News of Slice’s status was reported by MMAFighting where a report by Fight Opinion was also cited revealing that just because the former internet sensation doesn’t plan on testing his skills at the sweet science or in Mixed Martial Arts won’t mean fans have seen the last of him in a ring.

It seems the hard-hitting Floridian has been named as one of eight men competing in a tournament taking place on February 5 in a Japanese professional wrestling organization. Slice will face a former Sumo wrestler in opening round action at the event. Strikeforce heavyweight Josh Barnett is also listed in the field of “competitors”.

If Kimbo’s days as a legitimate fighter are indeed over he will retire from MMA with a 4-2 record including a win over Houston Alexander in the Octagon. He also holds victories, albeit in less-impressive fashion, over James Thompson and “Tank” Abbott.

Slice took to Twitter to reveal his plans, saying he hadn’t completely abandoned the sport of MMA but would be lacing up a larger pair of gloves in terms of his next in-ring appearance.

“Yes my next fight is gonna be in the boxing ring…I’m gonna throw these hands. Don’t count me out of MMA entirely though…”

Slice also stated his boxing debut was scheduled for October and that he would reveal more details as they became available.

The former YouTube sensation holds a professional MMA record of 4-2 and was 1-1 in the Octagon. He was released from the UFC shortly after his loss to Matt Mitrione at UFC 113 and hasn’t fought since.

Kevin Ferguson

The pair threw down during this evening’s The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale that took place from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

In what came as a huge shock to many, the duo of knockout artist’s somehow managed to got the distance in a bout most expected to last no longer than a minute or two.

Houston started off extremely tentative and looked to pepper Kimbo with leg kicks for the bulk of the first round while Slice charted forward. Kimbo turned it up a notch in the second going forward, imposing his will on Alexander with a series of slams and punches, even managing to take the more experienced brawler’s back for a duration of time looking to sink a rear-naked choke.

It was an impressive performance for Kimbo. A performance the judges unanimously saw in his favor with two scores of 29-28, and one score of 30-27.

Kimbo Slice will face off with Houston Alexander at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale from the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas on December 5, according to a recent report on The Times of Northwest Indiana citing sources close to Alexander.

Talk of this anticipated match-up between knockout specialists have been brewing for some time, as FiveOuncesofPain.com first reported on the possibility of the match-up back on October 13.

Apparently the bout has been set for a catchweight of 215 pounds according to the published report from nwi.com. The report goes on to state that the bout was originally targeted for 205 pounds before it became apparent that Kimbo would have been unable to successfully make the weight.

Slice will be making his official Octagon debut in the contest, with his last appearance in the cage being a second round TKO loss at the hands of Roy “Big Country” Nelson during Kimbo’s stint on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter. He currently holds a professional record of 3-1 with wins over the likes of Bo Cantrell, Tank Abbott and James Thompson before suffering his first defeat to Seth Petruzelli during EliteXC: Heat in October of 2008.

Alexander was recently allowed to fight outside of his contractual obligations to the UFC where he got back on track with a first round TKO over Sherman Pendergarst at Adrenaline IV in September. Prior to his most recent victory, the heavy handed Nebraskan had suffered losses in his three last trips to the Octagon.

I knew deep down Kimbo didn’t have a chance to win his fight against a seasoned veteran like Roy Nelson, but I found myself rooting for him none the less.

You see although Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson, is not quite a mixed martial artist, he is a fighter that has what very few ever achieve. He has the ability to evoke emotion within the MMA community and beyond.

Very few fighters in this young sport of ours have had the ability to create so much hype and buzz as a Kimbo Slice. The newly found viewers for this seasons TUF can be directly attributed to Kimbo’s involvement alone, and now that he has fought and lost, will probably lose interest in the shows remainder. However the ratings alone, will dictate at least a few appearances by Kimbo in pay-per-views events in the future. (Rumored to be UFC 107 in December)

And why not? At the age of 35, he may not become anything more than a spectacle, but he’s a spectacle people will continue to watch. If he puts in much needed work and shows halfway decent fights, his stock will continue to rise.

In all honesty, I am not a fan of Kimbo. It’s not because of how he’s portrayed, or all the rumors, or even how he’s become a huge star over lackluster fights, its because he’s not a good mixed martial artist. Again, with work on his game (he showed above average takedown defense against Nelson by the way) he might become more relevant on a ranking scale, although not likely. But, because he evokes emotion, I will still continue to follow his progression.

Kimbo, along with fighters like Brock Lesnar, Tito Ortiz, and Chuck Liddell, to name a few, have a strange way of drawing people to them. They have become bigger than the fights themselves, with larger than life personas. There almost always seems to be no gray area with these types of fighters. Fans either love them or hate them, but they most certainly have an opinion. They will continue to flock to arenas and television sets to see the outcome of their fights.

So, whether you’re a fan of Kimbo from his days on YouTube, you like that he tots guns, or you cant stand the fact that a street fighter has made a name for himself in this ever growing sport of ours. There’s one thing you can’t deny, you’ll watch him again.

“You know what I’m sayin.”

I’m tired of hearing about how the time spent at the TUF house is going to somehow transform the lifelong street brawler into a mixed martial artist we should take seriously on a UFC level.

A half of a million dollars is what Kimbo took in during his :14 second beatdown at the hands of Seth Petruzelli alone. That’s plenty of money to send your children to college in my estimation, and there should definitely be enough left over in there to put yourself through a quality training camp.

There’s really no excuses for Slice in his neck of the woods in Miami, Florida. Just a short drive away you have one of the best MMA gyms in the business, The American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. You also have Gracie Tampa which is fully endorsed by the legendary Royce Gracie, and is also home to TUF 10 cast member Marcus Jones.

The point is that Kimbo doesn’t care about the getting better in the sport, and if he has, he sure hasn’t gone to any great lengths to show it.

In the most recent episode of Spike’s “Inside The Ultimate Fighter” Podcast, Kimbo had this to say about last night’s performance, “I knew to be careful because Roy will bait you, that’s how good he is. He can look rocked, but the minute you go in for the kill, shwoop! You know what I’m sayin? He’s a smart fighter. When I felt like I rocked him I went in for the kill and that’s when I made my mistake. That’s when I realized, ah, this motherf***** was slick. But in the midst of the fight I had to figure that out.”

Two years into the game in the middle of a fight with a guy like Roy Nelson is the wrong time to be figuring that the motherf****** is slick.

“By the second round he figured out how to get in, how to play possum and get me down to the ground,” continued Kimbo. “That weight was hard to move. The crucifix is not my favorite position. I been in that position with James Thompson and was stuck. Roy had me also in that same position. That’s a position I would really like to know how to get out of. I know some shit on the ground. It’s not like I get down there and I don’t know nothing. I have some skills.”

First off, it was apparent to me that Roy had “figured out how to get in” very early on in the first round when he had Slice pinned against the fence. You know, right before he slammed him to the canvas, mounted him and took sidemount as if he was demonstrating technique during a beginner’s Ju-Jitsu class.

Second of all, If the crucifix is not your favorite position because of obvious reasons, why wouldn’t you take steps to prevent it from happening in the future? makes sense right?

Then Kimbo goes on to state that it’s a position that he “would really like to know how to get out of”.

Are you kidding me?

It’s not as if the show just finished taping today, but that’s when this interview was released.

So let’s just say theoretically that you just had your lunch money completely taken from you on national television because of your obvious lack of ability to defend the position. Would that not be the first thing you would address?

It doesn’t seem as if Kimbo can be bothered. The word is that he’s currently up at the American Top Team in Coconut Creek training for a fight in December. What he needs to be training is that crucifix position.

Either delirious or doing a fantastic job at trolling all of us fans, Kimbo would go on to state, “I’ll beat Roy next time around. You’re only gonna beat me once. If I fight anybody and they beat me that one time, that’s it. You gave me your best. You didn’t beat me at my best. Now I know how you’re comin’. You ain’t beatin’ me twice. Damn right I’d rematch Roy.”

Roy Nelson and Kimbo Slice fight 100 times, Nelson wins 99 of them.

What's next for Kimbo Slice? Sam Caplan says it should be a showdown with Chuck Liddell.

During a recent interview with Greg Savage of Sherdog.com, UFC President Dana White responded to a question about the promotion’s growing number of shows and whether they have enough marquee talent to headline the shows by saying he has plenty of headliners.

While the UFC has its fair share of stars that can carry a pay-per-view such as B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Brock Lesnar, Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture, you can never have too many drawing cards in your deck.

One of the UFC’s biggest drawing cards over the years has been Chuck Liddell. However, with four losses in his last five fights, it is believed his ability to draw buyers to pay-per-view has diminished. However, that’s a perception that has yet to be verified, as we do not know the official amount of buys Liddell’s recent fights have drawn.

But let’s just say the “Iceman” isn’t the star he once was, the reality is that he still remains one of the most recognizable fighters in all of MMA. And now, thanks to his current stint on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, Liddell’s stardom continues to grow while he skills diminish.

While White has made it clear he would prefer that Liddell retire, the UFC Hall of Famer has one more fight left on his current UFC deal. Liddell has confirmed his hiatus from MMA, but has yet to officially announce his retirement from the sport.

Will Liddell ever challenge for the UFC light heavyweight title? Unlikely. But does he still have a few strong PPV buys left in him? If the matchup is right, absolutely.

And what’s the right matchup?

None other than Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson.

During the taping of the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter, rumors swirled that Slice had lost early on in the show to former IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson. Initially, the rumors didn’t appear logical because many — myself included — speculated that the UFC and Spike TV would manipulate the show so that Kimbo didn’t fight until the seventh or eighth episode.

The reality is that TUF is really reality — there was no TV magic of any kind performed. Kimbo not only fought early in the season, he fought the tournament’s unofficial number one seed.

Well, maybe I spoke too soon, as there was some magic performed during last night’s show. The magic I am speaking of is none other than Dana White’s marvelous spin job regarding the ending of last night’s fight and his closing comments on Kimbo.

Sorry to use a professional wrestling reference, but White’s 180 degree full fledged flip would have been like Bobby “The Brain” Heenan turning from heel to face and siding with Hulk Hogan — a scenario that never actually transpired.

If I didn’t know any better, it would seem that White has joined Team Kimbo. And why shouldn’t he? Dana is a businessman and Kimbo is a stone cold star. I had the opportunity to work with Kimbo while involved with several CBS and Showtime productions. Kimbo probably wouldn’t recognize me if he saw me, but he left a tremendous impression on me. Despite the playing the role of the thug to perfection in the public eye, the Kimbo I was exposed to behind the scenes was a nice, kind, and gentle soul. The producers of TUF did a marvelous job of showing that side of Kimbo last night.

Kimbo might have lost but the masterful marketing job performed by the UFC and Spike TV last night ensures that he has at least one big UFC fight in him. If Roy Nelson goes on to the finals and ends up winning, there might not be much shame in Kimbo having lost to the winner of TUF’s eleventh season.

Kimbo and Chuck still have some drawing power left in them but their respective shelf-lives could be close to expiration. Both fighters may only have one marketable performance left in them. Timing is everything in life and business and opportunity is knocking on the UFC’s door.

While rumors persist that Kimbo will get at least one official fight under the UFC banner (remember, Dana says a fighter is not a UFC fighter until they make it past TUF), possibly at the TUF finale or at UFC 107, I think the smartest move out there is to automatically pass go and go straight to a PPV headlined by Liddell vs. Kimbo.

That’s right, I want to see Liddell vs. Kimbo and I want to see it in the first quarter of 2010 (Super Bowl weekend anyone?) after Liddell has completed his stint on Dancing with the Stars and after we will know for sure whether Kimbo lost to the eventual winner of TUF 11.

I am sure the MMA purists and hardcores are going to react in unison to my cry for Liddell vs. Kimbo with a collective “Thanks, but no thanks” but Liddell and Kimbo as individual both possess undeniable charisma. Project them on a collision course towards each other and the potential and kinetic energy would provide off the charts measurements.

Remember, Chuck has a loyal fanbase that will continue to follow him despite the fact he’s lost four out of his last five fights. And Kimbo has a fanbase of his own that many MMA hardcores often forget transcends the typical MMA viewer.

MMA is a sport but like any other sport, it is a business. The UFC will be able to put on a lot of great fights in the next 12-14 months, but how many blockbusters do they currently have in the pipeline? Chuck vs. Kimbo is a blockbuster, whether you want to acknowledge that fact or not. Put the two together in the Octagon and people will pay in droves to see the spectacle. It would be the type of spectacle that even the bout’s harshest critics would likely still pay to see.

In the past, the UFC mocked EliteXC for what it considered freak show fight cards built around Kimbo. But the seal has been broken and for better or for worse, the UFC is officially in the Kimbo business. And now that the seal has been broken, you might as well make as much money with him while you can.

While I wouldn’t call Chuck vs. Kimbo a freak show fight, I would call is a sideshow special attraction. But does every fight have to have top ten implications? What’s wrong with out-of-the-box promoting every now and then and having a little fun? When Matt Hughes fought Royce Gracie, was that a bout with title implications? Was it a fight in which the top ten welterweight rankings were going to be impacted, since it was at a catchweight?

The answer to both questions are an obvious no but many of you reading this column bought that PPV. I know I did. And the crazy thing was that there wasn’t a shred of doubt in my mind about who was going to win that fight. Yet I can’t remember a time in which I’ve ever been so excited to see a fight in which I was already certain of the outcome.

I see Liddell vs. Kimbo possessing many of the same attributes that Hughes vs. Gracie fight brought: a fight that was pure fun and entertainment.

A year ago, Chuck vs. Kimbo would have been a tough sell — er, wait, no, it would have been an easy sell. But now, it becomes an even easier sell. Kimbo lost last night but he didn’t completely embarass himself and on some levels, is “UFC certified.” And having lost four out of his last five, Liddell is no longer viewed as the unbeatable force he once was. Believe it or not, because Kimbo has been built up as a big hitter and because many of Chuck’s recent losses have ended via brutal KO, there is going to be a segment of the population that believes Kimbo has a puncher’s chance to beat Chuck.

And if the bout was held at a catchweight of 220 lbs., that makes selling the drama that much easier as Chuck will have to come up in weight and give up a marginal size advantage against Kimbo.

Putting Kimbo on the TUF Finale would be a good move because if you picked the right opponent, you could draw ratings that could rival Tito vs. Ken III. Put him as an undercard attraction on a December PPV, and he will definitely enhance the buys. But the best business move for the UFC is to put Liddell and Kimbo in a headlining bout on PPV and give it the full UFC promotional push complete with commercials, a press tour, countdown shows, and maybe even another run of UFC Primetime.

I’m sure this column is going to generate a lot of response — both positive and negative — but the one question I want you to ask yourself is: would you pay to see Kimbo Slice vs. Chuck Liddell?

But isn’t that the whole point. Hasn’t Lyoto Machida been praised in the past by Dana for the exact same thing? Of course Machida didn’t just embarrass one of the biggest cash cows in the business either.

Either way, credit should be given where credit is do. Nelson was in a couple of bad situations during the fight and used his experience in the sport to take the fight where he needed to, making his comments to FiveOuncesOfPain.com just before the airing of last evening’s bout make a lot more sense.

I’ve always made it a habit to use my opponents weaknesses against them, but in a format like this, you have to be a little more cautious abut what you do. Instead of throwing the whole kitchen sink, you may have to say, “Ehhhh, here’s just a little water”. Because the thing is that there’s been times that I’ve left it all out there and wound up breaking my hands, and that’s one thing on your mind; you don’t want to break your hands. You just play the safe mode, to just get the W.

My biggest thing with this fight was to take no damage, end the fight as fast as possible, and win. That was my gameplan going into the house regarding any of the bouts I may have ended up in. It didn’t matter if I punched the guy, or took him down. Whatever you had to do to get the W. It didn’t matter if it was the ugliest win on the show. As long as you got that win, that’s all that mattered. At the same time, you want to leave the bout with no injuries, and you just have to get it done. It’s not like a real fight. It’s not like you’re fighting for a payday. You just have to get it done, and then move on to the next fight.

Upon closer inspection of Wednesday night’s widely viewed episode of The Ultimate Fighter, one would have to try hard not to notice Roy discussing the exact same position he finished the fight with with other house members.

A master technician in the sport, Nelson revealed his extremely intelligent and calculated side when he discussed how counting the punches out loud would force the referee to stop the fight. When Roy’s team members did this in the bout, Herb Dean had no choice but to call a halt to the contest.

I’d relate this to Babe Ruth calling his shot in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the 1932 World Series. The only difference in Nelson’s case was that he called his shot the night before, and “The Bambino” wasn’t fighting a grizzly looking 230 pound power puncher by the name of Kimbo Slice.

I have already had to delete a couple of new users due to over the top fighter bashing in the direction of “Big Country”? I mean over the top, like Sylvester Stallone “Over the Top”. Some people are acting like Roy held them down in a crucifix position and battered their faces until Herb Dean was forced to shout out, “That’s it!”.

And why? It can’t just be because Nelson is a self described fat guy. Or even because he openly admitted to being really hungry after the fight. Perhaps it’s because he didn’t choose to “stand and bang” with Kimbo.

Seriously? Did anyone that follows the sport of mixed martial arts closely think for one second that Nelson was going to make a slugfest out of it for the fans at home? This isn’t about the fans at home for the guys in that house. It’s about what’s best for them and their families. It’s abut getting that win and being able to go on to that next fight. That’s the bottom line.

How many fighters that lost their first round bouts in The Ultimate Fighter do you remember off the top of your head?

Exactly.

The moral of the story is that the whole point of being at the house is to win and earn the six-figure contract with the UFC. There’s no guarantees for the guy in second place, and there are certainly no guarantees for a guy like Roy Nelson, who’s already had as rough a time as anyone getting himself into the Octagon.

On the other side of that coin, if it wasn’t already staring you right in the face, the fact that there is an obvious double standard when it comes to Kimbo is impossible to ignore at this point, being that he was pretty much completely dominated in his first fight on the house, yet recently spilled the beans in regards to a bout in December he was currently preparing for.

And if you think for one second that the UFC President truly believes that Kimbo will have some type of miraculous turn around in his skill level from his time spent on the show, then you are being trolled by Dana White at the highest level.

It’s all about how you spin it baby! Take notes from the master, Making Money In The Sport 101.

Kimbo makes sense for business, and at it’s deepest level, he makes sense for the MMA as a whole considering the attention captured by his mystical beard can do nothing but expose this great sport to more and more people.

In less than a years time Kimbo will be on is way out. A rich man, but on his way out never the less. History will look back on Kimbo as modern MMA’s answer to Tank Abbott. Great for ratings, but a terrible representation of the sport as a whole.

Of course it makes sense to put Kimbo in there with a guy like Roy Nelson. Slice loses to the former IFL heavyweight champion and you can always pull the “He was outmatched, but he has a lot of room to grow” card. Quite frankly, that fight ends the exact same way with 90% of the other guys in that house.

Kimbo made it quite clear that he hasn’t taken anything seriously in regards to his training in the sport up until this point. Now all of a sudden he just has this new fire under his butt to become a walking, breathing sponge to everything MMA? It’s not happening.

The fact that Slice hasn’t bothered to even attempt to evolve in the sport that has earned him an enormous amount of money tells me all I need to know about Kimbo’s character. He’ll never have the dedication and determination it will take for him to beat anyone better than James “Colossus” Thompson.

Instead of worrying about how to improve his skills and escape armbars in the future, Kimbo’s too busy pulling out his strap in the gym and waving it around like a cowboy at the OK Saloon.

Outside of his non-existent ground game, Kimbo is quite obviously in the wrong weight class. While not fat by any stretch of the imagination, I still feel like a cut down to 205 pounds would be possible for Slice, who currently walks around near the 230 pound mark.

If he doesn’t cut the weight he’ll stand very little chance against the new breed of big men currently invading the UFC heavyweight ranks.

Just think of the possibilities awaiting Kimbo at light-heavyweight.

Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander in December anyone?

As Nelson sat outside with a few of the other fighters on the night before his big fight he discussed the crucifix position. Roy seemed to be focusing on the position because it was obvious that it was the one position where he would take the least amount of damage, even going as far as explaining that the punches you hit your opponent don’t have to be the hardest shots in the world. The ruling goes, if you’re not able to intelligently defend yourself, it’s a wrap.

Following an extended feeling out process in the early moments of the opening round, Nelson shot in on Kimbo, and caught a couple of hard punches in the process. On the heavy handed slugger like a leech against the cage, Roy wound up scoring the takedown with 1:30 remaining in round. From there it was a fluid succession of: mount, side control, and eventually, you guessed it, the crucifix position. Quite possibly the safest position in all of mixed martial arts. For a solid 15-20 seconds Nelson tapped away at the face of Kimbo with a series of punches, and while they weren’t the hardest shots, referee Herb Dean was just a second or two from stopping the bout as the first round came to an end.

Kimbo starts round two swinging for the fences, catching Nelson a with a couple of solid bombs before being tied up by the much larger and more experienced veteran of the cage, and slammed to the Octagon canvas. It was just a replay of the first round once they hit the ground. Roy goes right into side control, and it’s not long before he’s right back in the crucifix position, delivering unanswered damage to the grill of Kimbo Slice once again. Herb Dean continuously warns Kimbo to improve his position, but it’s pointless. The fight is stopped, winner, Roy “Big Country” Nelson.

Staying true to his plus-sized form and light-hearted nature, Nelson immediately joked, “Can I get a Double Whopper with cheese?” following the bout. A fat guy’s version of the traditional “I’m going to Disneyland” celebration.

Justin Wren

In a conversation with TapouT Radio, Wren addressed reports that Kimbo’s management had gone as far as to insure Kimbo’s beard in fear of potential household shenanigans involving scissors, electric razors, hedge clippers, fire, or god knows what else.

As he got further into the subject, Wren began to convey that Kimbo’s beard was protected by more than just an insurance policy. Not unless that that insurance policy was issued through Smith & Wesson.

“He definitely says some crazy stuff,” said Wren. “I heard a story about how he went down to ATT (The American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida) to train and got armbarred. Kimbo doesn’t like to tap, so he didn’t tap and the guy hurt his arm. So he came back in there with a gun. Cops were called and everyone went nuts. So we didn’t necessarily want to mess with Kimbo’s beard, but there were definitely talks about it, for sure.”

When questioned about the incident in a recent media call to promote this evening’s TUF 10 bout with Roy Nelson, Kimbo was quick to correct Wren’s version of events, explaining there was no reason for him to come back into anywhere with a gun; Kimbo stays strapped at all times.

“Well first of all, with my pistol, I carry my gun with me wherever I go man,” explained the native of the Bahamas, and resident to Miami, Florida. “I don’t have to leave and come back with nothing.

“But yes, I was at ATT a couple years ago and I got arm barred, you know what I’m saying? But I didn’t go get no pistol or nothing like that and come back with no pistol.

“I got arm barred and I didn’t like it, you know what I’m saying? But, you know, I know how to defend that s*** now so I won’t be having that problem anymore.”

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, or have had the unfortunate luck of being stranded on a deserted island without cable television, the most highly anticipated episode in the history off The Ultimate Fighter will be airing tonight at its usual place and time on Spike TV.

There’s going to be a gentleman competing on the show by the name of Roy “Big Country” Nelson. He’s a self described “fat guy”. A fat guy with a track record for being one of the most dangerous heavyweights in the sport. Now, this fellow that goes by the alias “Big Country” is set to face off with a well muscled former street fighter with a massive Grizzly Adams beard that is most commonly known as Kimbo Slice on this evening’s broadcast.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com recently had the opportunity to catch up with Nelson on the eve of what will undoubtedly be the most important and widely viewed battle in the history of his career, and quite possibly the sport as a whole. A fight that fought under different circumstances could very well have been the biggest payday either fighter had ever seen.

“When I was in the IFL and he was with EliteXC, I really wanted to fight him because it would have been a big payday,” explained Nelson. “He made about $500,000 in his last fight, so if we would have fought I probably could have made $150,000 – $200,000. So it would have been a great payday, as opposed to now, where we’re basically fighting for free.”

There’s no reason to dwell over the money you could have made, and no time for it in a house filled with predators with intentions of making you the prey. Roy showed up to fight, and as far as he was concerned, the sooner he got his feet wet the better.

“While you’re in that house you get so built up with frustration because of the lack of any type of release,” said the 33 year old Las Vegas resident. “You go into that house knowing that you’re going to fight so I think it’s better just to pop your cherry as soon as possible so that you can relax. I go into that house knowing that I may have three fights in five weeks, so I want to spread those fights out evenly over that time period because you don’t want to start having fights that are just back to back.”

Of course there have been many fighters over the last year or two that have extremely vocal in their criticism of Kimbo and his meteoric rise to fame after becoming famous for beating up hooligans on the Internets, but what may came as a surprise to some, Nelson shared none of that resentment.

However, if Roy WAS the type of guy that gets frustrated about certain fighters not putting their time into the sport, there would be a different target for his animosity. A guy that “Big Country” would personally love to pull the horseshoe out of his a** and beat him over the head with it, as he would explain, “If that was the case I should really be mad at Brock Lesnar.

“If we’re talking about paying dues; that’s the guy that has never paid a due in his life. Just based on the amount of fights he had before getting his title shot. But it’s not about that. It’s all about putting butts in the seats. Everybody doesn’t know that, but that’s really what it is. It’s about making new fans and keeping the fans happy. The one thing that Brock and Kimbo have is a lot of fans. Brock brought the professional wrestling fans, and Kimbo brought the Internet fans.”

Anyone that was paying close attention to the first episode of TUF 10 would have seen a few brief clips of Nelson and Kimbo in a sparring session during the tryout phase for Team Rampage. If you paid even closer attention to the segment one would further notice that, although just a sparring session, Slice appeared to be getting the better of the much more experienced veteran of the fight game.

So was their time spent training together accurately portrayed on the show? According to Nelson, you can chalk another one up to camera trickery in that one.

“I was actually dominating the sparring session beforehand because every time I moved away I was hitting him,” revealed Nelson. “So it was just a little bit of that…. movie magic. Kimbo wasn’t going 100%, and you can land a jab on Kimbo all day when he’s not going 100%. That’s when everyone was like, “Oh, I wanna fight him! I wanna fight him!”, because they all sparred him. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Can’t you see he’s sandbagging?’

“When I was sparring with Kimbo I thought he was sandbagging for sure, and then come to find out…. that’s what he was doing. He was just sandbagging.”

Being that this will be viewed on such a wide scale, one could assume that both guys will be coming out trying to murderize one another, but you have to remember that this is basically a tournament format. An extended sixteen man heavyweight kumite where preservation of your health and ability to continue on to your next fight is almost as important as the victory itself.

“I’ve always made it a habit to use my opponents weaknesses against them, but in a format like this, you have to be a little more cautious abut what you do,” explained the former IFL heavyweight champion. “Instead of throwing the whole kitchen sink you may have to say, “Ehhhh, here’s just a little water”. Because the thing is that there’s been times that I’ve left it all out there and wound up breaking my hands, and that’s one thing on your mind; you don’t want to break your hands. You just play the safe mode, to just get the W.”

“My biggest thing with this fight was to take no damage, end the fight as fast as possible, and win. That was my gameplan going into the house regarding any of the bouts I may have ended up in. It didn’t matter if I punched the guy, or took him down. Whatever you had to do to get the W. It didn’t matter if it was the ugliest win on the show. As long as you got that win, that’s all that mattered. At the same time, you want to leave the bout with no injuries, and you just have to get it done. It’s not like a real fight. It’s not like you’re fighting for a payday. You just have to get it done, and then move on to the next fight.”

Make sure to tune it tonight, and don’t forget to keep supporting the fat guy.

“I just want to thank all of the fans out there,” said Nelson. “I really appreciate the support. Keep supporting the fat guy! Of course I want to thank TapouT, because I’m bad for the sport! Just based on my appearance, I’m going to change the look of the UFC! I also want to thank superaction.com.

Of course the two faced off during one of the most highly viewed bouts in the history of mixed martial arts, as the “Silverback” stepped up on just hours notice for Ken Shamrock who had sustained a cut just prior to the CBS headlining bout, knocking the heavily marketed street brawler senseless with a barrage of punches a mere fourteen seconds in the contest.

Kimbo went AWOL from the sport upon the demise of EliteXC, recently resurfacing at the Ultimate Fighter house during the current, tenth season, featuring nothing but the heavyweights.

Everything was rekindled when Seth recently made a post on the popular mixed martial arts forum, The Underground, stating that Kimbo was basically ducking him. Below is a portion from the post in Petruzelli’s own words:

there were 3 times that we could have fought after the elite show for you to get a rematch, but you declined all 3 times. now you go on ESPN making excuses, saying the only reason you lost was that it was sprung on you the last minute and that you can beat me with one hand behind your back!!!! you can go F yourself…maybe now that the UFC is having me back we will see for sure.

However, when confronted with the topic today during the scheduled media call, Kimbo was quick to fire back, threatening to take it to the street if need be.

“Seth needs to be careful now because we both live in the same backyard, and I know that little sissy ice cream shop,” commented Kimbo. “I can walk in at any given time and go, ‘Yo, what’s up, man?’”

Most fans would probably agree that they would much rather see the rematch take place somewhere they could watch it. Preferably on TV, and not the Smoothie King Seth currently owns and operates in Kimbo’s own stomping grounds of Miami, Florida.

As the bearded brawler from the Bahamas explained, everything Petruzelli had to say in his recent post was nothing short of complete nonsense.

“No one ever approached me with no rematch with Seth, and I never turned that s*** down,” said Kimbo. “That right there is B.S., bull****. It didn’t happen.”

So will we be seeing Seth vs. Kimbo in the Octagon together anytime in the near future? It seems like a good possibility. Just as long as Kimbo’s thug mentality doesn’t end up landing him square in a Miami State Prison for a slew of charges relating to a fight he provoked in front of a bunch of unsuspecting women and children in a Florida ice cream shop on a hot sunny day.

“If Seth signed with the UFC, and Dana and them want to match it up, damn right I’ll run it again with him,” exclaimed Slice.

“We don’t even need to do it in a ring. We can do it bare-knuckle style because I don’t like liars.”

Roy “Big Country” Nelson

The highly anticipated match-up will be airing next Wednesday at it’s normal place and time on Spike TV.

The announcement came on the heels of James McSweeney of Team Rashad’s majority decision victory over Wes Shivers during last nights episode.

The win for Team Rashad placed the ball in their court when it came choosing time for the next match-up.

And so it shall be Big Country vs. Kimbo next week. A showdown between a Youtube sensation and a battle tested veteran of the game.

Make sure to tune in nexty week to what promises to be the highest rated episode in the show’s history.

He was 3-1 while fighting for Elite XC, and was being trained by one of the best around, Bas Rutten. It’s been well documented that the break-up between the two, following the 0:14 second TKO at the hands of Seth Petruzelli, had turned the once friends into now foes. Rutten had claimed that Keven “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson had stopped listening to the legendary fighter/coach and didn’t need to train using Ruttens advice. Ultimately, the two went their separate ways, but both have stayed vocal about the split.

Rutten jabbed first with his comments stating Slice had turned into an “a**hole”, and wasn’t interested in training people with no respect for his teachings.

Last week, Kimbo struck back with his own version stating, “I guess with him, he pretended to be a friend but he really wasn’t I guess. It was just business with him. You pay a guy good money to teach you things and be a good teacher and they take your money. But then they turn round and say ‘I tried to teach you stuff but its not working’ Come on man, you’re not a good teacher – so really he owes me some money right?,” Slice laughed. “But its all good, we all do what we gotta do.”

“El Guapo”, never one to keep quiet, issued a quick rebuttal to FightersOnly.com, claiming, “he had to respond to this”.

In the letter sent, Rutten wrote, “I didn’t say that he was an a**hole, I said that he TURNED into an a**hole, I actually told him this also about 5 weeks before the Petruzelli fight, I told him that I thought he turned into a a**hole, he said that he didn’t realize that and apologized, he did that two more times that day and even called me to say he didn’t knew he was doing that. Later I called him an a**hole because all of the sh** that he took for granted, I also told him that I had no respect for him in our last meeting, but why I said that? I won’t even go there”.

On the money he was being paid, Rutten claimed it wasn’t good as people might think, “Lets say that he made $100,000, I couldn’t train him two times a day so I told my buddy at my gym, Randy Khatami, who’s a great boxing coach and also teaches some basic submissions, that I would take him in the morning, and he would take him at night. Now everybody tells me that I just have to pay my friend a certain amount of money, like a “per hour” deal because it would be better “money wise” for me. But since I believe that a TEAM works together, I just pay him half of what I make. Lets do the math here, 10% of 100,000, is $10,000, that I split in half, so I make $5000 in 5 or 6 weeks. I also told him BEFORE I started training him, that he had to understand that when I had a commentary job, that I had to do that, since this was not a “money making machine for me” (try to live in CA from $5000 in 6 weeks and support a family, haha, I dare you). He and his manager Mike, who’s a great guy, told me they understood that.”

Its seems the war of words will probably continue, with filming of the new TUF series over and constant access to the fighters, but it remains to be seen if Slice wants continue with one of the most voiced people in the MMA community. Bas Rutten has never been shy about speaking his mind, and something tells me he could do this forever.

He finished his letter with this, “If Kimbo would have done everything that he did in the beginning when he came in, he had great potential. To now blame that on the people who trained him, very loser thing to do. And if it was so bad, why is he still with Randy Khatami? He trains him in the style as I do because I told him so. See what I mean? He makes no sense. Lets see what he did in the “Ultimate Fighter” with his new and improved training. To put it in his own words. “Haha, but its all good, we all do what we gotta do”.

The series premier of The Ultimate Fighter 10: The Heavyweights airs Wednesday of this week and we will get to see first hand just how improved Kimbo has become.

As the mixed martial arts community prepares itself for the most anticipated season of the highly successful Ultimate Fighter series, much of the attention has been centered around one man.

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights is set to begin airing on September 16 and will feature a bearded brawler that goes by the name of Kevin Ferguson, more commonly known as Kimbo Slice.

Eager to redeem himself in the fight game following his fourteen second embarrassment at the hands of Seth Petruzelli in October of 2008, Kimbo threw the masses for a curve ball when it was recently announced that he would be part of the upcoming heavyweight TUF cast.

It seemed like Kimbo hysteria ensued overnight following the recent announcement. Why all the attention for a guy that used to beat human punching bags upon the Internet? The way Kimbo sees it, it’s because he’s just your every day Wal-Mart shopping Joe.

“The reason why I have a large fanbase and following is because people know I can relate,” explained Kimbo in a recent interview with MMAFanHouse.com. “I can relate to that guy right there. He goes to Wal-mart? I go to Wal-mart, too. He sees me, we talk. I’m in Winn-Dixie like he’s in Winn-Dixie. I don’t consider myself no bigtime, nothing like that. I’m just a regular guy doing what I love to do.”

A big fan base isn’t going to save your butt in the octagon, and Kimbo knows full well that if he has any plans of remaining in the UFC for any length of time, he’s got some work to do.

“You’ve got to be well-rounded to be an Ultimate Fighter,” said the 35 year old resident of Miami. “I can’t just come with one dimension; I’ll get smashed. So I gotta suit up. I’ve gotta learn some ground s***. I’ve gotta learn some wrestling s***. I’ve got to prepare for mixed martial arts and get ready for it.”

Slice admits that his ultimate goal in the UFC is to become a champion, but until then he’s fine with just scrapping.

“Eventually you want to put that title around your waist,” said Kimbo. “You want that gold. But you know, if it happens, it’s gonna happen. Just line them up.”

Bas Rutten had been Kimbo Slice, aka Kevin Ferguson’s number one and most vocal supporter since the very beginning of the former YouTube brawler’s professional fighting career.

The divide was formed between the trainer and the student right around the time of the now infamous bout between Kimbo and Seth Petruzelli where Slice was flattened in mere seconds in front of millions of viewers on network television.

“He just turned into a different guy, he didn’t need to do the things that I told him to do,” explained Bas in a recent interview with Fighters Only Magazine. “He wasn’t going to go to the ground, you know? The day before the [Petruzelli] fight, I told him I wanted to go over heel hooks and escapes, and he said “Nah, its not going to go to the ground

“I said ‘Ha, I like that attitude – but what if it does go to the ground?’ but he said ‘Its not going to go’. So I said OK, but don’t let me tell you ‘I told you so’ if he snaps your [expletive] leg in half. He said ‘I don’t know if that’s a good thing for you to be telling me mentally before a fight’ I said ‘I don’t think its a good thing for you not to be doing what I tell you before the fight’.”

Any questions lingering as to whether Rutten and Kimbo will one day come to an understanding can be put to rest right now. Bas will never end up in Kimbo’s corner again under any circumstances.

“I misjudged him, he turned into a whole different person,” said Rutten. “I told him a few weeks ago, I had a sit down with him. I told him that he was an asshole and that I have zero respect [for him] and I can’t train people that I have no respect for. Can’t ever.”

Something tells me that deep down Chuck Liddell wants that one last fight. Liddell is the most popular fighter on the planet and a proud former champion to boot, there’s no way a fighter with his mentality is going to walk away on a sour note like his most recent TKO loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. I just don’t see that sitting very well with Chuck during his many years of life that will follow his retirement from the sport.

It’s fairly safe to say that there are very few fans of the sport that have any type of desire to watch Liddell catching another beatdown on live television. This is the number one reason behind Dana White and many others desire to see the former light heavyweight champ walk away from the sport while he still can.

With that being said, I don’t feel like there would be much if any interest in watching Liddell face off against another top contender in his next fight.

Has Liddell lost his ability to win in the Octagon? Hardly. There are still a handful of fights that the San Luis Obispo slugger still win in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

If anything Chuck should, if he already hasn’t, accept the fact that another title run at this point is just not going to happen. To justify another title shot for “The Iceman” anytime in the future he would need to avenge at least two of his most recent four losses at the very minimum in my estimation. While he has a decent chance of figuring out Keith Jardine in a rematch, I feel like the chances of Chuck obtaining revenge against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Rashad Evans or Shogun are slim to none. Not to say it couldn’t happen, just trying to be as realistic as possible.

So who do you give the legend in his farewell fight? We’ve already established that there is no real point in giving him a legitimate contender to the throne like Luiz Cane or Rich Franklin. I would even be extremely hesitant to sign him up with the likes of Thiago Silva, Brandon Vera or even Ryan Bader. I’m just not so positive that Chuck wins all of those fights, and we want Liddell to leave on a high note in this one.

Who then? Do you announce that Liddell will be squaring off with Houston Alexander, Mark Coleman or Brian Stann. I don’t know of anyone that would be interested in watching those fights, whether “The Iceman” is involved or not.

Enter Kevin Ferguson, aka Kimbo Slice. Kimbo comes into the UFC with his own set of problems. What do you do with him? He’s never going to win the title and I’d be shocked if he gets a second win at the TUF house during season ten. On the other side of the token, there’s a great deal of money to be made with Kimbo, a blind man can see that. So you have to market the man correctly just long enough to make that money from him.

So what do you do with him then? Well let’s just say I’m the UFC. If I was the UFC I would speak with both coaches of The Ultimate Fighter when the cameras were off and guarantee that Kimbo faces someone he can beat in his first fight in the house. I mean someone he can absolutely, without a doubt beat. Kimbo losing in his first fight in the house following his embarrassment to Seth Petruzelli in October would leave the former porn star bodyguard almost completely unmarketable. A loss in his first fight in the house would result in a huge loss of money for all involved.

Let’s skip ahead assuming that Slice gets that all important first victory in the house, does anyone truly believe the former YouTube brawler has a remote chance of defeating Roy “Big Country” Nelson, or even former NFL superstar Marcus Jones? There aren’t many people outside Team Kimbo that will be giving the Bahamian born brawler a realistic chance.

Even worse, what do you do with the cash cow following his stint in the most watched season of The Ultimate Fighter in the shows history? Kimbo will be in the same boat with Liddell in one respect. You can’t give him a legit contender because the chances are very good that he loses the bout handily and I’m not sure if anyone wants to see Kimbo face Cain Velasquez or Gabriel Gonzaga to be quite honest. Is there any question as to who wins those fights? Also much like Liddell, a fight between Kimbo and anyone without a big name just doesn’t sell. It’s not a money maker and isn’t making money the true name of the game as far as the UFC is concerned?

So how do you sell a fight between Chuck and Kimbo? It’s simple, a fight between Chuck and Kimbo sells itself on name power alone. The fight poster with the bearded former street thug staring directly into the eyes of the mohawked legend with the trademark “Pit” tattoo would be among the most popular in the organization’s history.

Then you sell the grudge match factor like crazy. People will eat it up. This is a fight that will have the casual fight fan foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog.

You don’t have to look very hard to track down the brief war of words between Liddell and Slice prior to Kimbo’s dismantling at the hands of Petruzelli at EliteXC: Heat

Liddell struck the first blow in a report that came from The Sun saying,”"Kimbo’s one of those guys who doesn’t have any ground game. He’s training and he’s learning but he’s been built up as such a big star, and that’s the thing that bothers me.

“People talk about him like he’s the next great thing when he really hasn’t done anything. He’s been built up because of the Internet and him beating a bunch of guys on the street… I could make some impressive knockout videos too if you let me walk outside and just punch people and knock them out.”

Of course, it didn’t take long for Kimbo to fire back at the comments made by Liddell, reminding Chuck that he is from the streets.

“We can always take it back to old-school; that’ll work for me,” said Kimbo in a YouTube video response. “But I still got love for all the MMA fighters, but if you keep on rapping man, I’m going to have to zip it close, baby, because I’m getting tired of the talk.

“The next one that has something to say, just see me [directly]. I’ll come to your camp, and that’s real talk.”

Liddell grasped the opportunity to counter Kimbo’s statement shortly after the much talked about video response from Slice by making his feelings on the Internet fighting sensation quite clear during an episode of Rear Naked Radio.

“All I said is fight someone real,” Liddell was quoted as saying during the radio broadcast. “The only guy he lost to in his street-fight things came into the UFC and lost. Fight a guy that is real and fight a guy… who has a few wins in MMA, and then talk about it.

“Before he talks about fighting me, he might want to think about beating somebody that has a winning record. He’s an Internet sensation who beat up guys at Taco Bell. Come on. How hard is that to do?”

Surprisingly, Even UFC President Dana White himself wouldn’t say that a future bout between the two is something that he would completely rule out.

“If he [Kimbo] fought anybody that mattered, I would book that tomorrow,” said White in an April 2008 interview with Deadspin.com.

“The fact is, Kimbo’s not there yet,” continued the outspoken face of the UFC. “He would get destroyed. I heard he just got knocked out by Forrest Griffin last week in a sparring match after a kick to the head

“I’d take him [Kimbo] absolutely seriously — but, again, he hasn’t beat anybody. In this sport, it’s all about ‘Who have you beat right now?’, and he hasn’t beat anybody.”

Being completely honest for a moment, I highly doubt that there is any type of real animosity on either fighters end but that doesn’t change the fact that grudge matches sell tickets, and I would fully expect for both of these showmen to play the bill to a tee.

Interest will also be peaked when it is announced that Liddell will be making the move up to heavyweight for the first time in his career.

As filthy rich as the UFC, White, Liddell and Kimbo already are, you’re kidding yourself if you think that everyone involved isn’t interested in making a little more dough. This fight makes everyone very happy financially.

Let’s throw the money factor right out the window. Let’s just say that Chuck doesn’t care about the money, he’s just in it for the hunger of the competition, he still wants to go out on a win. That’s why this fight makes so much sense for Liddell, he makes one last gigantic payday and leaves the sport with a highlight reel victory. It’s not going to get much better than that for “The Iceman” at this point.

Now that I’ve had a chance to outline all of the reasons why I feel that this fight makes sense, it’s time to take a good hard look at the bout’s two possible conclusions.

The first and by far most likely is that Liddell flattens Kimbo with a trademark right hand, does his symbolic “Pit X” all over the ring and announces his retirement on a good note. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t want to see that.

The other and less likely scenario is that Kimbo catches Chuck and puts him to sleep…..I don’t know anyone that would want to see that outside of Team Kimbo, but what are you going to do.

Kimbo vs. Chuck in 2010, it just makes sense.

Before dipping your toes into this column’s proverbial pool you may be asking yourself who is this guy and why isn’t there a scantily clad Bulgarian webcam girl staring back at me instead? In short, we ran into some Visa issues, and in lieu of my credit card being declined I felt the least I could do was contribute a little more to the cause. I’ve been writing about Mixed Martial Arts in one capacity or another for a little over two years. That being said, I’ve been a fan of MMA since coming across a taped UFC event as a freshman in college. Yes, I’m that old – 32 – and people used to record things on something called a “VCR”. However, even before I turned into a wide-eyed geek at the sight of Royce Gracie calm and collectedly snapping limbs, I suppose I was a fan of the concept dating back to my childhood and adulation for movies like “Bloodsport”, “Kickboxer”, various old WuShu flicks, and even stuff like “Big Trouble in Little China”. My reaction has always been one of fierce enjoyment when you toss a little hand-to-hand combat in with a nod to the spirituality, history, and wisdom involved in martial arts and a solid dose of entertaining presentation. It’s all in the reflexes, right?

Since taking up the narcissistic position of “keyboard warrior” a couple of years ago I’ve been afforded opportunities to meet and speak with individuals I have great respect for and witness events I never would have imagined possible. I’ve had the pleasure of attending the first Affliction event while seated alongside Aleks Emelianenko (when he wasn’t standing to cheer on his brother), seeing Kimbo Slice’s professional MMA debut, dropping my jaw at Yahir Reyes’ epic spinning backfist against Estevan Payan in Bellator, and took a few pieces of candy to the dome when Jason “Mayhem” Miller kicked a piñata in half while dressed as a luchadore before putting on a great performance against the always-tough Tim Kennedy. Other semi-surreal things I’ve witnessed include sitting shoulder to shoulder with Dan Severn while sharing a folding chair as he acted in the capacity of “Team USA” coach, exchanging emails with Mark Cuban, and scoring a few seats for a very polite Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez while they waited for the elder Diaz brother to compete later in the evening at an EliteXC event. Whether any of my experiences qualify me as someone you should listen to or will enjoy is a question you’ll answer for yourself over time if you haven’t already, but rest assured I sincerely appreciate your presence here and the opportunities my fellow MMA fans have afforded me.

I firmly believe any fan of Mixed Martial Arts reading these lines who is as passionate about the sport as they are about writing should find an online format to deliver their thoughts post-haste. No matter the success you achieve you will not regret the path it takes you down if you give it some time. But you aren’t here for life messages or background on a little fish like me, are you? You want your gooey MMA deliciousness, don’t you? Then to take from former on-screen capoeira espousing teacher Mark Dacascos, a.k.a. “chairman” of Iron Chef America….

”Allez cuisine!!!”

Recently it was announced former EliteXC posterboy Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson was competing on the still-taping tenth season of the Ultimate Fighter reality series. Yes, at this very moment Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson could be in each other’s faces! Dana White could be driving the Spike TV censors insane! Slice could be minutes away from being knocked out or…wait for it…even sitting on the couch while listening to music! Regardless of the ongoing action or lack thereof, the one thing this story screams out to me with certainty is “win/win situation”.

I cannot see any negative at all to the newly developed partnership between Kimbo and the UFC. Furthermore, I think Evans and Jackson could not have been better choices as the season’s coaches. Both fighters are among the best light heavyweights in the world, possess the rare skill to sell a fight inside AND outside of the ring, and appear to actually dislike each other based on the face-to-face confrontation that took place after “Rampage” defeated Keith Jardine at UFC 96. Toss in a subsequent run-in since then and those factors alone should make for compelling television. Add the obvious spotlight on Slice and you have a mixture on TUF 10 that should help shatter previous seasons’ ratings.

Not only will Spike TV benefit from the casting but ultimately the UFC will too. Kimbo doesn’t necessarily add any depth to the promotion’s heavyweight talent but he does bring a certain star-quality into the division that is lacking outside of Brock Lesnar. You’re more likely to see Cain Velasquez, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, or any other UFC heavyweight as champion of the world than on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The opposite can be said about Kimbo and therein lies the rub – he doesn’t need to win in the cage to be a successful investment. Regardless of how well he performs, Slice will bring more mainstream attention to TUF and the UFC in general than would be the case when considering nearly every one of his peers. Increased awareness and interest brings in additional PPV/gate money from new fans, as well as people who are purely invested in seeing Kimbo win/lose, plus creates additional revenue streams where ad-time is concerned. Savvy businessman that he is, a part of me truly believes the UFC President had already put the deal in motion to bring Kimbo to the Ultimate Fighter when he made a comment about Slice needing to compete on the reality show if he ever wanted to step foot in the Octagon. White’s words back then planted a seed of interest in the public that continues to grow to this day and which will eventually culminate in the growth of an ever-elusive “money tree” come Fall 2009 when the season debuts.

The other winning party in this newly announced relationship between the bee-bearded brawler from Florida and the premier MMA organization in the world is of course Kimbo Slice. Some might say he has a lot to prove after being dropped by Seth Petruzelli in his last fight but I actually feel the contrary is true. If the former Bas Rutten student wins the show, let alone a single fight, I’ll find myself extremely surprised and I’d wager quite a few other people who follow Mixed Martial Arts would agree with that statement. He’ll be competing against other semi-accomplished fighters who have been training longer and harder and who are hungry for the limelight he’s already found. If he’s only expected to win one fight at best, how can Kimbo do anything BUT impress viewers save for possibly acting like a cross between Junie Browning and Spencer Pratt (which is highly unlikely given Slice’s soft-spoken demeanor and
general humility)?

Whether the big man from Miami takes training seriously and shows the world he’s more than a scary looking dude from the street or cracks under the pressure and knocks out someone’s eyeball out of its socket, I suspect viewers will be compelled to keep watching throughout the season and carry their interest over for at least as long as he’s in the UFC. The exposure on the show (and basic cable TV) will keep his image in the public eye. Such a thing can only benefit the Kimbo Slice “brand” when it comes to future financial opportunities. “A Slice of Love” on VH1, anybody?!?

Moving on, Kimbo will probably make his live debut at the Ultimate Fighter Finale, as is usually the case when it comes to contestants and the season-ending event, but the reality of the situation leads me to believe the UFC braintrust may decide to wait for a PPV before debuting him in front of a live crowd. I don’t think a 35-year old whose shown a suspect chin and virtually no ground game has more than a puncher’s chance, if that, at lasting more than a few fights before calling it quits or getting released from his contract so capitalizing on his appearances is crucial.

The marriage between Slice and the UFC will definitely create a significant short-term buzz on both sides – it has already – and that can only be a good thing for both parties. I’m looking forward to what will no doubt be classic interactions between featuring Slice, Evans, Jackson, and Dana White. I’m interested in seeing how Mr. Ferguson is treated by his housemates; seeing whether or not his pop culture status will lead to reverence or contempt. I want to know how he’ll react to being cooped up in a house with them for weeks and weeks. And, in full disclosure, I’m intrigued to see what exactly happens the first time he locks up with someone and who will be separated from their consciousness when it goes down. Most of all, I’m just plain interested, and isn’t that ultimately the point when it comes to what makes for good television?

Those above comments are things I’ve never said about an Ultimate Fighter season prior to this one and it hasn’t even wrapped production yet. I, like so many other people, haven’t been as excited about a particular TUF’s results since the first two chapters of the reality show hit the airwaves. Whether you love Kimbo’s signing or hate it, chances are you’ll be tuning in, and that in itself proves exactly why inking Slice to appear on the Ultimate Fighter was a brilliant move that will pay dividends to everyone involved (including the viewer).

Well, according to Kevin Iole of Yahoo.com, that’s exactly what’s about to happen. Dana White has reportedly confirmed that Kimbo will appear as a cast member on the tenth season of Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights which is set to begin filming shortly and will feature former UFC light heavyweight champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans as competing coaches.

One big change in the show is that the sixteen competitors on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights will not have to fight in order to secure a spot in the house like in previous seasons. This move could have been made to guarantee that Slice will not be forced to fight early and will kept around to help increase ratings as much as possible.

Slice hasn’t fought in MMA competition since the last EliteXC show in October. He was scheduled to face Ken Shamrock in the main event on the card, however Shamrock was cut during training and was forced out of the bout. EliteXC officials then scrambled to replace Shamrock and ended up choosing relative unknown Seth Petruzelli. Petruzelli then proceeded to knock Kimbo out in front of a record 6.5 million viewers in just a matter of seconds.

The UFC is set to announce Slice’s appearance at a media day on Tuesday at the UFC Training Center in Las Vegas

According to comments attributed to Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson in a new interview with The Nassau Guardian, Slice could be set to embark on a professional boxing career soon rather than later.

Ferguson expressed to reporter Dahalia Smith that he could be ready to make the transition from MMA to boxing as soon as he has fulfilled the remaining two fights on his existing MMA contract, which is currently property of the San Jose-based Strikeforce promotion following a recent acquisition of select assets from ProElite.

“… I have two more MMA fights scheduled before this year is out,” Slice is quoted as saying, without specifying which organization those fights will take place with. “Every fighter and athlete knows that you should not switch camps in the middle of something. Also, I train in Florida. My MMA trainer will also be training me for stand up boxing. Finishing up my contract would allow me to be a free agent.”

It is believed that under the terms of Slice’s old contract with ProElite, that he was precluded from competing in boxing without expressed permission. As such, he would likely need to satisfy his current contractual obligations before transitioning to pro boxing.

As it stands now, Slice is currently not slated to compete for Strikeforce as negotiations between the two sides have reached a stalemate in recent weeks. While Strikeforce cannot legally force Slice to fight for the organization, Slice legally cannot compete for another organization since Strikeforce holds ownership of his promotional rights.

Despite a 3-1 record and becoming one of the most recognizable names in all of MMA, it would appear Slice’s true passion is for the “sweet science” of boxing.

“Boxing is really my first desire,” Slice revealed. “I have a lot of love for it and believe I can do pretty well. [The sport of] MMA is somewhat of a project for me. Boxing is one dimensional while there are a lot of dimensions in MMA. I don’t think it would be a hard transition from MMA to stand-up boxing because of my fighting style.”

In addition to believing that his strengths are better suited for boxing, there are some aspects of MMA that have apparently caused Slice to become disillusioned with the sport.

“… MMA training is extremely hard,” Slice is quoted as telling Smith. “When you consider martial arts training, you have to prepare for kicks to the head and legs, and opponents wanting to grapple and throwing you to the ground, pounding you with their knees and hands, whereas in boxing you just have to be prepared to weave and bob although the training can be just as intense. At this point in my career, I want to take that same drive and focus that I invested in MMA and put that into training for pro-boxing cards.”

It would also appear that Slice’s ill-fated showdown with Ken Shamrock this past October that resulted in Shamrock pulling out the day of the fight due to injury with Slice ending up getting TKO’d by last-minute replacement Seth Petruzelli caused him to sour even further.

“… In some cases, if you are too far advanced in promoting a MMA fight, anything can happen to the fighter. A fighter can get an injury, causing him to pull out of the fight; like Shamrock getting a cut above his eye and backing out at the last minute. That left me having to fight an opponent who I knew nothing about.”