Kimbo Slice to the UFC Octagon?
Which Elite XC evidently dissolving as their finances run dry from their foray in the MMA world, their talent is left without a home. Most notably their cash cow, street brawling Youtube sensation turned MMA pro, Kimbo Slice, is now without a promotion to fight for.
Would the UFC, the most successful MMA promotion on the fighting landscape at the moment swoop in and pick up the free agent? I’d say not likely. While Kimbo Slice is a household name amongst their key demo of males 18-35, Dana White has expressed much disdain for the MMA credibility of Kimbo, pointing to his loss in a gym brawl with one-time UFC vet Sean Gannon (defeated by Brandon Lee Hinkle). Additionally White has numerous times stated “Kimbo sucks”, one of his consistent mantras when Elite XC is brought up in conversation with interviewers. We can certainly take White’s assessment of his competition’s talent with a grain of salt as he is not likely going to pump up a rival league’s fighters (save a few instances such as genuinely stating he wants Cung Le in the UFC). Aside from such rare moments, he hasn’t been shy to criticize other leagues’ fighters, even top ranked ones–he has skewered Fedor Emelianenko’s status as the number 1 heavyweight in the world numerous times, despite the fact Emelianenko has defeated the UFC’s heavyweight champion (now interim) Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira twice, as well as their former champ Tim Sylvia in less than a minute.
Nevertheless, despite White’s comments he would certainly bring in Kimbo Slice if it make business sense. Past feuds the UFC head honcho has had with fighters such as Tito Ortiz, Jens Pulver, BJ Penn and Randy Couture have been worked out for the greater good of the company. But it is unlikely that White will bring in Kimbo Slice into his promotion because of three factors: 1. He might really think he sucks, 2. Kimbo was KO’d in his last fight in 14 seconds by a fighter unknown to the mainstream, 3. Kimbo reportedly was paid $500,000 in his last fight.
Kimbo did lose some cache from Seth Petruzelli’s 14 second defeat of the Miami native, but Slice is still a very popular fighter and would attract many eyes to the pay per view and events he fights on. Many mainstream fans aren’t even aware of the latest up to date fight results and could still Kimbo is the most dangerous fighter on the planet, much like numerous fans about 5 years ago felt Ken Shamrock was “the world’s most dangerous man”.
Nevertheless, paying a price of half a million for Slice isn’t something the UFC is likely to put money into. They’ve already heavily invested in another 4 fight veteran who will be fighting for their heavyweight title next month–Brock Lesnar. Now Lesnar has a chance to show that he was a the right man to bank on, while Kimbo will likely find a new home in the MMA world.
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