KimboFever.com

Who is Kimbo Slice?

Kimbo Slice's real name is Kevin Ferguson, a man who was born in the Bahamas, was raised in the greater Miami Florida area by a single mother, and has gone from being homeless to becoming one of the Internet's most talked about personalities.

Kimbo was introduced to the world in 2003 through the Sublime Directory, his first Internet appearance being the infamous fight against "Big D" ( Kimbo Slice vs. Byrd (Big D) ). It's gruesome surprise ending granted Kevin Ferguson the "Slice" part of the nickname Kimbo Slice. Who could ever go back to watching high school kids and girls slap fight eacher after watching two gigantic, hulking men battle each other for cold hard cash in a genuine underground prize fight? People watched each new Kimbo Slice fight video in awe as he effortlessly dispateched one opponent after another.

Kimbo Ventures into MMA

On June 23rd, 2007 Kimbo fought against former heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer ( Kimbo vs. Ray Mercer ) in Atlantic City, NJ at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 5 (CFFC). Kimbo shocked the world when he easily won the fight by guillotine choke at 1:12 into the first round. CFFC then folded and Kimbo signed with Elite XC. Fighting for Elite XC Kimbo fought and won against Bo Cantrell, Tank Abbot, and James Thompson before his stunning loss at the hands of Seth Petruzelli ( Kimbo vs. Seth Petruzelli ). We have all of Kimbo's MMA fights in our Kimbo Fights section.

Elite XC and Controversy

How could serious MMA fans regard a promotion who's stable of fighters consisted of has beens and nobodys rounded out with go-go dancers and goofy lip synching hip-hop acts as anything other than an embarassment? They further damaged any remaining credibility they might have had by presenting Kimbo Slice to the world as an unbeatable MMA powerhouse, not only painting themselves into a corner but also creating legions of Kimbo haters resentful of his instant rise to celebrity and the circus sideshow atmoshpere of Elite XC in general.

The most notable Elite XC controversies involved Kimbo's fight against James Thompson and his loss to Seth Petruzelli. In the Kimbo vs. James Thompson bout the controversies were centered around Thompson entering the fight with a swollen cauliflower ear which should have been drained of fluid in a common procedure, Kimbo's apparent tapout in the first round, the referee not stopping the fight due to Kimbo not defending himself during Thompson's ground and pound, and Kimbo rupturing Thompson's swollen ear for the win.

The Kimbo vs. Petruzelli controversy was not only Kimbo's loss by TKO 14 seconds into the bout, but Petruzelli's comments after the fight where he implied that the promoters had made it "worth his while" to go toe to toe with Slice instead of taking the fight to the ground where Kimbo's abilities were questionable.

In the end Elite XC's failure was directly attributable to it's questionable practices and it's heavy reliance on Kimbo Slice and his reputation (of Elite XC's own creation) as an unbeatable MMA powerhouse. Ultimately, Elite XC's downfall was caused by Elite XC itself.

Kimbo and The Ultimate Fighter

After his loss to Seth Petruzelli in the infamous Elite XC fight, Kimbo Slice once again went underground. Who could have guessed that Kimbo had taken up Dana White (one of Kimbo and Elite XC's most vocal detractors) on Dana's off the cuff remarks that the only way Kimbo Slice would ever fight for the UFC would be to compete on the UFC's reality show The Ultimate Fighter and win a contract? Once again the Internet was buzzing with the news and Kimbo's appearance on The Ultimate Fighter was eagerly awaited by both Kimbo fans and haters alike.

What's Next for Kimbo Slice?

The world is waiting to find out. As of now Kimbo's appearance on The Ultimate Fighter seems to be winning over more and more fans as he displays his down to earth attitude and willingness to both learn and fight as much as possible. Rumors on the Internet seem to indicate that he may have earned a coveted UFC contract, and that at the least he will be fighting at the Ultimate Fighter's live finale, scheduled for December 5th 2009 in Las Vegas.