Kevin Ferguson, popularly known as Kimbo Slice was a mixed martial artist, a boxer and an actor. With a professional MMA record of 5-2-2, Slice was one of the most well-known and respected personalities in the sport. Raised in Cutler Ridge, Florida he was never one to shy away from a fight.
In 2003, he entered the world of sanctioned street fights and went on to create something that would define his legacy - “Kimbo Slice’s Backyard”.
Slice eventually stepped foot in professional MMA and from 2007 to 2016, he had memorable runs in various promotions. On 6th June 2016, a month before his scheduled fight with James Thomson, Kimbo Slice passed away. The news came out of nowhere and the world of MMA was shocked. Bellator president, Scott Coker released the following statement on Kimbo’s passing -
We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and 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.
It was reported that the 42-year-old had heart failure but upon autopsy a mass was found on his liver. Slice impacted many in and outside the world of MMA and tributes were paid on social media by the likes of Ken Shamrock, Rumble Johnson, Shaq, Kurt Angle, Nate Diaz and many more. UFC paid their tribute by introducing backyard fight mode in the UFC 4 video game.
Kevin Ferguson Jr. is the eldest son of Kimbo Slice. He has five siblings - Kevin lll, Kevlar, Kiara, Kevina and Kassandra. Named after Slice himself, Kevin Jr was born on 5th May 1992. The 29-year-old was raised in Miami, Florida. “Baby Kimbo” is a mixed martial artist, currently under contract in Bellator. He currently resides in Long Beach, California and trains at West Hartford, Connecticut.
He currently has 63k followers on Instagram.
Kevin Jr. attended Coral Springs High School, Miramar High School and Booker T. Washington Miami throughout his junior, sophomore and senior year. He studied photography at the Academy of Art University of San Francisco, California.
Kevin Jr. started training with his father. However, Kimbo was always reluctant about his son going into the world of MMA. In 2014, Kevin started to train at Plus One Defense and started to pursue his career in MMA. He made his amateur debut on March 12, 2016, at Warrior Nation Xtreme Fighters Alliance against Tom Brink. He won the bout via first-round KO.
In 2016 he was signed by Bellator MMA. He then started to train at his current gym, Team Bodyshop MMA. So far, he is 3-3 in professional MMA. His last bout was at Bellator 253 on May 19, 2020, against Kaheem Murray where he lost via unanimous decision.
Kevin Ferguson Jr. made his professional debut at Bellator 165 on Nov 19, 2016, against Aaron Hamilton. He lost the bout via submission.
