By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Just days after Muhammad Ali died, the combat sports world has lost another fighter. Bellator fighter Kimbo Slice has died at 42-years-old.
His cause of death is not clear at this time. Kevin Ferguson, his real name, was stricken at his home on Monday evening, before being taken to Northwest Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
TMZ reported earlier that Ferguson was in “dire condition.”
“We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family,” Bellator president Scott Coker said. “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.”
His last fight was against DADA 5000 (Dhafir Harris) in February, when he nearly beat his long-time hated rival into his death. After their fight, DADA 5000 was in the hospital for nearly a week, before recovering.
That fight was ruled a knockout for Slice, as the two competitors ran out of gas early. However, after Slice was found to have tested positive for the banned substance Nandrolone, the fight was officially deemed a no-contest.
His final official win came at Bellator 138 when he knocked out Ken Shamrock last June. Before the fight, like happened with DADA 5000, the two competitors were barking at each other.
Shamrock said that he didn’t like Slice — and even had an early advantage in their fight. However, one mistake caused Slice to win the fight.
Slice began his MMA career with a 3-1 record in EliteXC. His only loss there came to Seth Petruzelli.
He then signed with UFC, where he went 1-1, where he defeated Houston Alexander in Dec. 2009. Then, lost to Matt Mitrione in May 2010 at UFC 113.
After a long hiatus, he signed with Bellator and had the aforementioned matches above.
