Kimbo Slice was set to compete against James Thompson in the main event of Bellator’s debut in London next month.
According to a report by MMA Latest News, the show will go on, but rumors that Slice’s son will replace him are false.
Event promote…
Kimbo Slice was set to compete against James Thompson in the main event of Bellator’s debut in London next month.
According to a report by MMA Latest News, the show will go on, but rumors that Slice’s son will replace him are false.
Event promoter Paul Hennessey told the site that Bellator is still “100-percent committed” to the show in the O2 Arena. However, they will not look at Kevin Ferguson, Jr. to meet Thompson.
Douglas Lima has already replaced Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley on the card, while Michael Page is also expected to compete. Current Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary is recovering from a knee injury and will not be asked to step in.
Hennessey added that they are “approaching all the top Bellator stars available to come in as a late replacement.”
(Father. Fighter. Undercover cowboy. Legend. via Getty.)
There are a dozen or more ways I could describe my feelings as I write this post, but I think “heartbroken” says it best. Kimbo Slice is dead, and I’m honest-to-God heartbroken to be delivering this news to you.
It may sound overly dramatic considering how tangential of a connection we shared with the guy, but to hear that the street fighting legend has passed away at just 42 years of age and just three months after his last appearance in the cage is so sudden, so bewildering, that it seems to hit with a greater weight than many of the unfortunate deaths we’ve reported on over the years.
(Father. Fighter. Undercover cowboy. Legend. via Getty.)
There are a dozen or more ways I could describe my feelings as I write this post, but I think “heartbroken” says it best. Kimbo Slice is dead, and I’m honest-to-God heartbroken to be delivering this news to you.
It may sound overly dramatic considering how tangential of a connection we shared with the guy, but to hear that the street fighting legend has passed away at just 42 years of age and just three months after his last appearance in the cage is so sudden, so bewildering, that it seems to hit with a greater weight than many of the unfortunate deaths we’ve reported on over the years.
Details after the jump.
Of course, a huge part of my sadness can be attributed to the content of Kevin Ferguson’s character. To many, he may have looked like your run-of-the-mill street thug (which is understandable, given how he made his name in the first place), but beneath that glorious beard and do-rag was a kind and genuine human being with a surprisingly perceptive head on his shoulders. Ferguson was a family man, a humble man — someone who truly captured the American dream that we so often find ourselves chasing. He started with nothing and carved his own path to success, becoming one of the most recognizable and universally beloved figures in the sport despite having less actual training in it than 90% of his peers. How do you sum up a person like that?
Bellator President Scott Coker attempted to do as much last night via an official statement released through Bellator, which you can read below.
We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family.
One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport.
Outside of the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man. His loss leaves us all with extremely heavy hearts, and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ferguson family and all of Kimbo’s friends, fans, and teammates.
No official cause of death has been listed as of this write-up, but some reports seem to indicate that Slice suffered a heart attack late last night and was unable to be revived after being rushed to a Florida hospital. He is survived by his six children and his fiance, Antionette Ray.
R.I.P Kimbo. You taught us that tapping was for bitches, so here’s hoping that you’re tapping bitches in heaven now.
The man arrived at just the right time, an underground character delivered through a disruptive media platform meant to broadcast from all the dark corners that never saw light. He was a block of muscle who said little but communicated with his presenc…
The man arrived at just the right time, an underground character delivered through a disruptive media platform meant to broadcast from all the dark corners that never saw light. He was a block of muscle who said little but communicated with his presence a message easily understood.
The struggle is real.
We’re out here literally fighting for a future.
And when we heard his name, it was all too perfect.
Even if it turned out to be a nom de guerre, it turned out to be a perfect one.
It was the name that launched a million headlines.
Kimbo.
It also propelled a promotion, hit the big time and paved the way to an American dream.
That dream ended far too early.
Kimbo Slice, aka Kevin Ferguson, died Monday, as confirmed by his team, American Top Team, and various news outlets. He was just 42 years old.
For those who only saw him appear on their screens, Kimbo was a character designed to elicit response. In a sense, he was a marketing gimmick. He was never going to be a championship-level fighter in either boxing or mixed martial arts. He started way too late for that. But he could be interesting. He could draw eyeballs like few in either sport. He could be special.
He was, in a sense, one of the first reality stars.
After his YouTube videos captivated millions of people, he got the opportunity to go national. Signed as a building block for the upstart EliteXC, Slice attracted such huge audiences to Showtime that parent company CBS could not resist the lure of putting him on national television.
On May 31, 2008, in a move that was nothing short of surreal, Slice, just two years removed from obscurity and a dozen years removed from homelessness, headlined MMA‘s first show on primetime network television. It drew a then-record 6.51 million viewers.
Not Randy Couture or Chuck Liddell or Royce Gracie.
Kimbo Slice.
In a way, it was perfect, the arrival of MMA with both its unmatched buzz and undeniable blemishes.
Here we are. Take us or leave us.
There is much to be said about the career Slice had in the mixed martial arts cage, which was mostly uneven. He won his share of fights, lost others, then tested positive for the steroid nandrolone.
But to the end, he remained a draw, pulling in over 2.7 million viewers for his last bout with Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris at Bellator 149 in February.
Away from the cage, Slice, known as “Ferg” or “Big Ferg,” was soft-spoken, gentle and insightful.
He was also unaffected by his celebrity. Years ago, I was scheduled to interview Slice at a hotel in New York City. When I arrived with a media relations person that morning, we knocked on his hotel room door to find him and a group of family members, some sitting around, some laying around. On the floor, on the bed, on the couch. Everywhere. The media relations person asked Slice how they liked the accommodations.
It’s a little cramped but otherwise OK, he said.
“The other room, too?” the media relations person asked him.
“What other room?” Slice asked.
While a TV network had booked multiple rooms for him and his entourage, they had slept six or seven to the one room without complaint.
When the interview began, he was polite but reserved, so I decided to switch gears to open him up. I had read that his son was an excellent football player and asked about him. His eyes lit up, and we spent much of the rest of the interview discussing his family and his motivations.
Turns out, Kimbo was a sweetheart.
Like the rest of us parents, he was just trying to do the best he could for his children: Kevin Jr., Kevin II, Kevlar, Kassandra, Kiara and Kevina.
Like the rest of us children, he was just trying to make his mom proud.
They can lay him to rest knowing he did both.
Slice is many ways is a 21st-century American dream, a self-made man who took his gift and marketed himself to the moon.
In that, he was a winner. That was the end goal—not a championship or the respect of the sport’s followers. He wanted to put on a show and be paid for starring in it. Everything else was secondary. In that way, he was a prizefighter’s prizefighter.
It was not a Hall of Fame-worthy career, but it was a Hall of Fame-worthy life, something out of the movies. Maybe one day it will be one.
Fighting takes its toll on a man. Slice had done it so long, it became part of who he was. If there is any silver lining to the early passing of a gentleman and a father, it’s that he doesn’t have to fight anymore. For now and forever, his incredible American success story will speak for him.
Following the news that Bellator MMA fighter and former UFC fighter Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson has died at age 42 on Monday evening, the MMA community began reacting to the news on social media.
Below is a collection of some of the immediate react…
Following the news that Bellator MMA fighter and former UFC fighter Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson has died at age 42 on Monday evening, the MMA community began reacting to the news on social media.
Below is a collection of some of the immediate reactions on Twitter to the news that Kimbo Slice has passed away.
MMA fighter Kimbo Slice—birth name Kevin Ferguson—died on Monday at the age of 42.
TMZ Sports confirmed he died but said “details surrounding [Slice’s] death are unclear.” Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report shared the res…
MMA fighter Kimbo Slice—birth name Kevin Ferguson—died on Monday at the age of 42.
TMZ Sports confirmed he died but said “details surrounding [Slice’s] death are unclear.” Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report shared the response from Bellator President Scott Coker:
This comes after TMZ Sports reported earlier Monday that Slice was taken to a hospital near Coral Springs, Florida. Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting and Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com both confirmed that report.
According to Ryan Frederick of f4wonline.com, Slice trained at American Top Team, which reacted to the news:
Slice’s last fight came on Feb. 19 in Houston during Bellator 149. While he defeated Dhafir Harris—otherwise known as Dada 5000—in three rounds, the victory was overturned after he “tested positive for the steroid nandrolone and also had an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio,” per Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting.
Slice’s UFC profile said he had a 4-2 record in six fights, but he was a famous fighter well before he reached that level. He earned much of his fame during street and backyard fights that aired on YouTube. Those fights highlighted his pure strength and overwhelming power as he used his punching ability to outmuscle opponents.
He turned that YouTube fame into a career in MMA. According to Frederick, Slice’s fight in May of 2008 against James Thompson was the first-ever MMA event that was broadcast on network television. Slice beat Thompson at EliteXC: Primetime, although he went on to lose to Seth Petruzelli later that year during EliteXC’s final event.
Frederick noted Slice also appeared on The Ultimate Fighter and faced off against “Roy Nelson in the highest-rated MMA fight aired on cable during that TUF season.” Slice even went 7-0 as a professional boxer before he signed with Bellator.
Slice was scheduled to face Thompson as a headlining match at Bellator 158 on July 16 in London before Monday’s news, per Okamoto.
Shortly after the news became public late Monday evening that Bellator MMA fighter Kimbo Slice (Kevin Ferguson) passed away at age 42, current Bellator MMA President Scott Coker issued a statement on the passing of the legendary street brawler turned M…
Shortly after the news became public late Monday evening that Bellator MMA fighter Kimbo Slice (Kevin Ferguson) passed away at age 42, current Bellator MMA President Scott Coker issued a statement on the passing of the legendary street brawler turned MMA fighter.
Scott Coker issued the following statement on the official Bellator MMA website at Bellator.Spike.com:
“We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family. One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport.
“Outside of the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man. His loss leaves us all with extremely heavy hearts, and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ferguson family and all of Kimbo’s friends, fans, and teammates.”
