MMA fighters who died in 2016

#1 Kimbo Slice

He had his hands up until the end

One of the last remnants of a world long-forgotten, in today’s MMA environment, Kimbo Slice was akin to a sabretooth tiger in a pack of its sandpapered descendants. That’s no diss to either tigers or MMA fighters, but most would rather not imagine the outcome of a clash between a sabretooth and a Bengal tiger.

Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson was a fighter in the most instinctive sense of the term – he grabbed the spotlight after videos surfaced of him fighting tough guys in backyards. Some would call him one of the first viral video stars.

Erstwhile MMA big name EliteXC owed its success to Kimbo, who hauled in the ratings. Neither a technician nor a strategist by far, Kimbo’s seek-and-destroy style was an elixir for the sport. Wherever he went, ratings would follow, evidenced by his last two fights in Bellator cages in 2015 and ‘16, which drew 2.1 million and 2.5 million viewers respectively.

Kimbo beat MMA trailblazer Ken Shamrock in his Bellator debut and longtime friend-turned-rival Dada 5000 in his next bout. The win was expunged after Kimbo tested positive for Nandrolone. Kimbo also competed in professional boxing, defeating all seven of his opponents.

Ferocious once the gloves were on, Kimbo was the antithesis of that outside the ring. He is remembered by the MMA fraternity as a warm person and a loving partner and father, who used the fortune his fists brought him to give his family a good life away from the pernicious ecosystem that plagues so many.

He died of heart failure on June 6, 2016.