Bare knuckle street brawler-turned all-around mixed martial arts (MMA) superstar — Kimbo Slice — passed away on June 6, 2016 in his home state of Florida as a result of heart failure.
For more details on his death click here and here.
After a stint under the Elite XC banner, Slice — real name Kevin Ferguson — made the jump into the Octagon, appearing on The Ultimate Fighter: “The Heavyweight’s,” before going 1-1 with the promotion officially.
And while he didn’t have the most successful run inside the eight-walled cage, his impact on UFC was felt, as he brought in the ratings every time he fought.
Though he was competing for Bellator MMA prior to his passing, that didn’t stop UFC’s Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta from showing Slice love, as the promotion rolled out the embedded tribute video above in honor of one of the most enigmatic figures the sport had to offer.
Like former UFC Heavyweight Brendan Schaub quickly learned after getting to know Slice inside the TUF house, the old adage that you simply can’t judge a book by its cover held true.
And judging by the touching tribute, he was right.