KIMBO MAKING MAJOR MMA WAVES

Posted on | May 5, 2008 | No Comments

By: Rich Bergeron
Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson is the new big fish in the small MMA pond that represents those leagues outside the UFC that are starting to pick up some speed. Though the UFC and all their fighters still remain wildly popular, Slice and EliteXC seem to be making the most significant inroads in the media these days. First EliteXC signed their CBS deal to rock the boat and then Kimbo landed a spot on the cover of ESPN Magazine recently.

Despite the massive wave of fame Kimbo’s riding, not everyone’s in his corner. ESPN Writer and Contributor LZ Granderson recently launched a diatribe against Kimbo’s attitude toward his new found star status. There’s been plenty of other chatter in the press about Kimbo’s unproven skills, and it’s one of those topics fans love to debate. Even in his YouTube street fighting days Kimbo fought a few slobs here and there who just couldn’t hang, but now he’s in a whole new world. The fact that he hasn’t yet fought a truly high-caliber opponent who could truly test his cage fighting ability is simply a matter of him being too new to the format. Kimbo’s Trainer Bas Rutten talked with MMACANADA.NET recently and asked for the blame to be laid on his shoulders regarding Kimbo’s opponents to this point.

Chuck Liddell, the only other MMA star to grace the cover of ESPN The Magazine so far, reached the pinnacle of his fame at the same time as MMA itself and the UFC. The hype leading up to the Liddell vs. Rampage Jackson fight was huge, although the fight itself proved to be a disaster for Liddell. It took Chuck a few fights to regroup and get back to winning after that embarrassing knockout. Who knows if Kimbo’s recent MMA fame will have the same effect, but the difference is Kimbo is fresh and new. He’s a man of few words and once admitted to me in a conference call that he’s honestly in the fight game for “the paper,” A.K.A. THE MONEY. To make more money in any sport, you have to first prove you’re a winner, and that’s what he’s trying to do the smart way.

So, although the press crowning him as the unofficial king of today’s MMA scene may be misguided, it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility that he’s on his way to becoming the best there is. He’s huge, imposing, and exceptionally good with his hands. Though he’s never had to really prove anything on the ground yet, his time will come to demonstrate that Bas Rutten’s got that covered. We can only wait for that moment when he does find himself on his back pulling guard to see whether he can really hack it in this sport. There will also be a time when EliteXC realizes they have to feed him better opponents in order to prevent the fans and the press from wondering whether this guy’s the real deal or just another overblown fad.

The promise of what Kimbo represents may be of greater value to the sport right now than anything Kimbo has already done in MMA, and that’s partly due to the fact that he looks the part of the second coming of Mike Tyson. Even Bas Rutten compared the two in the interview with MMACANADA.NET, referencing the fact that Tyson fought about 20 tomato can opponents before he fought anyone who might challenge him. Kimbo won’t fight that many guys before going up against someone formidable, says Bas, but the chances of Kimbo running into his own personal Buster Douglas will be slim in the early going.

If you’re a fan of Kimbo you can only hope that his ego doesn’t get too swollen too soon. He’s as tough a talker as he is a fighter, and he’s already called out Liddell. Yet, if he really is doing all this for the money, I wonder why he hasn’t laced up the boxing gloves yet and gone into a boxing ring if only for an exhibition or a trial run at operating in both sports. Having already invoked a Tyson-esque presence in the cage, he would be an absolute beast in a boxing ring. Looking at the other heavyweights in boxing compared to Wladimir Klitschko it looks like nobody’s in any position to challenge the Russian for his coveted world championship belts. If Kimbo jumped into the mix with a few tune up fights in boxing he’d be ready to face a guy like Sam Peter in no time. If he could take out Peter, he’d be set up for a super bout with Klitschko that could break all boxing records as far as paydays go. Heck, even a fight with the big lumbering giant Valuev would sell a ton of tickets.

Kimbo might be getting the star treatment way too soon, but you simply have to recognize the guy’s natural talent before drawing any conclusions on how he’ll fare in the fight game. It’s possible he might not live up to expectations, but that’s a risk he’s willing to take, and in this writer’s opinion it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll fall short of his goals the way things have been going for him to this point.