It’s All on Kimbo Slice

It’s all on Kimbo Slice.

Love him or hate him, MMA fans know the name.  Kimbo was the backyard brawler who became a Youtube sensation.  Then Kimbo transitioned to cage fighter and instantly began to headline cards.  It didn’t matter that he was fighting little known opponents.  It was even less of a concern that he wasn’t fighting for the UFC, seen by many as the premiere MMA organization.  What did matter was that Kimbo was winning.  And those wins made more people tune in,  which drove up ratings as well as Kimbo’s paycheck.

Then in his third pro MMA fight Kimbo was knocked out.  It was a devestating loss.  Suddenly Kimbo was seen as the Emperor with no clothes.  The organization that Kimbo fought for went out of business.  Dana White of the UFC said that the only way Kimbo would ever fight for him was if Kimbo earned his way by winning The Ultimate Fighter.  Most folks thought that Kimbo would take his money and fade away.

Last night Dan Wetzel broke the story that Kimbo Slice will be one of the sixteen heavyweight on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.  Talk about a win-win situation for everyone involved.  Kimbo, if he wins, heck, even if he just does well, shows the world that he in’t just a backyard brawler. If Kimbo loses [and odds are he will], he will know how close he is to being able to compete with UFC caliber fighers.  Should it turn out that Kimbo was just a flash in the pan, a tough guy who was able to parlay his big fists into a few big paydays, he will still be able to walk away knowing that at least he tried.  He had the stones to put it on the line and enter the cage.

Kimbo fans are winners because they’ll get to see their guy mix it up agian.  If he wins [or does well], they’ll be able to say, [as my buddy, JB does to rub it in] “I tole you so!”  If Kimbo loses, they can also say at least he tried.  Who doesn’t like someone who gives it their best shot?  The Kimbo haters are winners because they can crow if Kimbo doesn’t win it all.  And even if he does make it to the finals and win, the haters will still have  tuned in each week hoping to see Kimbo take a whoopin’.

Of course Dana White and the UFC is the biggest winner.  Having Kimbo on the show gets them tons of publicity.  More press means more people tuning in to see next season of The Ultimate Fighter… and the great thing is it doesn’t matter to White or the UFC if Kimbo wins, does well or loses.  If he loses, that just proves that it takes a special breed of fighter to be successful in the UFC.  If Kimbo wins, it just means more people tuning in to pay-per-views to see Kimbo.

That’s why it’s all on Kimbo Slice.