Dawg Fight Documentary: Does The Kimbo Slice Effect Spell Doom For MMA?

Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson's journey from YouTube sensation to CBS main event fighter was well publicized, and even though his career as a professional MMA fighter has been short and problematic, you had to expect others to follow in his footsteps.

Dhafir Harris, a childhood acquaintance of Ferguson and a reported member of his entourage at one time, began promoting backyard fights in the Miami suburb of Perrine where both he and Ferguson grew up. The fights were haled as no-rules, bare-knuckle affairs and were not sanctioned for obvious reasons. With no protective equipment or medical staff on hand, the fighters at these types of events knowingly place themselves in danger. Most say it's for pride, while others just need the money.

Harris' promotion may have already come to an end, but even if that's the case, it would be pretty naive to think that others like it haven't already sprouted under similar circumstances. Rakontur, a film company that specializes in producing edgy, compelling documentaries, spent some time filming Harris' fights last year and confirmed via email that they plan to create a full-length feature documentary on the subject.

Fans and members of the MMA community fear that exposure for backyard fighting will undo much of the work that MMA has done to repair the image created by its early years. Some worry that by depicting a bloody, unregulated style of fighting complete with bloodthirsty spectators, the anti-MMA crowd will gain additional ammo.

Read what MMA fans are saying at themmaspace.com

In reality, it's not very hard to explain the differences between the fighting that is depicted in Dawg Fight and the legitimate sport of MMA in its modern, sanctioned form. Anyone who tries to make a direct comparison is probably so bitterly opposed to the sport of MMA that nothing could change their mind anyway. Instead, I think Dawg Fight is going to address some incredibly interesting social dynamics. No, it's not the future of MMA, but Kimbo Slice may not be the last fighter to rise from similar beginnings and make a name for himself.

Here's a link to the trailer for Dawg Fight. Take a look and leave your comments here.

Picture: Dhafir Harris aka DADA5000

Source: examiner.com