In the past 2 weeks we have lost not only Muhammed Ali, but also Kimbo Slice. For many older generations, Muhammed Ali was an icon, loved by many for his incredible boxing ability, charismatic attitude, and interactions with his fans. Everyone around the globe knew Muhammed Ali. For my generation, there hasn't been anyone close to Ali when it comes to fighting ability. However, Kimbo Slice was the Muhammed Ali of the streets. A few weeks ago I wrote about Must Watch Youtube Videos, but one video I didn't highlight was Kimbo Slice's numerous street fight knockouts. I don't get how people mustered up the courage to fight Kimbo Slice, he was a mountain of a man, with a huge, thick beard, and bad intentions. Not only are you fighting a terrifying individual, but you are fighting a terrifying individual without boxing gloves. Just bare knuckle brawling in the middle of someone's backyard, with no refs. I remember watching one video of Kimbo knocking a guys eyeball out of his socket. That isn't a power humans should possess, but Kimbo was no mere human. ESPN did an E:60 segment on Slice and this brought much more attention to Kimbo as he grew older. More and more people watched Kimbo's fights on YouTube waiting to see who's jaw he was going to break next. This is a man who paid people $100 to let them put on pads and have Kimbo tackle them as hard as he could. A man that loved punishing other people, and inflicting as much damage as possible.
After several years of backyard street fighting Kimbo moved to MMA where he became a professional. No longer was he going to take on Joe Shmoe from the street over, he was going to fight other professional MMA fighters, who are just as malicious as him. He joined the Ultimate Fighter competition where he was the 2nd overall pick, but later lost his first fight. He had a short stint in the UFC after several brutal losses, including an embarrassing loss in less than a minute against Seth Petruzelli.
In 2015 he moved to Bellator, another MMA organization. He signed a multiyear contract, and he started out his Bellator stint with a rivalry fight against Ken Shamrock. Neither fighters were spring chickens, as both were getting up there in age. The fight was pretty sloppy as both men struggled to throw knockout blows. But in the first round, Slice was able to rock Shamrock and won by TKO. He then went on to fight Dada 5000, another rivalry bout between two former Floridian street fighters. This fight went three rounds and Kimbo won after Dada collapsed due to exhaustion (Dada 500 said he died twice and was revived during and after the fight). It later was revealed Slice tested positive for PED's so the result of the fight was changed to a no decision.
Kimbo Slice was nowhere near as talented as Muhammed Ali, but he was an icon to many just like Ali. For many, Kimbo's street fighting led to a larger fan base for the MMA community. Much like Ali, Slice had a sort of arrogance around him that made him an icon.
