli and unless he has improved from that performance I think they may be right. As you say, Petruzelli had his chance in the UFC and didn't make the grade so going by that performance Kimbo could end up seeing stars again!
i guarantee! he will win it! that show is like custom made for him! itll give him the perfect experience and extra training he needs. He will dominate if he doesnt MENTALLY give up. GO KIMBO!!!
Kimbo Slice man yeah that crazy man was trained by Mr. Bas Rutten.
But good luck.
I wouldn't guarantee anything in MMA, especially with Kimbo. I don't even think Kimbo would be considered the favorite to win. I think that would probably have to go to Wes Sims or maybe Big Country. Big Country Nelson has a way to put people on their back, lay on them, and work from the top. If I had to make a bet on this season, I would definetely go with Wes Sims. I think he is definetly the most experienced and well rounded fighter in the group. Wes Sims fights out of Hammer House in Columbus Ohio with Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. Wes has also been there before. He goes way back to UFC 43 I believe. I would have to double check on that, but I think 43 was his first UFC fight after coming over from Japan, and he fought Frank Mir, but got disqualified for stomping on this head. He also fought twice more, a rematch with Mir and a third loss to I believe Mike Kyle. I just really think that Kimbo isn't well rounded enough to be in the cage with a Big Country Nelson or Wes Sims yet. These guys are definetely better than Seth who made Kimbo look bad.
You know what I would love to see just so the world can truly experience what happens when you put a street fighter who relies almost entirely on brute force, intimidation, opponents practically accepting kickbacks, and bad ref calls against a true martial artist who works his ass off for everything?
I would love to see a fight between Kimbo and Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko, they're about the same weight, so it'd be technically "fair," right? Unless kimbo were to go back up to 280lbs. Sadly Fedor doesn't even fight in the right league for it to ever happen. Still, I'd find it quite amusing.
just so you all know....Kimbo gets knocked out in the first round of TUF season 10.. Then they try to change the rules to keep him in the running...So then he walks of the set........."listen to me now , believe me later"
Do you have a source for the TUF information?
Hey Ranger:
I'm not a Fedor fan, but if I was on a state athletic commission I wouldn't even sanction a fight between Kimbo and Fedor. Kimbo isn't even close to a Fedor, it really wouldn't even be safe.
I do have a good source.. lets say that i work in that biz... Dana White wanted to exploit kimbo on his show.. I am a fan of the show and the sport, i feel it serves Dana right that his plan didnt work.. Then to try to change the rules to keep kimbo in the game !!!
I wasn't doubting the credibility of your information. I was curious if there is somewhere that is leaking reliable information publically.
I'm honestly not that great a Fedor fan either, he was just one of the better weight class examples of which I could think to really drive my particular point home. You are correct though, it would not even be safe.
I heard from a very dependable source that Kimbo Slice has won his first match by KO seconds into to round 1 on Ultimate Fighter
They are gonna be showing the Ultimate Fighter 10 online over at http://watchmmafree.com
*thumbs up*
I quickly looked at watchmmafree.com and you have to take surveys to unlock events. Haven't actually tried them but just wanted to give everyone a heads up.
kimbo looses in the second round...sources leaked
Just out of curiosity, has anyone seen any major MMA news source leaking information. I usually check out MMAweekly and Sherdog, and MMAjunkie every once in awhile.
kephrira 2 years ago
nice hub!