But now they're just the most prominent members of a rather enormous group of people who tried, but for one reason or another, just never made it.
Like watching the Saved By The Bell gang matriculate to college, Emelianenko's run in Strikeforce is proof that some sequels are better left unmade. Jiu-jitsu world champions, yes. MMA stalwarts, no. And that's where the wave crested.
The heavy-hitting Hunt was once considered the next big thing literally at heavyweight. Consecutive wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Filipovic will do that. Too bad for Hunt, then, that he went on to lose six straight after starting his career with a mark.
On the bright side, he is now in the UFC. He then lost five of his next six and is now trying to rebuild his name in the sport's minor leagues. I know, I know. He's not done yet. He could even get another shot at Anderson Silva. EliteXC officials decided instead to look for a warm body at the right weight.
But there was that one light heavyweight scrap on the prelims. Petruzelli vs. Rosa, now that was a fight you could scratch without much trouble. However, Shamrock withdrew from the contest just hours before the fight. On a few hours notice, they announced a Light Heavyweight named Seth Petruzelli would fill in to fight Kimbo Slice in the main event.
The crowd showered Petruzelli with boos during Jimmy Lennon Jr. Seconds later, Slice plodded forward and lunged directly into the jab of a retreating Petruzelli. But then there was Slice, pitching face-forward onto the canvas as Petruzelli stepped around him and began raining down more right hands, only these were serious.
These had force and confidence behind them. Slice turned to face them and got blasted with more blows, one opening a cut above his left eye as his body went briefly stiff. Waugh jumped in then, waving the fight off as Slice reached for his leg in a desperate takedown attempt.
By the time Waugh had explained to him how he got there, Petruzelli had already made several victory laps around the cage. Seth Petruzelli ended the Kimbo Slice hype train when he knocked him out on National television pic. Not that everyone was happy about it at the time. His histrionic reaction neatly conveyed what all the suits at EliteXC must have been thinking just then. Their star had just imploded in 14 seconds, knocked out by a nobody light heavyweight from the prelims.
While he went only and never won a championship belt, the personable Slice became one of MMA's best-known figures, attracting large television audiences and crowds to his growing sport. Slice beat Dhafir "Dada " Harris with a third-round knockout in February at Bellator in Houston, but the result was overturned after Slice tested positive for steroid use. Outside of the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man.
His loss leaves us all with extremely heavy hearts. Slice was scheduled to headline the Bellator show in London next month in a bout against James Thompson. Although Slice never reached the sport's competitive heights, his aura never waned among MMA fans: His bout with Harris four months ago drew the largest television ratings in Bellator's history. 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.
A post shared by Kimboslice kimboslice. Kimbo Slice's career in the biggest MMA promotion wrapped up in a short amount of time back in , 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. After scoring a win over Houston Alexander in a lb 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 record.
Also Read: Who is Kimbo Slice's son? The quality of opposition faced by a fighter is the foremost criteria to determine his place among the very best in the sport.
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