Let's hope that's the reaction when the name "Kimbo Slice" comes up in conversation in the near future! Kevin Ferguson's 15 minutes of fame are all but over! Thank God, Buddah, Allah, Satan or whoever you personally worship for that. Speaking of Satan, I'm still quite surprised that Dana White pulled the plug so quickly on the Kimbo experiment. Just kidding, I don't think Kimbo is Satan!
All jokes aside, there was probably still some money to be made off of Kimbo, so major props have to be given to Dana and the Zuffa brass for giving Slice his walking papers. As Dana said regarding the decision, the UFC is about the best fighters in the world and Kimbo just didn't cut it. Fair enough, but that's been blatantly obvious since Kimbo first reared his hilariously bearded, bald head. In defense of Slice though, he's far from the only fighter on the UFC roster who doesn't deserve to be there.
None of this has anything to do with Kevin Ferguson, the person. Its all about "Kimbo Slice", the character. And what a meticulously crafted character he is. The Kimbo persona is taylor made for a cartoon or a comic book. He reminds me of Snoop Dogg in that way, but without talent. That's the important distinction here. Snoop is an immensely talented dude while Kimbo is devoid of any. At least in relation to the talent that is required to be a professional MMA fighter at the UFC level.
Yes, Kimbo has made some improvements as a fighter since turning pro in 2007, following his bum beating days down in Florida. He should be commended for that. Unfortunately for him, just not enough improvement. At this point, he is 4-2 as a pro, which isn't horrible, until you look at who he has fought. He has wins over Bo Cantrell, Tank Abbott, James Thompson and Houston Alexander, who have a combined record of 45-43. Ouch, do the math on that winning percentage. Look up the word "can" in any MMA dictionary and pictures of all these guys will immediately pop up. He lost to a much smaller journeyman in Seth Petruzelli, where he got KTFO in 14 seconds. Yes, you read that right, 14 seconds, and by a very weak punch to boot. Please remember, Seth took that fight on one day notice. His other loss is to Matt "Meathead" Mitrione, who beat him in only his 2nd pro fight. Meathead didn't just beat him, he crushed him. Kimbo made Meathead look like a world class mixed martial artist. Just so you know, he isn't. It was this last exposure of Slice as a virtual no-talent that basically forced Zuffa's hand with his dismissal. Aside from an early takedown, Kimbo looked like a complete novice out there. He showed no signs of his supposed punching skills, couldn't check low kicks, was nearly submitted on multiple occasions, had ZERO cardio and showed ZERO understanding of fighting off his back. By the second round, he was an immobile target out there, just waiting to be abused in any way Mitrione chose. He also got completely manhandled and outclassed by Roy "Big Country" Nelson in his one fight on season 10 of TUF, a show specifically put together by Zuffa to showcase "the internet sensation".
Several things were always working against Slice in his attempts to make it as a pro MMA fighter. His biggest obstacle was the age in which he began his pro career. Very few people can begin fighting professionally at the age of 33 (a publicized age I still question) and make it work. Especially fighters without years of real training under their belts. Kimbo's backyard beatings of untrained bums is not training that is conducive to a smooth, successful transition to pro MMA fighting. Then there's his size issues. He's a small HW who can't make LHW. All the behemoths at HW dwarf him and he carries too much muscle and not enough discipline to make the weight cut to fight at 205. Not that fighting at 205 would work out any better for him. His lack of speed would be exposed down there very quickly! Another glaring problem was Kimbo's own admission to smoking. I'm not sure exactly what he smokes, but whatever it was obviously didn't help his already very suspect cardio. He himself said on camera, on the Countdown to UFC 113 show, that he had to stop smoking while training for his fight with Meathead. Wrong Kimbo! If you are serious about being a professional athlete you don't smoke at all, PERIOD. That in an of itself shows his lack of true dedication to competing in the sport at the top level. Or maybe he was smoking something that "deluded" his view of reality regarding his skill level. Finally, did Kimbo ever show any real skills at all to build from? Even his supposed punching skills never shined when it mattered. Knocking out a scared shitless Bo Cantrell, or a very out of shape, very old Tank Abbott doesn't say much. Getting obliterated in 14 seconds by a much smaller Seth Petruzelli says much more about Kimbo's phantom striking prowess.
As far as getting dropped by Zuffa, they really had no other choice in the matter, regardless of the cow still having a few drops of milk left to exploit. Realistically, what other scrub was left on the roster for them to match him up with, hoping he could pull out a win? The answer is, no one. Any wrestling based fighter annihilates him, taking him down at will and pounding his bald dome in. Any jiu-jitsu based fighter would submit him with relative ease. And any striking based fighter would just beat the crap out of him. A fighter who combines skills in all those disciplines, of which there are many, doesn't even break a sweat in handing him another "L" on his record. Bottom line, the skill, nor the true desire and commitment to fight at the top level was never there for Slice. It takes much more than just showing up to the gym. Kimbo fights for the money, and he definitely made some, so he deserves credit for that. He's made more money than most MMA fighters, fighters with actual talent, skill, desire and dedication, who deserve to make real money in this sport.
So what's the lesson to be learned from the "Kimbo Slice" experiment? The only one I can come up with is that a funny beard, funny chest hair, a muscular physique and an ice grill can sometimes carry you a long way. Take those things away from "Kimbo Slice" and what's left? Certainly not fighting talent, but who really cares about that anymore?!? Surprisingly, Zuffa does!
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Good article. Kimbo has a good attitude and I think he really tried, but he simply can't hang at this level. And look for pretty much every opponent to follow the lead of Meat and kick the hell out of him. He failed to check Houston's kicks and Matt did the same only with more power.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Kimbo will end up in another organization? Strikeforce?
ReplyDeleteArticle is very done and well said.
I cant imagine where all his punching power went. From what we have seen on you tube in the past.