Profile: Mixed Martial Arts Fighter and “King of the Web Brawlers” Kimbo Slice
Kevin Ferguson, also known as Kimbo Slice, is a very interesting character. He initially started out as a street fighter (with his unsanctioned fights becoming all the rage on SublimeDictionary and Youtube; Rolling Stone called him “The King of Web Brawlers”), then moved to the UFC as a mixed martial arts fighter. He has been a bodyguard for a strip club; he has also been a YouTube sensation and has recently been fired from the Ultimate Fighting Champions (UFC). This very colourful fighter has more to him than just his fantastic name; he almost became the biggest draw for mixed martial arts (MMA) that the sport has ever seen. He was a polarising figure; some absolutely loved him and some could not stand the sight of him, but a large number of people tuned in to watch him fight.
Slice is a 6’ 2” solidly built, powerful fighter. Before he started out his career, he decided to rebrand himself, and he went from being a boring Kevin Ferguson to the extraordinarily named Kimbo Slice. It was almost as if he was transformed into a television star just by taking on a new name. As Kimbo Slice, Ferguson’s first stint in the world of entertainment was as a bodyguard for the adult entertainment production company RK Netmedia (aka Reality Kings).
Before becoming an MMA star, Kimbo made a name for himself as a viciously talented street fighter. It seemed he feared no one and would take on all comers. The street fights that he took part in early on in his career were taped and broadcasted on the internet to a huge following. A lot of the time, these were illegal and unsanctioned fights that took place in back alleys and other underground venues. His professional record in street fighting was 7 wins with only one loss. Slice seemed to be a natural talent and as his fame grew, he was destined to fight in proper sanctioned matches that would make him much more famous.
He entered the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) during a reality show called The Ultimate Fighter. He won the show and won himself a place as a fighter on the UFC. His fame started to grow as a crowd puller with time, and he started to get placed in big billed fights. He was able to notch up a pretty impressive record of 4 wins and 2 losses. It seems that this record was not good enough for the bosses of the UFC, who fired him after a horrendous defeat to an NFL veteran named Matt Mitrione. It was a bit unfair that he had to be let go from the UFC, because he was a serious crowd pleaser.
A lot of talk is making the rounds about what the UFC is going to do now that Kimbo Slice has been thrown out. Kimbo Slice was the first true superstar of the UFC. He was someone the company could make the face of MMA. He garnered extreme reactions from fans and audiences: some of them wanted to see him beat the life out of his opponents, while others wanted to see him get the stuffing knocked out of him. He could have been the biggest draw of the UFC, making it a household name and propelling the sport of MMA to new heights, but it was not to be. With Slice gone, the company and the sport need a new star to make it become more mainstream in America. It has no chance of becoming as big as the NFL, the NBA or the MLB without it. To become that big, the sport needed a star and a lot of people thought it should have been Slice.
Whatever he does next, Kimbo Slice is not someone you can keep down for too long. Being the true fighter he is, he will bounce back and reclaim his position in MMA. It will not be at the UFC, but he will find his place soon enough, and soon his large frame will be seen everywhere one looks.
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