UFC: Kimbo Slice signs joins the UFC via the Ultimate FIghter 10

[Clark Kent]

Dana White's first ever video blog for the WEC and talks about Kimbo Slice joining the UFC.

More... (http://www.mmaringreport.com/ufc-news/ufc-news/kimbo-slice-signs-joins-the-ufc-via-the-ultimate-fighter-10-2.html)
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[Omar B]

Well it's a good move on Dana's part. Kimbo's a looser but people seem to like him.

[jkd friend]

He said he would not do it, guess they need the type of fans he would bring in or something.:asian:

[thetruth]

Put Seth Petruzelli in the house for a second time. That would make it interesting. I think Dana would see it as good for ratings and it means Kimbo actually has to prove himself before getting a proper UFC gig. I don't rate him so and I hope he gets KO'ed in his first fight

Cheers
Sam:asian:

[punisher73]

It will be interesting. Kimbo has been training with Bas Rutten to learn the MMA game. If he is on the TUF he will have to earn a spot into the UFC. This is a win/win for Dana....Kimbo gets the draws to watch the show and if he does win and get a contract, then Dana wins because Kimbo has shown that he now has some legit skills and he has him fight for the UFC and already has a huge fan recognition.

[searcher]

For Kimbo it is a great opportunity, if he gets into the house. He will, at the least, get to spend some time training with some great fughters and will be learning MMA for the duration of the show.

[celtic_crippler]

As if I weren't disgusted enough with Dana White's vision of the UFC already. :barf:

UFC is :flushed:

[Omar B]

What's to be disgusted about? It's a business and he can surly make money from this endeavor.

[CoryKS]

As if I weren't disgusted enough with Dana White's vision of the UFC already. :barf:

UFC is :flushed:

Dude still has to make it into the house. I don't see his participation as different from any other up-and-comer. At least he has to prove himself this time before getting a contract.

[celtic_crippler]

What's to be disgusted about? It's a business and he can surly make money from this endeavor.

About the decline of quality match ups.

Perhaps I just expect better, but you enjoy it and spend your money for the PPV's if you like. I won't be, even though I get a huge discount. :)

[Ronin74]

Dude still has to make it into the house. I don't see his participation as different from any other up-and-comer. At least he has to prove himself this time before getting a contract.
Actually, according to an article by Kevin Iole, all sixteen participants invited to Vegas for TUF 10 will be in the house- there won't be any elimination match-ups to get into the house.

[Ronin74]

I almost want to call this a win/not-much-of-a-loss situation.

Kimbo's presence will draw some attention in addition to TUF's current fanbase. Even people who want to see Kimbo get eliminated will most certainly tune in to at least catch the possiblity of it happening. Love him or hate him, people will tune in. A win for the company.

Now if he wins a contract or shows enough skill to be regarded as a UFC competitor (notice I did not say title contender), UFC has another potential fighter on the roster who may draw more fans to the events, and Kimbo will have at least shown himself to be more than a web-celebrity. A win for Kimbo and another win for the UFC.

However, if he loses- especially if it's in his first TUF match- he'll probably be back to whatever it is he was doing before, and UFC will chalk that up as a "not so great idea", but it probably won't put a major dent in the company's standing. In this scenario, it may not be a huge loss for the company, and the only entity who stands to lose anything might be Kimbo.

[CoryKS]

Actually, according to an article by Kevin Iole, all sixteen participants invited to Vegas for TUF 10 will be in the house- there won't be any elimination match-ups to get into the house.

That's too bad, I liked the new format. Oh well, he'll still have to fight. I'd rather watch Kimbo than someone like, say, Junie Browning.

[Omar B]

About the decline of quality match ups.

Perhaps I just expect better, but you enjoy it and spend your money for the PPV's if you like. I won't be, even though I get a huge discount. :)

I don't watch fighting, I don't see the point so no I won't be watching their PPV.

I do see the advantage in getting someone who's a "name" fighter on your TV show. It's a business, don't think of it as anything but, money talks and what someone said yesterday may not hold true if there's profit to be made in the contrary.

[thetruth]

It will be interesting. Kimbo has been training with Bas Rutten to learn the MMA game. If he is on the TUF he will have to earn a spot into the UFC. This is a win/win for Dana....Kimbo gets the draws to watch the show and if he does win and get a contract, then Dana wins because Kimbo has shown that he now has some legit skills and he has him fight for the UFC and already has a huge fan recognition.

He hasn't been training with Bas for quite a while (unless Bas has taken him back and I don't know about it). There was some kind of issue with regards to his dedication and him doing as he was told I believe

Cheers
Sam:asian:

[punisher73]

He hasn't been training with Bas for quite a while (unless Bas has taken him back and I don't know about it). There was some kind of issue with regards to his dedication and him doing as he was told I believe

Cheers
Sam:asian:

Ok, not sure, I was just going on the last time Kimbo fought, Bas was talking about training Kimbo. That does make it seem like more of a sideshow if he hasn't even been training with a good trainer since EliteXC though.

[Brian R. VanCise]

I think it is a good move for Dana and the UFC and will probably make the show interesting. I am not a Kimbo fan at all and if he get's a bad match up he will lose early on. Still if he can fight and make his way to the UFC then there you go he had to earn it.

[Brian King]

It will certainly make all of the drama and posturing in the house more interesting LOL

Brian King

[Kenpo1981]

In Kimbo, I see a rough guy with a lot of power. If this is something he really wants to do and is willing to show dedication, I wish him the best. TUF is a good proving ground and an opportunity to learn a lot about competing in these contests. I hope he sucks it up and works hard at it. I think it's great Dana White is willing to give him a shot.

[TheArtofDave]

I think is a good move by the UFC, and if Kimbo can improve on his conditioning then he has a good shot of winning. He can't always rely on his power, and better hope that he has a ground game that's good enough to overcome his challengers.

He has to go by what his coaches tell him, He can't have it be the Kimbo show in the octagon or else his presence is going to be short lived.

[BlueDragon1981]

I despise Kimbo. I realize it is a business but this guy annoys the crap out of me.

[Tensei85]

Definitely not a Slice fan. But hey should be in for an interesting show. It's probably a good move, but could just as easily turn disastrous for Slice as well.

[AceHBK]

I am curious to see who will pick him.....Rampage or Rashad.

I think Rampage will pcik him but I don't think that Rampage's camp is the best for Kimbo. After seeing Rampage in his last fight and Kongo is his last fight I have some concerns about how they train their fighters.

I would like to see Rashad pick him. I think with Rashad's knowledge of the ground mixed in with striking trainers of Greg Jackson's school, that would be the best combination.

[Skpotamus]

Bas Rutten actually dropped him right before the pettruzelli fight because kimbo wouldn't stop drinking, smoking, and wouldn't train any ground work.

Apparantly Wes Sims snuck an ipod with wifi into the TUF house and already leaked the results.

[TheArtofDave]

I myself, am also not a Kimbo fan. I'm actually hoping that Kimbo loses his ass, and is humiliated, to the point of never showing his face in the MMA world again. He can join the VH1 celebrity hall of shame because that's where people go as a last resort.

He'll be there sooner or later.

I was very disappointed to learn that there would be no elimination rounds in this season. However, its starting to make sense to me. This is about Kimbo earning his shot. And for the rest of the fighters there it increases their difficulty, because its just not eight people to go through. That means more fights, and more viewers.

Rashad will pick Kimbo. I don't see Rampage, and Kimbo getting along too well. Rampage could end Kimbo's career before he even makes it out of the house. Rashad is more likely to give him a pass because he was Kimbo when he lost his light heavyweight title.

As far as Kimbo's drinking and smoking habits. He'll have to quit. If he wants a serious ground game, an awesome boxing coach, and the conditioning it takes in order to win TUF, and actually stay in the UFC. Dana wants to be the one to make an example out of Kimbo, and throw his ass off the show. There better be none of that Junie Browning kick his ass first bull **** going on either.

Kimbo has the biggest target on him because everybody is going to say he doesn't have the heart, the brains, or the skill necessary to win TUF. Everybody will want to fight him, and knock him out. The person who does will be the hero of the house, and be envied.

Of course Dana really wants to be the one to throw him off of the show.

[d1jinx]

Kimbo is nothing more than a backyard fightin, street thug. I liked watching his street fights on the internet, but he's no martial artist. Kind of a slap in the face to the true martial artist who have spent their lives training and begging for a spot or chance. I had hoped after his last big loss on EliteXC he would never return to MMA. All hype, no stamina. sorry, I'm not a fan either.
But hey, he is a marketing tool.... why not use him.

[d1jinx]

oh... and i can guarantee he will make it into the house. did you see the last group of loosers that got in. Team USA only had a few that were worthy, demarcus, ritchie, and frank, the rest should have never been thought of. Team UK deserved to be there. But Team USA overall sucked.

[MattJ]

Kimbo is nothing more than a backyard fightin, street thug. I liked watching his street fights on the internet, but he's no martial artist. Kind of a slap in the face to the true martial artist who have spent their lives training and begging for a spot or chance. I had hoped after his last big loss on EliteXC he would never return to MMA. All hype, no stamina. sorry, I'm not a fan either.
But hey, he is a marketing tool.... why not use him.

I don't think that is called for. I don't consider it an insult to my training at all that Kimbo has gotten a chance with the UFC. Like it or not, he has a lot of real world experience with fighting. I give Kimo some credit for not taking the easy route in boxing or going to Japan, where he could have made good money fighting tomato cans.

He swallowed a lot of ego to take the TUF route, with no guarantee that he will get anywhere from that. How many people here would do that?

Probably not as many as you think.

I'm not a huge fan, but I respect him for trying to turn his life around.

[JadecloudAlchemist]

Kimbo obviously is not a martial artist but a streetfighter. However he wishes to take MMA seriously. He has only fought 4 matches and if he gets serious about his training he could be a hard striker. The problems with Kimbo is he is a little past his prime to become a newbie in the game and going up against more experienced fighters who know the game and who have better striking combonations,better grappling and know how to work the Octogon to their advantage. Slice is a power slugger his type of power would do better in boxing ring then in a MMA setting. But if he really trains his groundwork,works on polishing his standup he get more experience he might do ok.