The Streets Taught Him to Knock’em Out... Kimbo Slice and his Insane MMA Career

At the dawn of the 2000s, videos featuring Kimbo Slice blew up the Internet, elevating the black-bearded giant to the status of king of the web, having broken out of the ghetto, he burst onto the MMA scene and continued to break chins now at professional level. His entire life story resembled an action-packed Hollywood blockbuster with a tragic ending. Today we look back on Kimbo's journey from backyard slugs to global stardom. Kevin Ferguson was born in the winter of 1974 in the Bahamas as a child and moved to the United States. He stayed with his family and found a new home in Florida, the future neighborhood.

Menace grew up in a poverty-stricken Miami suburb, surrounded by crime from an early age. You know the neighborhood could have been tough. You know dying people. You know you go out. to take out the trash, you go around the corner and you'll see a foot and you just throw the trash in the dumpster and put it back on top and hey man, you know, Jimbo, as his friends called him, was often bullied by his companions. Since he moved to the United States, his classmates laughed at his accent and the most conceited ones even tried to steal his lunch, defending himself was the only option if you want respect, you have to respect and that's what I told him, don't let him talk that way and when you talk to them you have to look straight at them and die, let's say you're not afraid, he's not afraid, that's a kid, he's not afraid, in high school he met Mike Amber, the teenagers quickly became the top.

Buds Kimbo already weighed over 200 pounds and was considered the toughest guy in school and would defend his friend in any situation. He had a bond where you know that if he ever needed something, he was always there and needed it and you know that when I was younger and not developed. I was getting beat up and he said, "You know, that was something I wanted to make sure didn't happen to anyone I knew while I was pursuing the goal of becoming a high school football player." Kimbo moved closer to downtown Miami in his senior year. He was one of the East Coast's biggest prospects, but nature itself ruined the young man's plans.

In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida, winds from 165 miles per hour ripped entire city blocks to pieces. some 170,000 homeless people, including Kimbo, who was forced to live in a car for the following month. The school football season was canceled. A year later, the future Internet sensation entered the University of Miami, where he stayed only one semester due to a modest scholarship after leaving higher education. He tried out for the NFL but could not land a spot on the Miami Dolphins first team. and said goodbye to his childhood dream Kimbo would return to the city

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to earn money he would wash cars during the day and work as a bouncer at a strip club at night they had spent two years this way until one day he ran into His old friend in the early 2000s Mike Amber was a producer for an adult film production company.

Upon hearing about Kimbo's situation, he offered his old friend a job from then on. The big man drove exhausted actresses in a limousine and watched over the film set, which gave him some financial security, but as a young father Kevin had to support his family, he once again turned to Mike, whose ingenious mind generated a bright idea. Ember, who had never seen her friend defeated in a fight, came up with a simple but genius plan: they would drive around town challenging local fighters, one would take bets and the other would beat up anyone who had the guts to step up.

The plan worked out. wonder and the eldest of Kimbo. talent was used effectively in every neighborhood in every city there's that guy that's always a tough guy and there's always a bully there's always someone that you just know what I'm saying you know he feels like he's right when you walk around with a resentment on the shoulder and you know I don't like those kind of guys, you know what I'm saying initially, everything was done behind closed doors until Mike decided to hire a cameraman. Kimbo's first fight on tape was against a guy. named Big D A 260 pound thug who had recently been released from prison.

Kimbo jumped into the fight immediately, frustrated by the lack of stamina, he decided to cheer his opponents on after another

knock

down. Big D asked for a break and received a polite refusal. Kimbo dressed up gracefully. Tyson and placed a tight Hawk which was the last straw. What's happening? Ember posted the video on his website and it eventually ended up on YouTube and quickly gained millions of views as Big D's severed face made the rounds online. Kimbo was soon nicknamed cut everything. The world would know that the Miami Slugger by that name Kimbo continued to roam the neighborhood starching one tough guy after another.

The Colossus had a terrifying appearance and most of the Daredevils couldn't last three minutes against it. Oh, Slice would have two or three fights. a moment that resulted in multiple bodies being immobilized I was in the ring and I hit him too Kevin I don't think anyone would want to get in the ring with him I know, I know I wouldn't New recordings with Kimball were appearing regularly getting more and more views When the concept video blogging was in its infancy, the Bohemian native was one of the first to gain YouTube star status in the wave of explosive popularity that Street League decided to expand.

Kimbo one day said, "You know, I'm tired." to come to these things and I'm the only one who fights he is like you know when I come after fighting I want to see some fights he is like I have the perfect child the guy in question turned out to be 18 year old Jorge Mazvidol the The fragile young man faced to an undefeated heavyweight, but Jorge didn't mind in the least, the recording would later pave his way to the highest echelons of MMA, say, hey, you want to fight in a couple of hours. I said, yeah, yeah, let's do it.

I never thought he would generate the millions and millions of views that he has generated. It is one of the biggest fights that most people recognized before. Still, oh, you heard it right there. Warriors, no matter what the cost, the undefeated Kimbo gained Street Fighting King status. He had been looking for a worthy challenge for a while and finally got what he wanted. Police Officer Sean Cannon Gannon was a six-time Golden Gloves boxing champion with some MMA experience. The parties agreed to a war without a time limit. The takedown count was supposed to be 30 seconds. Kimbo started things quickly.

Sean survived the assault and launched a counterattack. Oh yes, the guillotine attempt infuriated the corner cutters while the subsequent takedown infuriated Gannon's friends who stood up visibly tired. Kimbo continued trying to find the enemy's chin. the cop was mixing it up to his body and head they were both very exhausted but refused to stop throwing heavy leather seven minutes into Sean Uncorked an unexpected series of elbows Kimbo managed to get up only to collapse to the floor from exhaustion in a matter Un A couple of seconds defied gravity again, but there was no point in continuing.

Kimbo lost for the first time, although you wouldn't have guessed it by looking at Shannon's face. Fighting against a competent opponent with combat sports experience still exposed the gaps in Kimbo's style. His spirit was unquestionable, meanwhile, a video titled Kimbo Slice versus the Police Officer went viral and racked up over 10 million views across multiple platforms, surpassing any MMA content that year. Professional promoters previously preferred to ignore Slice, but now the fight for the street fighter has developed since the appearance of Kimbo. name first gained notoriety as rumors about his possible transition to MMA began to spread and became reality in the summer of 2007, when it became known that the 33-year-old would make his debut in the nascent Fury cage fighting championship, The opponent was none other than a true boxing legend, Olympic gold medalist and former WBO champion, Ray Mercer, you got one thing to say, man, I'm going to break you, boss, after having attracted hordes of fans to the television screens, Kimbo was not going to take up much of his time, he covered the prey. to the fence and Fury Unleashed in the clinch after a bunch of elbows hitting the body and hitting a double leg the boxer swept and found himself trapped in a tight guillotine in a span of 90 seconds in the cage Kimball won eighty thousand dollars an amount that many UFC pillars could only dream of, he showed that he was capable of adjusting his style to MMA and deserves to be called a mixed martial arts artist, meanwhile, Slice's appearance on television provided an unknown organization with ratings exorbitant ratings that confirm the Bahamian's unlimited star potential.

It was just the beginning so I beat Ray Mercer in one minute and 27 seconds and went 10 to 100 with me dedicating myself to it and committing to something I proved to myself that I can do this my future was born from them after a spectacular debut Kimbo was contacted by Elite Here's our guy who in his first fight against Mercer and his second fight against a guy who has 20 fights and I was worried, he never was. People think that as soon as the bell rang, Kimbo went hunting, led the victim into an ambush and pulled the trigger, a rear-hand hook to the body followed by an elbow to the head, a rarely seen combo.

Even in modern MMA, the Bahamian did the job in 19 seconds and at the same time helped the rival discover his drumming talent. Burdened with attention, Kimbo needed a unique challenge. Tank Abbott was a former Street Fighter and had successfully turned it into a

career

in the UFC, for which he took some vicious hits to the head. Oh, that's it, in the '90s, the wild-mannered heavyweight was the embodiment of No. Hold Barred but he had lost his stride when he met Slice in a chaotic start. Kimbo landed a couple of bombs and hit the back of the head chasing the finish as soon as the competition continued.

Someone's mouthguard was found on the mat before the referee. I had time to figure out what was happening. Slice had already thrown him into the crowd when they finally faced each other again. Kimbo went into Berserker mode, they actually touched gloves, the kill shot hit Tank's head, the timer froze at 43 seconds and put a seal on one of the most brutal kills of the year in early 2008, Elite XC signed a deal with CBS, one of the largest television networks in the US, for the first time, MMA was to be broadcast on free television in prime time.

Kimbo was tasked with spearheading the historic event out front. a former Pride FC veteran, James Thompson James turned down a stand-up game and leaned into his fight midway through the second round. Kimbo had the opportunity to charge, but was punished again shortly after thinking about the cards at the beginning of the final stretch. he landed a big medium right hand as he forced a panic shot from Thompson by pushing a flurry. The Brit wanted to eat the referee alive, but this thousand-yard stare spoke for itself. The main event of the night attracted 6.5 million people to the screens, making it the largest event. seen an MMA matchup in television history, the same Kimbo Slice who fought in the backyards of Miami has now become one of the biggest attractions in the sport.

Kimbo was not willing to slow down, his next opponent was supposed to be Ken Shamrock, but he received a cut hours before the fight, as a result, Seth Petrozelli intervened on short notice, a former UFC fighter and a black Felton karate and vjj They cut quickly and fell as soon as Kimbo closed the distance, he was greeted with a fist to the face considering Petrozelli's resume. many hardcore fans predicted

slice

's defeat perhaps a little more competitively

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's consolation prize was half a million dollars for 14 seconds in the cage in a result that upset elite XC bosses but the worst was yet to come Coming after the fight Petrozelli admitted that the organization had offered him extra money to keep the fight on, a scandal broke out and Dana White had a field day with it, that is illegal with the loss of his main asset and the problems with the station that emerged, the promotion went bankrupt yesterday.

Kimbo set foot for the first time in cage no. One has tried to disparage the street fighter more than Dana White, the UFC president called Slice the toughest guy at barbecue and believed Elite XC events were taking the sport back to the '90s, but as soon as the Bahamian No longer under contract, White moved on. His mind is just an ordinary day. He gets a phone call and it's Dana, you know, on the phone. I bet this is the last call you'd ever expect to get and I'm like, you know, I'm actually not thatsurprised. you know they're pretty brilliant and you know there's something there with them Kimbo became a part of the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter and was even given a separate feature What's up?

Kimbo What's wrong? What's happening? Jump in line there at the initial stage you dealt with. Roy Nelson, a brave man with a wicked stroke who never missed a lunch. Nelson did not tempt Fate by trading on the feet and took advantage of the opponent's obvious lack of a running game, he would win the entire season as a comedian and establish himself in the UFC. In the years to come, Kimbo, the big right-hand man, on the other hand, did not leave the show immediately, training with the contestants and clearly gaining knowledge and friends. You don't know Kimbo Slice, and unlike Kimbo Slice, he was the nicest guy in the world.

Obviously, once he started having some relationship with the other fighters and started training with them, they respected his work ethic, what a good teammate he was, they all liked Kimbo when he gave up the tough

kimbo

. Kimbo's appearance on Ultimate Fighter brought record views which prompted the UFC to give him a second chance in his debut he faced a half-forward in Houston Alexander Cut went for the chin in his usual style combination oh good move he couldn't really start moving forward Joe good jab from Kimball and he even showed progress in the wrestling department he is taking his back he gave his opponent a proper beating on the mat ionally Alex in the third round Alexander went on the offensive Alexander has one punch

knock

out power , we've seen it before and he soon dropped the Bahamas finale.

Are both boys that tired? Mike, look how slow these punches come, oh, big elbow. But Kimbo didn't let the fight get away from him, five months after the hard-earned victory, he faced Matt Mitrione, whom he knew from his time at the top. Kimbo surprised Matrione early with an explosive takedown, oh my, but he got caught in a triangle. only his innate power helped him escape the choke when they got up Matt implemented some low kicks. Well, they are heavy. Trion looks to force a cut to shoot the legs again. Camouflage is a tough warrior that ends up on top.

Mitrione took Mount and sealed the deal because they are exhausted here and it is shown that Kimbo had the courage to compete in the strongest league in the world, but was clearly surpassed by the elite athletes in terms of skill, no matter how much he tried to make up for that. deficit, the street fighter could not. Keep up to date with the real pros after Defeat was released from his contract after leaving the UFC. Kimbo, 36, decided to venture into professional boxing before it became mainstream. He performed in smaller events where he compiled a 7-0 record against questionable opponents afterward.

Almost three years of boxing, the Bahamian hung up his big gloves. The main reason for his departure was Kimbo's desire to spend more time with his loved ones despite his ruthless behavior. Inside the Cage, outside of her, Slice was always a family man. lots of home my first oldest son, Kevin Jr, then my second oldest son, Kevin II, then my oldest daughter, Kevin, then my second oldest daughter, Kiara, and then my third oldest child, Kevlar, my third youngest daughter, Cassandra, my son's baby's mother, Kiana, my little grandson, Kevin III and we have a dog named Kimmy, that's the family raised in the ghetto.

Kimbo sought to give them everything he himself was deprived of. They have always been his main priority in life, although Street Fighter's previous educational methods were unorthodox, what was that key Texas trick? tell me about him, okay, he's taller than you, right, he likes six, three, I like big, I like to fall big, no wrong thoughts, no right thoughts, after a 2.5 year break . Kimbo's fists began to itch in 2015, he announced his return to MMA by signing a long contract. -The term contract with Bellator is the fight that fans want to see first. Kimbo faced another veteran Ken Shamrock.

They had unfinished business from their Elite XC days. Shamrock got a takedown early on. He leveled the switch on a single leg and was hit by Sharon and went for his. signature move, but he couldn't break the Bahamian and during the assault he got up and issued a withdrawal check to the vet. He attempts to return to the Ken Shamrock factor, now all Jimbo cuts and then confirms having secured his first MMA win in five years. He faced Dada 5000. Another street fighting alumnus who he knew from his fighting days in Miami. Both former neighborhood tough guys ran out of gas on their way to the cage.

The foreigner fought under the rules of oxygen deprivation, however, Slice turned out to be the cooler of the two. He doesn't even raise his hands anymore Kimball gets out of the way, he's going to fall Donna has no idea where she is and that's the area where the Showdown veterans clearly didn't live up to nostalgic expectations, however, in their first fight in Bellator, Kimbo earned more than 2 million. viewers to their screens and in his next appearance he raised the metric to two and a half million, setting a promotion record that stands to this day after all those years Kimbo Slice was still a superstar in the summer of 2016 he was getting ready to take a step in the Bellator cage for the third time but a month before the event his health seriously deteriorated the doctors diagnosed him with heart failure the Slugger situation worsened day by day I on Sunday and it was the first time he told me this and I could hearing it in his voice said, you know, Mike, he was, so he was, he was like, you know, I'm scared and I've never heard his voice say that Kimball was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and they put him on a ventilator, however , needed a heart transplant. his unstable condition made surgery impossible I'm calling him I'm calling him I'm not getting a response but it was like he was looking at me but he won and I screamed I said he's not answering me Kimbo Slice happened On June 6, 2016 at a hospital in Coral Springs he had 42 years.

I guess every time I decided to shave my beard was probably when I put Kimbo to rest, but would Kimbo ever rest? Kimbo Slice had an incredible journey from the street to becoming a legendary figure in MMA with millions of views online and appearances on some of the biggest stages in the world, he had a huge impact on the combat sports industry as he says The saying goes, there are athletes and then there are fighters. Kimbo was a fighter to the core, but also a father, a son and a friend, the kind of person you can always count on, which makes us who we are, go up, go down, get up and keep fighting.

I was designed in some ways to win some and lose others, but I'm going to keep coming I'm going to keep fighting oh my God, he represents the days, he is there to rest.