Kimbo Slice Passes Away at Age 42

According to TMZ.com, MMA fighter Kimbo Slice, real name Kevin Ferguson, has passed away at the age of 42. The TMZ report notes Slice died in a Florida hospital from what appears to be heart failure.

Bellator CEO Scott Coker issued the following statement to TMZ:

“We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family.

One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport.

Outside of the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man. HIs loss leaves us all with extremely heavy hearts, and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ferguson family and all of Kimbo’s friends, fans and teammates.”

Kimbo was slated to fight James Thompson at Bellator 158 on July 16, in a rematch from their infamous fight in 2008 that saw Thompson’s cauliflower ear explode. Slice won the fight via TKO in the third round in what is one of the most watched fights in U.S. MMA history.

Kimbo last fought this past February, defeating Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris via knockout in the third round. Harris’ heart stopped and he technically died during the fight, and he was hospitalized for a week. Slice failed a drug test for nandralone and elevated testosterone levels, and the fight was overturned to a no-contest.

Kimbo Slice Pulls Out of Wrestling Debut

Kimbo Slice has pulled out of his pro wrestling debut on February 5th in Japan for WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki’s promotion. Slice is claiming he was injured in practice.

source: wrestling-edge.com

Kimbo Slice Tries Pro Wrestling, Forgoes Boxing

Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson has turned his back on competition entirely to embrace entertainment.

The former backyard brawler-turned-mixed-martial-artist will perform Feb. 5 in Japan during a professional wrestling bout with ex-sumo wrestler Shinichi "Wakakirin" Suzukawa, the Inoki Genome Federation announced Tuesday. Ferguson previously expressed interest in boxing after the Ultimate Fighting Championship released him last year, but his enthusiasm has been lacking, promoter Jared Shaw told MMA Fighting...More?

source: usatoday.com

TV Ratings Info on the Kimbo Slice Edition of "The Ultimate Fighter"

Episode three of The Ultimate Fighter aired on Spike TV last night to an estimated 5.3 million viewers for the Kimbo Slice vs. Roy Nelson fight, which itself peaked with a 6.1 quarter hour. That would indicate a final cable rating of anywhere from 3.5 to 4.0 for the show, compared to the 3.1 the WWE RAW show delivered this past Monday. The Ultimate Fighter scored a 6.8 rating for Males 18-34, the highest in the history of Spike TV as a cable network. The Kimbo-Nelson fight itself did a 7.86 for Males 18-34.

The replay for the episode, which aired immediately after the first broadcast also scored impressively with 1.5 million viewers. This means 6.8 million viewers saw the entire episode last night alone.

source: wrestlezone.com

Based on Web Interest, the Top Wrestlers/MMA Fighters for 2008

Based on web interest, the Top Wrestlers/MMA Fighters for 2008 are as follows:

1. Kimbo Slice
2. John Cena
3. Hulk Hogan
4. Jeff Hardy
5. Gina Carano
6. Brock Lesnar
7. Triple H
8. Rey Mysterio
9. Chuck Liddell
10. Randy Orton

Complete list is available on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.