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Kimbo Slice is undeniably among the most iconic personalities in MMA. Slice, real name Kevin Ferguson, was known for his viral mutual combat street fight videos. While Slice initially found notoriety as an illegal street fighter, he later developed an interest in MMA.
After making a name for himself in the street fighting circuit, Slice won his professional MMA debut against Bo Cantrell at EliteXC: Renegade in November 2007. After going 4-1 in the now-defunct MMA promotion, Slice made his way into the UFC after competing on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights in 2009.
Despite losing his first fight against Roy Nelson on the show, Kimbo Slice stayed on till the end and fought in a professional bout against Houston Alexander at the TUF: Heavyweights finale. Slice won via unanimous decision.
After that, the Bahamas native faced Matt Mitrione at UFC 113, where Slice suffered a second-round knockout loss. The fight would be Slice's last outing in the UFC, and he was released from the promotion with a record of 1-2.
After his time in the UFC ended, Slice joined Bellator in January 2015. He notably defeated Ken Shamrock via first-round knockout on his debut at Bellator 138.
Despite his unremarkable 5-2 record in MMA, Kimbo Slice was widely known as a bonafide tough guy, thanks to his days in the brutal street fighting circuit. The MMA icon unexpectedly passed away in June 2016 at the age of 42.
Kimbo Slice UFC record: Dana White on his first encounter with iconic street fighter
UFC president Dana White once opened up about the first time he met Kimbo Slice and learned how to not judge a book by its cover. As mentioned, Slice was widely known for partaking in unsanctioned backyard-style street fights and had very little standing in the professional MMA world.
Nevertheless, the Bahamas native trained hard and climbed his way up into the world's premier MMA promotion in 2009. White has previously admitted that he didn't think highly of Kimbo Slice and was vocal about his dislike for the street fighter. However, the UFC president was in for a shock when he met Slice in person.
In an interview with Logan Paul on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, Dana White stated:
"I used to talk all types of s*** about Kimbo when Kimbo wasn't in the UFC... So, we go, and it couldn't be nicer, he's the nicest f****** guy in the world, and his manager, Mike, he's one of the best guys I've ever done business with... We couldn't meet better people. Don't judge books by their covers, man."
Watch the full video below:
