WTH?? Kimbo Slice was hospitalized earlier today in Coral Springs, Florida according to TMZ. He passed away a short time thereafter. Kimbo was only 42 years old. Daaaamn.
According to the Twittersphere, Slice died of heart failure. Not gonna bring anything up about steroids because let’s let the guy rest in peace. For a few days. Then accuse him of that.
Kimbo, born Kevin Ferguson, started out in street fights. He made his way to pro MMA in the EliteXC organization in 2007. From there, he competed on the reality series, The Ultimate Fighter, where he defeated Houston Alexander in the finals.
Most recently, he beat Dada 5000 in Bellator where both guys showed horrible, horrible cardio. Ironically, Dada 5000 ended up in the hospital after the bout with “severe dehydration, fatigue and renal failure.” Watch the highlights, or lowlights, here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSEJA6W-C_M
People initially looked at Slice as this intimidating street fighter, but ended up seeing another side of him through TUF and interviews.
One of the last known images of Kimbo Slice was a selfie he sent to Ariel Helwani. Helwani, by the way, has his big media story going on now, but that’s for another time.
Let’s roll the tape back on some old Kimbo Slice MMA and street fights. Rest in peace big man. Say hi to Muhammad Ali for us!
https://youtu.be/DNz_lB8-bi8
One of the first things I watched on YouTube was a Kimbo Slice backyard fight. #RIP pic.twitter.com/Ya6YFE2amy
— Brian J. Haddad (@BrianJHaddad) June 7, 2016
[Image: YouTube screenshot]