Two heavy handed sluggers at heavyweight will duke it out in Montreal at UFC 113 when Matt Mitrione takes on Kimbo Slice at the Bell Centre.

Both of these fighters have taken the path less traveled to get into the premier organization in the game right now–the Ultimate Fighting Championship. While the reality show route is becoming more common with “The Ultimate Fighter” series off Spike TV, their path to get on the show has been rather odd. A former NFL player in Mitrione, made his way to the show and did fairly well before being defeated by James Mcsweeney. Nonetheless Mitrione did well and scored a big win over Scott Junk on the program, who is a veteran in the game.

Kimbo “Kevin Ferguson” Slice is a very odd personality in the game in terms of his foray in the sport. A Youtube sensation from his street fighting beatdowns he laid on several fellow Floridian pugilists, Kimbo become an internet sensation and a hero among numerous onlookers. He decided that he could make some good money taking his fighting skills into the mixed martial arts world. UFC president Dana White criticized Kimbo’s MMA talent and said the only way Kimbo would find his way into the UFC Octagon was via The Ultimate Fighter. Kimbo took up the big boss’ challenge, after Elite XC folded up their operation. Kimbo did not win the competition but earned a spot in the UFC.

Now these two fighters have scored wins in their debuts in the UFC (Kimbo over Houston Alexander, Mitrione over Marcus Jones). Their upcoming matchup is most likely going to boil down to a striking affair. Mitrione might attempt some takedowns, but Kimbo most likely is going to be more than happy to stand toe to toe with his fellow TUF 10 counterpart. Kimbo has some decent takedown-D, while it’s not the top of the line in the game, he can most likely avoid some of the shots Mitrione will take on him early, should he decide to go to the ground. Kimbo has some great strength and size and it should come in handy in the early going of the fight in the case of takedown defense.

If the fight goes in the 2nd and 3rd stanzas, both fighters have shown some signs of fatigue. In his bout with Scott Junk, Mitrione did fade quite a bit, as did the veteran Junk, who exchanged punches with Mitrione, both in slow-motion style. It could be a case of overtraining in the house, which can occur, but it certainly didn’t scream volumes for the case of Mitrione having pristine cardio. Kimbo himself was extremely gassed after three rounds of fighting Houston Alexander in his last outing in the UFC.

I’m banking that this fight doesn’t go past the first round, although I thought the same about Kimbo versus Alexander. Nonetheless, both Kimbo and Mitrione have heavy hands and I see them slugging it out until one falls. UFC president Dana White cut Houston Alexander for not engaging with Kimbo in their fight, and White is very upset at the fact that Anderson Silva pulled similar antics on the last pay per view. I see Mitrione engaging here and Kimbo being his aggressive self. I just think Kimbo will have an edge on the feet and at some point put away Mitrione.

Kimbo via round 1 KO.

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The UFC confirmed Kimbo Slice will fight Matt Mitrione at UFC 113 in Montreal on May 8th at the Bell Centre.

The main event features the rematch between light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

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Official Fight card for UFC 113
Main Card

* Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Brazil Lyoto Machida vs. Brazil Mauricio Rua
* Welterweight bout: United States Josh Koscheck vs. England Paul Daley
* Lightweight bout: Canada Sam Stout vs. United States Jeremy Stephens
* Heavyweight bout: The Bahamas Kimbo Slice vs. United States Matt Mitrione
* Middleweight bout: Canada Patrick Côté vs. United States Alan Belcher

Preliminary Card

* Middleweight bout: United States Tom Lawlor vs. United States Tim Credeur
* Welterweight bout: United States Marcus Davis vs. Canada Jonathan Goulet
* Welterweight bout: Japan Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. United States Mike Guymon
* Welterweight bout: Canada TJ Grant vs. United States Johny Hendricks

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