Kimbo a contestant on TUF 10!

Frankmagnet

http://mmamania.com/2009/06/01/kimbo-slice-signs-with-the-ufc-as-participant-on-the-ultimate-fighter-tuf-10/


Should make for an interesting season. Looking forward to hearing what Dana has to say

The Legend of Kimbo will be crushed.

Maynard

Holy God...Laugh or cry? Laugh or cry? Laugh or cry?...

Mossy Monk

Dana White is a cruel cruel man. The whole of season 10 will be about destroying the mans credibility.

Killme00

I am in work and cant read the site. Can some copy and paste the ext pls.

cardio,shoot me

I guess Kevin Ferguson really wants to be an F-ing fighter after all.

“Kimbo Slice” has apparently inked a deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and will debut as a participant on the upcoming tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) according to Yahoo Sports.

Strikeforce recently passed on the contract of the former Elite XC heavyweight after the San Jose-based promotion purchased select Pro Elite assets following the company’s demise.

While there was some initial interest in his services, it was unrealistic to think they would pay him $500,000 (what he got paid for the Petruzelli fight) to bang with middle-of-the-road competition. In the end, the two sides could not find a common ground financially, and Slice officially became a free agent.

Anyone who would have predicted he’d end up on the Zuffa payroll would have gotten a visit from men in white coats at 3am for a long ride in the paddywagon — especially after all the disparaging remarks UFC President Dana White has made regarding the former street fighter and YouTube sensation.

However under all the insults and potshots, one thing White did promise was that Slice could join the UFC ranks if he fought his way into the cage via a stint on The Ultimate Fighter, White’s proving ground for up-and-coming talent looking to make it big.

Here’s a snip from the prez during the UFC 90 post-fight presser:

“What has the guy done to deserve to be in the UFC? Nothing. I don’t consider him a real athlete or anything. He won’t win The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). The offer is out there if he wants to take it and he won’t win it. I might [put a heavyweight show together just for him].”

I guess Ferguson took that as a challenge, as the bearded bruiser is now set to debut on the Spike TV reality show on September 16.

Slice made his mark on the entertainment world by knocking out cans in Miami backyards. By airing the footage on YouTube.com, he became an overnight celebrity and was taken under the wing of promoter Gary Shaw.

He also enlisted the help of legendary mixed martial artist Bas Rutten as his head trainer and began training consistently for more than two years (Rutten and Ferguson have since parted ways). Kimbo’s first loss to Seth Petruzelli at Elite XC ‘Heat’ last October on National television quickly ended the Kimbo phenomenon and was likely the final nail in the coffin of Pro Elite.

It will be interesting to see how he responds in an environment full of hungry up-and-comers — as well as to coaches Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and “Sugar” Rashad Evans, who will steer this ship come September.

The Ultimate Fighter 10 has been full of surprises. First Evans, then Jackson and now Ferguson. I guess we best prepare ourselves for some black on black (on black) crime.

rovert

Wish it was Fedor :pac:

mirwillbeback

A joke to be honest.

-KO'd by a jab, to a man who was an also ran in a previous season.
-Bas Rutten gave up on him as he didn't put the effort in in training
-James Thompson pretty much ground and pound him to defeat bar the probability the ref was told not to stop it

A show that has deteriorated every single season, I would imagine this will be the last one. I also bet they give him the easiest way to stay in the house, and if they need to fight to get in, he will get the can.

calex71

Was gonna say why give him any more air time , but agreed Dana is one cruel s.o.b :pac:

gimmick

There are too many series of TUF, so it is wearing a bit thin. The current series is quite boring actually, but that could just be because of the overkill.

Rampage as a coach again? I did not see the previous series with him involved, but was he not a terrible failure there?

Evil_Clown

mirwillbeback wrote: »

A show that has deteriorated every single season, I would imagine this will be the last one. I also bet they give him the easiest way to stay in the house, and if they need to fight to get in, he will get the can.

I read somewhere that the 16 heavyweight fighters chosen go straight into the house so no pre-lims. Wonder if Spike will have a say in when Kimbo fights cos they will want him to stay as long as possible but Dana will prob want him to fight first and be rid of him even if it costs him loads of money !!

Locomotion

Dana White is a marketing genius!

There is no bad way for this to work out for him and his company.

Let's look at the possible scenarios:

1) Slice wins the show - probably unlikely but we don't know how much and what quality training he's been doing since October. He also wasn't a nobody. He certainly wasn't anywhere in the top 10 heavyweight fighters in the world (or even top 50 for that matter) but he's still got the ability to throw a punch, has an incredible frame and apparently has good jitz. If he wins the show, then Dana White can use this to propel him to big drawing fights while only paying him the starting salary of a TUF winner.

2) Slice wins 1 or 2 fights but loses along the way / in the finals. - Probably more likely, Dana can still ensure that he gets to fight on the finale at now an even lower wage but will still have immense drawing power.

3) Slice loses his first fight - he's still gonna be in the house and training with Rampage and Rashad. People will be tuning in every week just to see the interaction. Dana can then use this loss to discuss how far superior the UFC is to other promotions.

4) Slice gets in a fight in the house. Dana kicks him off the show for being a thug and can spin it as he only wants real fighters, respectable fighters and doesn't believe in this backyard BS that Slice partakes in. This would certainly earn Dana back a bit of credibility after he let Junie Browning stay in Season 8.

rovert

This show could expose Kimbo's total lack of personality tho.

Pride Fighter

Locomotion wrote: »

Dana White is a marketing genius!

There is no bad way for this to work out for him and his company.

Let's look at the possible scenarios:

1) Slice wins the show - probably unlikely but we don't know how much and what quality training he's been doing since October. He also wasn't a nobody. He certainly wasn't anywhere in the top 10 heavyweight fighters in the world (or even top 50 for that matter) but he's still got the ability to throw a punch, has an incredible frame and apparently has good jitz. If he wins the show, then Dana White can use this to propel him to big drawing fights while only paying him the starting salary of a TUF winner.
an even lower wage but will still have immense drawing power.

:eek::eek: are you ok?

I honestly dont see him passing the peliminarys . Unless he is fed somebody .

Locomotion

Deleted User wrote: »

I honestly dont see him passing the peliminarys . Unless he is fed somebody .

There's not gonna be preliminaries this season. It's just 16 fighters going into the house and only 1 weight class. So we've got a whole season of Kimbo...

Savage Tyrant

What channel is the TUF series shown on?

rovert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHGSihL_dv0

Kimbo pops up at the 6.18 mark

paulieeye

get hulk hogan in there and u got urself a show

Fromvert

Jesus Christ, the sooner this lad gets the snot kicked out of him the quicker he can **** off back to the hole he came from.

dunkamania

I feel like I am one of the few that is impressed by this move.

Kimbo will presumably get paid a lot less from Zuffa for TUF, unless he wins, than he would have gotten if he took a lower rate from Strikeforce. His previous failings aside, I am impressed that he is making this move, because it feels like he has alot more to lose than to gain.

rovert

This is just surreal looking

arybvtcw0eolkf

dunkamania wrote: »

I feel like I am one of the few that is impressed by this move.

Kimbo will presumably get paid a lot less from Zuffa for TUF, unless he wins, than he would have gotten if he took a lower rate from Strikeforce. His previous failings aside, I am impressed that he is making this move, because it feels like he has alot more to lose than to gain.

Absolutely.

Now he'll be faced with technical, if not amateur fighters instead of the junkyard slungers he's faced in the past.

Of course, I've had my first day off work in a week - been out in the sun with my Danish friends (Carlsberg) all day so may be open to having my ass tore apart, but I'll be looking forward to this one.

Good move.

Perfect fit

personally i cant stand kimbo but least he is actually attempting to work for it and get in on his ability not fame(unlike certain champions that will remain unnamed...BROCK). He knows he could get knocked out in the first fight just like any other contestant

rovert

Perfect fit wrote: »

personally i cant stand kimbo but least he is actually attempting to work for it and get in on his ability not fame(unlike certain champions that will remain unnamed...BROCK).

:rolleyes:

chopperbyrne

Perfect fit wrote: »

personally i cant stand kimbo but least he is actually attempting to work for it and get in on his ability not fame(unlike certain champions that will remain unnamed...BROCK). He knows he could get knocked out in the first fight just like any other contestant

How many other good college wrestlers learn a bit of kickboxing and start an MMA career?

Brock was on his way to being an Olympian, but the WWE threw a lot of money his way and he went with them.

If he had gone on to the Olympics and then into MMA would you still say he doesn't deserve it?

paulieeye

Perfect fit wrote: »

personally i cant stand kimbo but least he is actually attempting to work for it and get in on his ability not fame(unlike certain champions that will remain unnamed...BROCK). He knows he could get knocked out in the first fight just like any other contestant

as in Brock the Amature Wrestling Champion??

edit: just got there before me chopper!

Perfect fit

chopperbyrne wrote: »

How many other good college wrestlers learn a bit of kickboxing and start an MMA career?

Brock was on his way to being an Olympian, but the WWE threw a lot of money his way and he went with them.

If he had gone on to the Olympics and then into MMA would you still say he doesn't deserve it?

ifs and buts! i dont think its deserved for being a wrestling champion, but anyways another thread another day, apoligies for bringin it up

anyways my point being im glad kimbo hasnt been thrown straight into the ufc and is being made work for it to show what kinda of fighter he is, personally hope he gets ko'd :pac:

paulieeye

Perfect fit wrote: »

ifs and buts!

anyways my point beingim glad kimbo hasnt been thrown straight into the ufc and is being made work for it to show what kinda of fighter he is, personally hope he gets ko'd :pac:

Am I the only person rootin for kimbo?? I hope he kicks ass!!! (but dont think he will)

Perfect fit

paulieeye wrote: »

Am I the only person rootin for kimbo?? I hope he kicks ass!!! (but dont think he will)

how pissed would dana be if he won it:D

shenanigans1982

chopperbyrne wrote: »

How many other good college wrestlers learn a bit of kickboxing and start an MMA career?

Brock was on his way to being an Olympian, but the WWE threw a lot of money his way and he went with them.

If he had gone on to the Olympics and then into MMA would you still say he doesn't deserve it?

The main thing for people will be that he was fast tracked to the title.

He won his first match which was pretty much a gimme.
Shown up by Mir in his second match.
Beat Herring convincingly in his third.....but beating Heath Herring shouldn't have put him in line for a title shot.

Jardine has more claim to a shot at the LH title than Lesnar did to HW title and people would laugh at the idea of him getting a title shot. UFC seen the numbers his fights were getting and put him straight into the title picture to capatilize on it. Which would bring up a debate between ranking's or the freedom to make matches people want to see, but thats another thread.

Fromvert

I dont see the problem people have with Brock being fast tracked to a title fight. The Mir/Big Nog fight was signed for the interim title, then the whole Randy debacle gets sorted so Randy needs an opponent i.e Brock.

The HW division is hardly oozing with contenders in all honesty. Also he still had to beat Randy to get the belt or did I miss something and did the UFC just give it to him.

Flairpinnedme

Um, Brock has the interim title, and Randy has the original title he didn't lose..

rovert

Love the way no one talks about Randy Couture being fast tracked weird that. Could people be biased against Brock?

shenanigans1982 wrote: »

Jardine has more claim to a shot at the LH title than Lesnar did to HW title and people would laugh at the idea of him getting a title shot. UFC seen the numbers his fights were getting and put him straight into the title picture to capatilize on it. Which would bring up a debate between ranking's or the freedom to make matches people want to see, but thats another thread.

Let me settle that debate the pure sport model of rankings has never worked historically in MMA.

Perfect fit

Perfect fit wrote: »

how pissed would dana be if he won it:D

Not really, I think Locomotion has it spot on >>

Locomotion wrote: »

Dana White is a marketing genius!

There is no bad way for this to work out for him and his company.

Let's look at the possible scenarios:

1) Slice wins the show - probably unlikely but we don't know how much and what quality training he's been doing since October. He also wasn't a nobody. He certainly wasn't anywhere in the top 10 heavyweight fighters in the world (or even top 50 for that matter) but he's still got the ability to throw a punch, has an incredible frame and apparently has good jitz. If he wins the show, then Dana White can use this to propel him to big drawing fights while only paying him the starting salary of a TUF winner.

2) Slice wins 1 or 2 fights but loses along the way / in the finals. - Probably more likely, Dana can still ensure that he gets to fight on the finale at now an even lower wage but will still have immense drawing power.

3) Slice loses his first fight - he's still gonna be in the house and training with Rampage and Rashad. People will be tuning in every week just to see the interaction. Dana can then use this loss to discuss how far superior the UFC is to other promotions.

4) Slice gets in a fight in the house. Dana kicks him off the show for being a thug and can spin it as he only wants real fighters, respectable fighters and doesn't believe in this backyard BS that Slice partakes in. This would certainly earn Dana back a bit of credibility after he let Junie Browning stay in Season 8.

dunkamania

it occurred to me that Kimb would be perfect for making some quick bucks in freak show fights in Japan. Maybe he just doesnt like traveling, but he is taking a much more difficult route than he has to, just to get paid.

t-ha

shenanigans1982 wrote: »

Jardine has more claim to a shot at the LH title than Lesnar did to HW title and people would laugh at the idea of him getting a title shot. UFC seen the numbers his fights were getting and put him straight into the title picture to capatilize on it. Which would bring up a debate between ranking's or the freedom to make matches people want to see, but thats another thread.

Whatever... if you have what it takes to beat the champ, then you should be the champ.

chopperbyrne

Flairpinnedme wrote: »

Um, Brock has the interim title, and Randy has the original title he didn't lose..

Myself and the millions more who watched the Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar fight for the UFC Heavyweight Championship which Brock won must have all had some kind of outer body shared dream experience!

:rolleyes:

dunkamania

t-ha wrote: »

Whatever... if you have what it takes to beat the champ, then you should be the champ.

Not necessairily, consider a rock paper scissors analogy with some fighters stacking reallly well, against arguably bettr pedigree fighters

rovert

dunkamania wrote: »

Not necessairily, consider a rock paper scissors analogy with some fighters stacking reallly well, against arguably bettr pedigree fighters

Yep no one is denying that but still Brock beat the Champion.

Locomotion

Deleted User wrote: »

Not really, I think Locomotion has it spot on >>

Yea, that Locomotion really seems to know what he's talking about.

P.s. Why is this thread about Brock Lesnar now?

chopperbyrne

Locomotion wrote: »

Yea, that Locomotion really seems to know what he's talking about.

P.s. Why is this thread about Brock Lesnar now?

Because nobody really cares about Kimbo Slice.

Charlie3dan

Liked this article on it:

http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/06/03/dana-white-does-it-again/

Dana White Does it Again
June 3, 2009 by Tom Casale
Leave a comment
Love him or hate him, you have to respect him.
I am a person who enjoys studying successful people. I like to know what they did to get where they are so I can take some of those qualities and apply them to my everyday life.
There may be no more intriguing human being on the planet to study than Dana White and his latest decision to bring Kimbo Slice into Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter is proof positive of that.
As soon as Yahoo! Sports broke the news of the Slice signing Monday night, my phone started ringing off the hook with friends asking me if I could believe it.
Of course I can believe it. It’s the smart business move made by one of the smartest businessmen on the planet.
First, let’s get a couple of things out of the way. Kimbo is not a good MMA fighter and most likely never will be. I know it, you know it and White knows it.
So why sign him then if the guy can’t fight? That’s simple.
Say what you want about Slice’s fighting ability; he is one of the only non-UFC fighters that the average fan cares about. I’m not talking about you guys who come to Five Ounces of Pain every day.
I’m talking about the average Joe sports fan who still finds Chris Berman funny. Just for the record, Berman stopped being funny around 1997.
Think about it. Other than Tito Ortiz, who out there is a bigger draw than Slice? Fedor? No way. We all love Fedor because we are huge fight fans but do you think the average Joe on the street relates to Fedor?
The guy has never even been on American TV. Most average people haven’t seen him fight or know very little about him, so while Fedor is arguably the best fighter on the planet, he isn’t that mega draw yet.
White knows all this and he also knows that any organization that lands Slice instantly gets a huge drawing card. So why not make that organization the UFC?
The Ultimate Fighter TV show is losing steam. White already gave it a shot in the arm by naming Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson the coaches for Season 10.
Now you throw in Slice, a guy White once called a “joke’ and a “bum” and you are talking about monster ratings for the UFC.
So in one fell swoop, White has not only prevented a rival promotion from signing one of the biggest free agents on the market, he brought the fighter in himself to drive up his own ratings. Brilliant.
If you want to witness White’s genius, tune into the “TUF” Season 10 Finale on December 5. If Kimbo makes it that far, it should be the most watched program ever on Spike TV and a huge moneymaker for White and the UFC.
Meanwhile, Strikeforce, Affliction and all the other organizations will be sitting there watching White with that smug smile on his face, knowing he got the best of them yet again.
But wait, here is the best part. If Slice does indeed win the show and earns a UFC contract, that’s when White gets his cake and eats it too.
Because like I stated above, there is no way he can hang with the likes of Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo and the rest of the UFC’s heavyweight division. No way. He will be gone in a blink of an eye. White is basically using Slice to get what he wants and then throwing him away.
So in the end, White will have poached Slice from his rivals, made a ton of money for him and the UFC, produced record ratings for The Ultimate Fighter and proved that Slice couldn’t compete in the UFC like he stated all along.
How is that for smart?

t-ha

dunkamania wrote: »

Not necessairily, consider a rock paper scissors analogy with some fighters stacking reallly well, against arguably bettr pedigree fighters

Yeah you're right - but I still think that given that he beat Randy that he deserves his belt. If he wins a few defenses it'll take care of that rock paper scissors problem (I think most people like to see at least one successful belt defense anyway before they really consider anyone to be the champ).

Personally I think it looks good for Brock too. He's had time to get his BJJ defense up to some sort of level, plus he has the speed, length and power to KO Mir standing & the wrestling to not go to ground.

t-ha

Also, I don't get this whole 'Kimbo' thing. Everyone's going on about how smart Dana is - of course this makes total sense from Dana's POV, but it makes NO sense from Kimbo's?! Unless he's making some serious bread out of this somehow there is literally NO upside to this for him?

SuperWoody101

t-ha wrote: »

Also, I don't get this whole 'Kimbo' thing. Everyone's going on about how smart Dana is - of course this makes total sense from Dana's POV, but it makes NO sense from Kimbo's?! Unless he's making some serious bread out of this somehow there is literally NO upside to this for him?

Kimbo's name is back out there again, he will have some tv time on Spike, that has to be an upside!

paulieeye

SuperWoody101 wrote: »

Kimbo's name is back out there again, he will have some tv time on Spike, that has to be an upside!

Plus if he does well, which no doubt he believes he can, people will have to take him more seriously. But if he flops..thats the end of that. As someone said...he has alot to lose

SuperWoody101

paulieeye wrote: »

Plus if he does well, which no doubt he believes he can, people will have to take him more seriously. But if he flops..thats the end of that. As someone said...he has alot to lose

I don't think he has much to lose, people call him a joke now after the Petruzelli fight, I think TUF is the best and only thing he can do now to get back into MMA

rovert

If he does flop he'll be able to draw a rating or two on a Fight Night.

paulieeye

SuperWoody101 wrote: »

I don't think he has much to lose, people call him a joke now after the Petruzelli fight, I think TUF is the best and only thing he can do now to get back into MMA

Yeah ur right. But as far as he's concerned he has everything to lose. Basically its time to put up or shut up

cowzerp

Did the UFC buy his contract so he can go into the house?

if they did they'll have to pay him the agreed amount which is big, then he certainly has plenty to gain..