FIGHTER’S NAME: KIMBO SLICE

Real Name:  Kevin Ferguson

Height: 6'2''

Fighting Weight: 265 lbs.

Weight Cutting From: 250 lbs.

Birthdate: February 8, 1974

Age: 33

Born: Nassau, Bahamas

Resides and fights out of: Miami, Florida

MMA Record: 0-0*

Note: Slice fought professional boxer Ray Mercer in an MMA rules match for the Cage Fury Fighting Championships on June 23, 2007. He defeated Mercer with a guillotine choke at 1:12 of round 1. Despite the fight being contested in a cage and under MMA rules, the New Jersey State Athletic control board ruled the match as an exhibition and thus, does not count towards Slice's official record.

Fight Team: Team Kimbo

Head Trainer: Bas Rutten

Fighting Style: Brawler

Bio: Kimbo Slice is a throwback to the early days of organized mixed martial arts in the U.S. during a time when you didn't need necessarily need a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, amateur wrestling credentials, or a K-1 striking background in order to be a major player. While many fighters in MMA have paid their dues in the gym, Slice paid his on the street by fighting for cash in unsanctioned street fights, many of which were filmed and distributed via the Internet on YouTube.

Through the power of the Internet, Slice went from being an anonymous backyard brawler to being a multi-media superstar almost seemingly overnight. With a rabid fanbase that was growing exponentially, many of Slice's fans would go to mixed martial arts message boards proposing "dream matches" against legitimate fighters from the world of sanctioned fighting. Slice's legend grew and promoters became intrigued by the idea of luring him into MMA.

A star varsity football player at Miami Palmetto High School, Slice eventually began working in the security field as a bouncer and also as a bodyguard. It was while working as bodyguard for RK Netmedia in which he would get his big break at Internet stardom.

RK Netmedia is a Miami-based video production/promotion company. RK learned that Slice was fighting in scheduled non-sanctioned street fights for cash. Soon after hearing about Kimbo’s fights an idea was worn to record a fight and show it on the Internet. These fights involved little technique and were primarily brawls but Slice showed tremendous proficiency with his hands and dominated many of his on-camera opponents. The Internet clips became a hit and more fights were arranged as Kimbo’s legend grew.

With his popularity at an all-time high, Cage Fury Fighting Championships promoter Felix Martinez secured a multi-fight contract with Slice to bring him into the world of sanctioned mixed martial arts. Slice fought in an MMA-rules exhibition match in Atlantic City, NJ on June 23, 2007 and submitted professional boxer Ray Mercer with a guillotine choke at 1:12 of round one.

Following his win over Mercer, Slice was involved in a post-fight staredown with Tank Abbott, who was hosted at the event by CFFC organizers. Soon after the planned staredown, a match between the two street fighting legends was scheduled for October 11 in Atlantic City. However, the match never took place and organizers canceled the card a week before it was to take place. Slice became a free agent as a result of the cancellation and was signed to a multi-fight contract by EliteXC soon after hitting the open market.

Storyline:

Kimbo Slice is a new-age American success story. Thanks to the power of the Internet, he's evolved from cult street fighting icon to a well-compensated star in the sanctioned world of mixed martial arts. As popular as Slice is, he will be exposed to an even larger audience via Showtime. Slice has the skills and personality to become a multi-media star through MMA, but in order to make it big he has to win. Will the Kimbo Slice express train continue to build momentum, or will the heavy hands of Bo Cantrell derail it for good and relegate Slice back to the streets?

Notable Wins:

· Defeated professional boxer Ray Mercer in an MMA exhibition at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 5 on June 23, 2007. Slice won via guillotine choke at 1:12 of round one.

Notable Losses:

· Was defeated in an unsanctioned, but documented, street fight by Sean Gannon in September of 2003. Gannon is a former police officer from Boston who trains MMA. Gannon would later go on to fight in the UFC but only lasted one fight. Many believe that he was granted a shot to fight in the UFC based largely on his win over Slice.

Scouting Report:

Strengths…

· Many critics try to discount Slice's ability because of his street fighting background but the man has gifted hands. He possesses strong punching power and his hand speed is especially underrated.

· Proved countless times in his street fighting videos that he can take a punch... and then some.

· Has been very impressionable while working with Bas Rutten and his other trainers. Slice did not enter MMA training with an ego or a belief that his street fighting style was superior. He has taken to his trainers teachings like a sponge and even utilized a takedown and a choke to defeat Ray Mercer in his first fight when everyone assumed the fight had no chance of hitting the ground.

· Listens to his corner's instruction and will follow their gameplan.

Weaknesses…

· Slice has worked on his ground game but it's still a work in progress. He has the ability to execute basic submissions in a match but is still far from a technical grappler who can put moves together to work a submission. If the submission isn't "out there," it will be hard for him to tap an opponent.

· While some of his Internet fights are long in duration, a common theme was that Slice would lose steam in many of them before getting a second wind. He's been training hard with Rutten but his cardio is still an area of concern until he proves otherwise in an MMA match.

· With just one MMA exhibition match to his credit, Slice is woefully inexperienced when it comes to fighting sanctioned MMA fighting. He showed some "cage generalship" by putting Mercer against the fence after his takedown but Mercer had no MMA match experience either. How will Slice fare against a more experienced fighter such as Cantrell?

Personal/Factoid:

· It has been reported that Slice is the cousin of Olympic Judoka Rhadi Ferguson. However, when asked to confirm whether that was true during a conference call conducted on Oct. 31, Slice did not answer the question definitively but indicated that he's never met Ferguson. According to Kimbo’s manager, Mike Ember, Kimbo doesn’t know one way or the other whether he’s related to Rhadi.

· Slice's birthname is Kevin Ferguson. "Kimbo" is a nickname since childhood and "Slice" was taken as his last name as a tribute to his fans, who coined the moniker after watching one of his street fights in which he caused a large gash to the left side of one of his opponent's face. The gash was referred to as a "slice" and applied by many as Kimbo's last name.

· While Slice has a tremendous amount of street credibility, Ember confirmed that Slice attended Bethune-Cookman college and also the University of Miami. Ember disputed a Wikipedia claim that Kimbo went to Miami on an academic scholarship. According to Ember, Slice went to Bethune and Miami on a football scholarship. Slice never played a down of football for the Hurricanes and Ember claims that Slice didn’t stay in college long.

· Slice has six children (three sons and three daughters).

That day is almost upon me.  This might be my biggest challenge yet.  Are YOU ready?!  Saturday February 16, 2008.  At the crib.  UM, The Bank United Center, Miami, Florida.  On Showtime...watch me DEMOLISH Tank...