Bellator made headlines last week when they decided to sign YouTube street fighter, UFC veteran and pro boxer Kimbo Slice to their roster. It was a move that received mixed reviews from fans, as some were stoked to see the hulking heavyweight return, while others simply dismissed the signing.
Slice, whose pro MMA record stands at 4-2, is 40 years old, and if you remember watching The Ultimate Fighter 10, you’ll remember he had knee issues. At this stage in the game, Kimbo won’t be a world-class mixed martial artist, but there’s no doubt that he will draw big attention and entertain fans one way or another.
Since his last fight in 2010, Kimbo took to pro boxing, where he went 7-0 against largely unknown opponents. With that focus being put on boxing, one could assume he wasn’t really working on his ground game much, despite being cousins with judo black belt and Strikeforce veteran Rhadi Ferguson (Kimbo’s real name is Kevin Ferguson).
In what ways can Bellator utilize Kimbo and which ways would work the best? We now examine several possibilities for Bellator’s newest backyard brawler.
Feed Him Cans
Let’s be honest here. The reason we all loved Kimbo during his YouTube days (and even his Elite XC days) is because we loved watching him beat dudes up. Most of the time, they were guys with little fight experience or skill.
That was the best. We watched a hulking man with muscles for days and a beard as thick as a Culver’s milkshake throw fists with bad intentions and knock fools out.
That’s what makes Kimbo a draw, and we shouldn’t be ashamed to admit it.
So, Bellator could do what’s best for Kimbo and the viewing audience by feeding Kimbo lowly competition. I don’t necessarily mean guys with no fight experience. I more or less mean guys that he matches up favorably against and aren’t exactly getting comparisons to Randy Couture in terms of overall skill level.
It worked and drew for Elite XC early on. They threw him Bo Cantrell in his debut, a fighter whose record at the time was 10-9 and has a penchant for getting finished in under a minute. His previous three fights before Kimbo saw Cantrell fall in 55, five and 26 seconds.
They also had him take a way-past-his-prime Tank Abbott, a fellow brawler who was a far cry from his UFC days when he was a feared fighter. In fact, Abbott came out of retirement for that bout, and Kimbo sent him right back where he was.
Bellator has the money and the advertising wits about them to make the fight seem important. It would also be a decent payday for a guy to step up and fight Kimbo, making money he would never make otherwise.
Freak-Show Tournament
I ran this idea by a few of my MMA friends and colleagues to more mixed responses, but the general consensus was that it would be a draw and interesting to watch based on name power. Bellator could put on a heavyweight freak-show tournament, featuring men with more name than either skill or experience.
The names I threw in there are Kimbo, Herschel Walker (who fought under Scott Coker in Strikeforce), Alberto Del Rio, Bob Sapp, Jose Canseco, Ikuhisa Minowa, Jason David Frank and Michael Westbrook. You could use all eight or a combination of the four (if you kept four, stick with Kimbo, Walker, Del Rio and Canseco).
Most of these guys are more names than they are fighters (with the exception of one or two people), and people would tune in to see that.
Walker is a former pro football player for teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as a guy who did collegiate track and field and tried his hand at Olympic bobsledding. However, he is a long-time martial artist with a fifth-degree black belt in taekwondo, as well as a 2-0 MMA fighter back in the day with Strikeforce.
Westbrook is similar to Walker, in that he is a former football player—spending most of his career with the Washington Redskins—before a brief stint in MMA. His most famous fight came on the football practice field when he beat up teammate Stephen Davis, but he does hold a 1-1 record in MMA and went three rounds with a young Travis Browne.
Canseco is a former baseball player who’s now most famous for things like exposing steroids in baseball and starring on reality TV. He claims a black belt in karate and taekwondo and had one MMA fight in Japan, where he was promptly defeated by Korean giant Hong-man Choi.
Frank is most recently known for his call-outs of CM Punk, a now-UFC employee. Frank, who was the White Power Ranger, is a highly accomplished black belt in karate who is 1-0 as a pro mixed martial artist.
Sapp and Minowa are the two most experienced fighters in the proposed tournament here. Sapp, known as a large man with little skill, is somehow still a draw in MMA and would be an interesting first-round opponent for Kimbo. Minowa, normally a lighter weight fighter, has made a career off beating larger opponents and being sort of a legendary figure in Japan because of that.
Del Rio might be the most difficult to get, as he is a pro wrestler who recently inked a deal with the upstart Lucha Underground promotion (check it out, wrestling fans). However, for the right money and a blessing from the wrestling promotion (maybe some advertising), Del Rio could be considered and would be an experienced, big name for the tournament (9-5 pro record).
If I were to match up the eight men, here’s how it would play out in the quarterfinals:
| Fighter 1 |
Fighter 2 |
Reason |
| Kimbo Slice |
Bob Sapp |
Matchup of brawlers |
| Herschel Walker |
Michael Westbrook |
Football vs. Football |
| Ikuhisa Minowa |
Alberto del Rio |
Legend of Japan vs. Legend of Mexico |
| Jose Canseco |
Jason David Frank |
Power Hitter vs. Power Ranger |
Yes, it would not be the best display of mixed martial arts you’ll find, but I guarantee it would draw eyes and money. Former pro athletes from different sports and mythical characters from the MMA world would be too hard to ignore.
Actual Competition
Now, if Bellator really wants, they can throw him some actual competition. This was done in the UFC, but not to a great result.
Of his opponents, Kimbo’s most legitimate fights were against Roy Nelson on TUF, Matt Mitrione and Houston Alexander, both of which were actual UFC bouts. He went 1-2, with his win against Alexander being universally panned as a stinker.
Nelson and Mitrione are top-20 guys with the UFC, and both had little trouble in putting away Kimbo. Nelson smothered and smashed Kimbo with his heavy ground game, while Mitrione used a variety of techniques on the feet and ground to make Kimbo look foolish.
Bellator would probably not get the most out of the bearded brawler going this route. Putting him in there with guys like Tito Ortiz, King Mo Lawal, Cheick Kongo or any of their top heavier weight fighters would have Kimbo’s momentum from signing killed quickly and painfully.
That’s why I think this is probably not the way to go, at least not for now. The tournament is a fun idea, but at this point, you have to assume that Coker and Co. are going to feed the undisputed king of Internet brawling somebody he can take with ease.
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