CBS-EliteXC: Industry Chimes In On Kimbo Slice

Kevin Ferguson, better known as Kimbo Slice has emerged as one of mixed martial arts' highest profile athletes and most controversial figures. His quick rise to MMA stardom from street fighter to main event status has been received with varying results within the MMA community.

One of the biggest critics of marketing Kimbo Slice to a mainstream audience by having him headline an MMA event has been UFC President Dana White.

"To have CBS, a big network like that, move forward with a guy like Kimbo Slice headlining it, I mean there's no secret, that's what I tried to stay away from," said the outspoken UFC figurehead. "Kimbo Slice isn't a mixed martial artist. This guy was fighting in your backyard three months ago, and now he's going to be headlining on CBS. Personally I think it sucks."

Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk shares White's opinion. "To be honest with you, I wasn't crazy about the idea," said the nine-year professional mixed martial artist.

"I think if you're going to headline a main event, a mainstream thing like that, you should have the credentials to follow it. You know? I would have liked to have seen a more established fighter, somebody who maybe would represent the sport a little better, because if you're tuning into CBS for the first time and you catch this street fighter guy on television, I think that's going to give us a bad name. And I think it sets us back a couple of steps."

But not everyone in the industry has the same opinion of Kimbo Slice as White and Sherk. UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn is a fan of Ferguson.

"I'm a street fighter. I love street fighters. You know what I mean? Me, I'm a Kimbo Slice fan," stated the Hawaiian fighter. "I'm a street fighter. That's where I draw my thing from. I don't draw my fights from athletics or from sports… I used to fight, so me, I'm a Kimbo Slice fan. I like fighting. For me, I'm a street fighter. I like that kind of stuff."

Former UFC heavyweight champion and Pride veteran Josh Barnett agrees with Penn. "I'm a fan. I like him. I think he's good for the sport, and I think he's got potential and shows it in every fight. I think he trains hard and wants to expand his repertoire of techniques and strategies, everything. I think he's really taking the routes to becoming a full-on pro fighter," Barnett told MMAWeekly Radio.

"He certainly has gameness, if anyone has seen his fights on YouTube. He's the kind of person to go out there, bare-knuckle against some totally unknown guy and be like, hey, let's scrap right here, right now. And that takes the right kind of mindset to get out there in front of everybody and fight.

"I can understand where hardcore people would get upset because it could present the image that a street fighter could just walk right on in and beat top level MMA guys," explained the Seattle born fighter. "Although, Tank (Abbott), I'm sure he wouldn't even disagree that his best years are behind him. Bo Cantrell was never a top fighter, and Ray Mercer was a boxer, but went out there, scrapped it up with him and got taken down. He ended up getting a front-choke of all things. That shows that he's thinking like an MMA guy, not just a street brawler or straight-up boxer.

"I think he's sort of an exception when it comes to street fighters. I don't think he's the kind of guy you pick off of like Felony Fights, or you see tussling with some frat boys at a bar," Barnett concluded. "This guy is big, powerful. He's clearly an athlete, and he's got the kind of training and experience that you just don't find in some street fighter. He beats up all the other street fighter guys pretty handily, and the one guy that beat him had a background in wrestling and MMA training... I don't think you can just casually treat it as if it's just some street fighter."

Former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Tito Ortiz publicly criticized Ferguson in the past, but retracted those previous statements to MMAWeekly.com. "When he first came in, I said some things about him. I said he wouldn't last with anybody because he hadn't put in the hard work and hard training. Now it seems like he's focused.

"I kind of have to take back a few things I've said about Kimbo," commented Ortiz. "He was a young guy coming in. I watched some of his street fights on Youtube. I saw him as strictly a street fight guy. He had no technique or anything. I'm going to take back a few of my words.

"I watched his last fight and he's starting to be a well-trained athlete. He's actually putting in the hard work it takes to be a fighter. The way he dismantled Tank Abbott, oh my God, I was like that is very impressive. His punches were crisp and looked sharp. He's actually putting in the hard work."

Love him or hate him, as the CBS-EliteXC Saturday Night Fights nears, everyone is talking about Kimbo Slice.