Just who is Kimbo Slice? If you don't know the answer to that question,
you probably don't know what youtube.com is either.
Kimbo Slice grew up in Miami, Florida and was a big part of the underground fight scene. Kimbo, who stands 6'2" and typically carries around about 260lbs of lean bodyweight, has suffered very few documented losses in the streets, his most notable loss to ex-cop Sean Gannon. Many of Kimbo's fights can be seen on youtube.com, and he is, in fact, somewhat of a youtube.com legend.
Seeking legitimacy for his legacy, Kimbo Slice has been training with former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten to make his mark in the MMA world. His next fight in the cage will be against the menacing Tank Abbott, who's fighting style makes him somewhat of a brawler himself. You can catch that fight on February 16, 2008.
As for fighting his way into the UFC, Kimbo is all over it. The skeptics are already talking about it. According to http://www.mmamania.com, Dana White had this to say about Kimbo Slice fighting in the UFC, “Sean Gannon beat him in a street fight. Everyone saw what happened to Sean Gannon when he fought a guy that no one ever heard of (a decisive TKO loss to Branden Lee Hinkle in the UFC). Gannon was in the hospital for three weeks. That’s what would happen to Kimbo Slice if he fought
in the UFC. He would get hurt bad – real bad.”. However, not everyone is a skeptic. Just ask Bas Rutten who said, “I am training Kimbo right now, and I have to say that he is one of the BEST fighters I have EVER trained. He really listens to you and does what you say, do you know how hard that is? If he’s dead tired, and I tell him five more rounds, he looks at me, but doesn’t say anything, he just does it.”.
So no matter which side of the fence you're standing on, nobody can deny that Kimbo Slice would be a major source of entertainment for the UFC. Just watch him on youtube.com and you'll see exactly why. Kimbo may have a long way to go in MMA, but at only 33 years of age, he could have a bright future in the octagon.
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When Kimbo was just a guilty internet curiosity, I was just like everyone else...."he would be destroyed against a legit fighter" and "no way that guy hangs with the big guys" but I will say that now I am pulling for him to be successful in the industry. He isnt fighting for street cred, he isnt fighting to survive, he is fighting because it is something that he likes to do and he wanted to make a career out of it.
And credit to Kimbo for going about it the right way by surrounding himself with maybe one of the best pure teachers in the sport, Bas Rutten. El Guapo saw the raw talent and knew that with a committment from Kimbo he would mold him into a dangerous heavy-weight that could absolutley hang with the big boys. Even in watching his internet fights you can see that Kimbo had good head movement, threw combo's and often telegraphed his opponents moves to counter punch with good accuracy.
Something that remains to be seen is the ground game of Kimbo, but lets face it, nobody wants to see that monster fight on the ground. But I am confident that with Bas and his team in his corner, Kimbo would be able to survive (not necessarily finish) on the ground just enough to be stood up by the ref for the real fireworks.
Rutten has Kimbo under control. He doesn't smoke or drink anymore, he trains religiously and seems to have the discipline need to succeed in MMA. Chances are he will fight long term for a less known organization for a long time to come but I guarantee he will be the guy responsible for more high-light real KO's against no name fighters trying to become known.
War Kimbo!
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