Kimbo Slice News

Eric “Butterbean” Esch - Esch has been fighting in various MMA organizations and would seem to be a logical opponent for Slice. Butterbean, the former Toughman champion, has lost his last three MMA fights by submission. This would be a slug fest. I would say that Butterbean is probably on Gary Shaw’s radar. If Shaw picked Butterbean to fight Slice, it would drum up a lot of negative criticism.

Brett “The Grim” Rogers - Also fights in Elite XC. Says he would knock out Kimbo in the first round. Trust me, I am not doubting him. I feel this matchup will eventually happen within the next year.

Wesley “Cabbage” Correira - A match up with Cabbage sounds pretty logical when you look at the track record of the journeyman MMA fighter. Cabbage is 2-5 in his last 7 fights. He fought in Elite XC before losing to “Bigfoot” Silva. This is a very probable matchup when you look at all the factors.

Ron Waterman - Another journeyman in the MMA world. Waterman is slated to fight on the June 14th Elite XC card. The fact that Waterman has excellent wrestling skills make him a difficult matchup for Slice.

Ricco Rodriguez - The list of journeyman heavyweights continues. Rodriguez is a former UFC champions that has fallen on hard times. He has lost his last two fights. What makes this matchup a possibility is the fact that Rodriguez has struggled recently and his ties to Elite XC.

Mark Kerr - a once promising MMA fighter who burst into the MMA world in the Vale Tudo Championship and Pride in the late 90’s. Kerr has suffered some setbacks the last 6-8 years.

Oleg Taktarov - Taktarov fought in the early UFC, seemingly took a 10 year hiatus from MMA and has recently been making a comeback. Taktarov has won his last two fights since returning to MMA in November with BoDog. He defeated Mark Kerr is last fight in YAMMA pitfighting ( I have never heard of this organization).

Gary Goodridge - A strong striker with a weak chin. Goodridge has been around MMA for a long time. This would be an intriguing matchup and Goodridge does not seem to have permanent ties with any organization. Slice would definitely have a great chance to KO Goodridge.

Roy Nelson (IFL) - Nelson proclaimed at the IFL press conference at the Mohegan Sun Arena two weeks ago that he has an open contract. Nelson is the current heavyweight champion in the IFL. Although he has an open contract, I do not think Gary Shaw would put Kimbo against Nelson at this point in Kimbo’s MMA career. There are rumors circulating about a potential matchup between Slice and Nelson (http://www.cagetoday.com/kimbo-slice-vs-roy-nelson-a-real-possibility/)

“Mighty” Mo Siligia - “Mighty” Mo is a heavy handed K-1 fighter with some MMA experience (he has a 3-0 MMA record). Mo has a very strong chin and probably is equally as powerful as Kimbo. This would be a great fight; I would give the edge to Mighty Mo. The problem is Mighty Mo is on a five-fight losing streak in K-1. This match up probably wont happen, but it is one I would like to see.

Mark Hunt - Could Mark Hunt with stand the power of Kimbo? My answer is yes. Where the heck has Mark Hunt been since Pride was bought by the UFC? He lost on April 13th to Semmy Schilt in a K-1 match.

Mirko Cro Cop - Cro Cop is currently fighting in Japan and I believe he is recovering from surgery. It would be nice to see Cro Cop knock out Slice with a high leg kick. This matchup is very unlikely,though.