Kimbo Slice’s UFC record: Was the famous backstreet brawler a good fighter inside the octagon?

Kevin Ferguson, popularly known by his ring name Kimbo Slice, will forever go down as one of the most famous fighters in the mutual combat street fighting circuit.

Kimbo Slice made a name for himself through street fights before making a transition to MMA and went on to fight in major Mixed Martial Arts promotions Elite XC, UFC, and Bellator MMA.

Kimbo Slice's career in the biggest MMA promotion wrapped up in a short amount of time back in 2010, which begs a question if he ever had the necessary skill to compete against the best that the sport had to offer.

While testing free agency after Elite XC folded its operations, Kimbo Slice was offered a contract to fight in season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter heavyweight tournament.

Slice made his debut in the show against Roy Nelson and lost the fight via a second-round TKO. After scoring a win over Houston Alexander in a 215lb catchweight fight next, Kimbo Slice lost to Matt Mitrione via second-round TKO in his last fight with the UFC and was subsequently released from the promotion with an unimpressive 1-2 record.

“That’s probably Kimbo’s last fight in the UFC. His first fight wasn’t the YouTube fights that you saw, but he won. He won that fight and he deserved another fight in the UFC”, a visibly disappointed Dana White said.

Was Kimbo Slice just another fighter?

The quality of opposition faced by a fighter is the foremost criteria to determine his place among the very best in the sport. Fighters that Kimbo Slice fought in the UFC cannot be considered elite.

Apart from Roy Nelson, neither of his remaining two opponents ever made it to the top ten of the company's rankings and the results of Kimbo's fights against them only determine that the UFC octagon was not made for the backstreet brawler. From a Competitive standpoint, Kimbo Slice can’t necessarily be considered as a good fighter inside the octagon.

Slice’s importance for the UFC and every other promotion he fought in goes beyond the fighting skills he brought to the table.

A very well known name from the street fighting circuit, Kimbo Slice played a crucial role in drawing fight fans’ attention to all major mixed martial arts promotions that were eager to expand their fan base and become a mainstream sport.

This cements his position as one of the most important figures in the history of UFC. The promotion honored Kimbo Slice by offering condolences on his passing and issued a heartwarming statement the following day.