UFC 113: Kimbo Slice Wants "Blood" from Fellow Ultimate Fighter Matt Mitrione
by Cage Stoker
Meathead or Kimbo?
Meathead Kimbo vote to see results According to this just-released article from The Miami Herald, the hometown paper of UFC 113 featured fighter Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, the former bouncer and YouTube.com Internet brawler seemingly cannot wait to get his hands on his upcoming opponent this Saturday night in Montreal.
"I wanna knock that fool out," Slice told The Herald. "I don't like Matt. It's no secret. I'm not gonna play around with the dude. I'm coming hard. I'm going for blood."
In regards to his "rags to riches" story, Ferguson, who was once left homeless by the notorious Hurricane Andrew in 1992, remains grateful, humble, and firmly grounded.
"I never dreamed I'd get to this level," Slice said. "I'm not mad at Dana White for making me prove myself, because everyone has to prove themselves in all walks of life."
According to the 36-year-old Slice, after his rough and humble beginnings, he has been extremely fortunate to be the recipient of certain "breaks" in life, and he says he has taken full advantage of every one of these small—yet very important—windows of opportunity.
"You have to do it honestly, respectfully, with dedication and with commitment. That's what I'm doing, and here I am. I hang out in public and the fans talk to me, and I communicate with them," he said.
"They feel like they're a part of my career. I don't consider myself a celebrity or a stuck-up jerk. Kimbo is at Wal-Mart. Kimbo is at Payless. I eat at the same restaurants everyone else does.
Slice—who was once trained by MMA legend Bas Rutton—is now being trained at the elite MMA gym American Top Team. There, the submission skills of the famed slugger are being carefully honed and have progressed in a forward direction, thanks to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend and specialized trainer Ricardo Liborio.
"He's a good guy, and he does a great job of communicating with his students," Slice said. "I know I started late in this game. I don't have 15 years under my belt like the majority of these guys, but Liborio still takes time to teach me the [basics]."
This fight between Slice and Mitrione will be shown on the main card of UFC 113 this coming Saturday night from Montreal's famous Bell Centre, and it could very well become the "sleeper hit" of the event.
And in addition, although Slice speaks of going "back to basics," my opinion, for what it's worth, is that it may be far too late to teach the proverbial "old dog" any smart new submission "tricks."
In Mitrione, Slice will be facing somewhat of a mirror image of himself, stylistically speaking, so it's my hunch that, once the horn sounds for Round One, whatever he has learned from ATT may just get thrown right out the window.
Good luck to all fighters at UFC 113.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/388816-ufc-113-kimbo-slice-wants-blood-from-matt-mitrione
