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01:17I did not expect him to go down off a little clip like that.
01:20I could fall down and submit him.
01:22Kimbo Slice sucks.
01:23These naysayers have absolutely no idea what it takes for a guy like that to take a professional fight.
01:29People want him to say, like, he's not really even a good fighter.
01:31We don't care what people say.
01:34You don't give a f*** if they destroy the whole sport.
01:37What's next for Kimbo Slice? What's next is whoever's next.
01:40He's just such a polarizing figure.
01:43Let's do it!
01:44When I rest in peace, this is what people say.
01:46I evolved from a knucklehead in the backyards of the hood in Miami
01:50to the mainstream and the elite of mixed martial arts.
02:11The underground fighter and internet legend Kimbo Slice begins life as Kevin Ferguson.
02:17Nicknamed Kimbo by his family, he grows up a Bahamian immigrant living with his mom and two siblings
02:24in rundown South Miami.
02:25Three kids with mom from an island with nothing.
02:30We really had a struggle.
02:33I'm Renee Ferguson, the sister of Kevin Ferguson.
02:37We got picked on for the type of clothing that we wore because we didn't have the best.
02:43Our language was different.
02:45We spoke funny.
02:46But Kimbo's mom teaches her kids to stand up for themselves and for others.
02:51They try to push you around, you push them back.
02:54Show them you're not afraid, even if you are afraid.
02:57That's when Kevin really started fighting back because he got tired of running.
03:01The first fight I ever had, I was like maybe 13.
03:03The guy was like 26.
03:04I saw my friend of mine just getting beat up.
03:07And I just went over there and just cleaned his clock.
03:10All that built-up anger that he had made him Kimbo.
03:14I just knew him as Big Ferg.
03:17My name is Mike Imber, and I'm a longtime friend and also manager to Big Ferg, a.k.a. Kimbo.
03:25We met back at Miami Palmetto High.
03:28You wouldn't forget his presence even back then.
03:31He was known for playing football there.
03:36He definitely was the one looking out for me if I ever had any issues or problems.
03:40Even though he might have had the opportunity to be the bully, he always chose to be the anti-bully.
03:47While still in high school, Kimbo becomes a father.
03:52Oh my God, he was so happy.
03:55Everyone said when they saw him, they saw me.
03:57I'm Kevin, Kimbo Slice Jr., and I'm the son of Kimbo Slice.
04:03He didn't really have his dad in his life, so he tried his best to be like the best version
04:08he thought he could be.
04:10He had a bike, and he used to have me in the basket, riding around with him everywhere he went,
04:15practice, even school.
04:16And the teachers let him. They liked him so much that they let him.
04:21Kimbo's size, strength, and athletic ability earned him a football scholarship at University of Miami.
04:27He really wanted to become a professional football player. That was his first dream.
04:32A dream that will get blown away by a Category 5 hurricane.
04:38In Florida, where the storm was strongest, up to a quarter million people have lost their homes.
04:45And Kimbo loses his chance to play Division I football.
04:49Everything's done. No school. You know, I don't think he played his last couple games.
04:55Kimbo's scholarship is withdrawn on account of the shortened season.
04:59That year was just a bad year.
05:02You know, Hurricane Andrew came through and just destroyed everything.
05:06It just didn't work out for him.
05:08He was 18 at that time, you know, with a kid. So I know it was probably tough on him.
05:17And then he was just struggling trying to figure out what it is that he wanted to do.
05:23For the next decade, Kimbo bounces between colleges and jobs.
05:28At those times, you know, people just wasn't hiring.
05:32We all do what we have to do to make a living, you know, and to survive.
05:37Including sleeping in his car while working as a bouncer at a strip club.
05:41In his late 20s, Kimbo's earning too little to support himself or his family.
05:45We're talking like $30, $40 a night from 5 in the afternoon till 6 in the morning.
05:52You know, and you're hoping that you will make a little tips by these guys coming in.
05:56You know, giving you a dollar at the door.
05:58You know, how many dollars you think you're going to get.
06:04I showed up at the strip club.
06:06And who was working the door was Ferg.
06:11We just weren't in touch over those years.
06:14And it was meant to be that we bumped back into one another.
06:18I had a business that we had just got started in.
06:21Reality Kings was an online conglomerate of adult pay sites.
06:26I was able to, like, offer him a job for us to work together.
06:32He was just driving and working as, like, security.
06:35He had this, like, real shitty pathfinder with, like, the windows broken out.
06:39I just didn't know that he was actually using it to stay in.
06:43I wasn't able to pay him a lot of money to start.
06:46If I knew my guy was sleeping in the car, I would have figured something out.
06:49He never really asked for anything like that.
06:51You know, he's a very prideful man, and he wanted to make more money.
06:55I was like, well, I've never seen you lose a fight.
06:59Mike Ember has an idea.
07:00His time running porn websites tips him to another kind of online adult entertainment,
07:06bare-knuckle backyard brawls.
07:08We could just go to the different neighborhoods, find out who they got,
07:11and I'll bet on you, and you'll keep whatever you win.
07:16I knew that he wasn't going to lose.
07:19He used to tell me about it.
07:20He was like, Renee, I'm going to do these backyard fights.
07:23And I'm like, are you seriously?
07:24You have to do this?
07:25He was like, yeah, yeah.
07:26Kimbo's chance comes in 2003.
07:30I got a phone call, and he was like, Ferg, would you fight Big D for like $1,500?
07:35Tell him when he's ready to come see me, man.
07:38I'm like, right now?
07:40Hell yeah.
07:41He's supposed to be the baddest guy down south or whatever, the bully or whatever,
07:44so I'm going to fight him.
07:46And I was like, okay, yeah, Kevin.
07:48And then it went for him.
07:49You know, if you win, you'll get three grand.
07:51I definitely remember the first time I saw Kimbo Slice.
07:54Like many, it was on YouTube.
07:58Getting out of the Hummer and just throwing down.
08:06Dude, bird!
08:07It was just so raw.
08:10I got left eye.
08:11Put him out of here.
08:12Vicious and brutal.
08:14When I seen it, I'm like, oh my God.
08:16Someone shared the link with me.
08:17I was like, I can't believe people do this.
08:19This is crazy.
08:20The way it was filmed, this wasn't scripted.
08:23Nigga, that's from this.
08:24What is it, Ferg?
08:25It was just something I'd never seen before, and I couldn't look away.
08:29He told a guy to hit him.
08:33I'm like, don't do that.
08:37As long as he ain't getting knocked out, I'm fine.
08:45He executed that one.
08:47I'm like, okay, yeah, all right.
08:48So finish him.
08:49We good.
08:50And he just ate him.
09:00The guy's eye looked like it was falling out a little bit.
09:07Slicing open Big D's eye earns Kimbo a new last name.
09:10He's now Kimbo Slice.
09:13It was like a movie.
09:14Who the hell is this guy?
09:15All day.
09:16I ain't never going to question you, brother.
09:17All day.
09:18What?
09:18I'm like, oh my God.
09:20So how many more of these you have to do?
09:23Damn, you got a man.
09:25When he came home that day, he had like this white bloody towel, bloody pants.
09:30With like a stack of money.
09:33Somebody hit me up and they're like, look, man, this thing's got millions of views on YouTube.
09:37I'm like, I might have something here.
09:39Kimbo was like one of the first internet celebrities.
09:42A friend of mine called one day and he's like, look, I got a possible fight for you.
09:46Crazy thing is he's a cop.
09:48Sean Gannon, the great white hope cop from Boston versus Kimbo Slice, has the street
09:54fighting world bursting with anticipation.
09:56It was definitely a war.
10:01From the start, the fight does not disappoint.
10:11Ganon pulls out a martial arts move called the guillotine choke.
10:16In street fights, choke holds are banned.
10:22Kimbo exhausts himself, fighting his way out of several holds.
10:28It was a moment where you saw that he wasn't invincible.
10:33that he was indeed human.
10:40Sean Gannon got beaten to smithereens.
10:44And requires several days in the hospital to recover.
10:48But Sean Gannon won.
10:51The internet doesn't care.
10:53Everybody was talking about Kimbo.
10:55He was a video game boss that came to life.
11:00He was as wide as a buffalo.
11:03He was mean when he fought.
11:05He talked trash.
11:06And the trash he talked was funny.
11:08I'm going to try to make him bleed, piss, fart, shit, throw up, burp.
11:12Whatever the body does, you know, I'm going to try to get him to do it.
11:17We were at the Miami arena and Mike Tyson called him over.
11:20He said, I'm a big fan of your work.
11:22Could I give you a piece of advice?
11:24He's like, you know, don't ever go pro.
11:26He's like, keep doing what you're doing.
11:28But, you know, Kimbo was looking at him like, knowing, here you are.
11:31You made hundreds of millions of dollars.
11:33You know, I'm fighting in the backyard.
11:36Kimbo does not take Iron Mike's advice.
11:38Instead, he starts down a professional fighting path he won't live to regret.
11:42I was working for Cage Fury.
11:45They wanted a main event.
11:46And I said, I got the guy.
11:49It's going to bring in everybody.
11:51I said, Kimbo.
11:54Then it's like, we want to have him fight Ray Mercer.
11:59No amateur fights, no warm-up, no anything.
12:03His first pro fight was against an ex-heavyweight champ of the world, gold medalist.
12:11In just two months, an untested and untrained 33-year-old Kimbo Slice will step into his first MMA cage.
12:19While this was all happening, I had a friend who was in a weekly card game with Lennox Lewis.
12:25Lennox was like, Mercer, hey, he hits really hard.
12:30Lennox just beat Mike Tyson.
12:32I'm listening to this.
12:33I'm like, hmm, I think we better get our shit together.
12:47Kimbo Slice, a 33-year-old backyard YouTube fighter with no professional experience,
12:53has a mere two months before he enters the cage for his first professional MMA bout.
12:58I go into YouTube, I type in Kimbo Slice, and I'm like, wow, this guy's coming to our gym to
13:03learn from us.
13:04My name is Randy Kitami. I'm the co-owner of Bas Rutten's Elite MMA.
13:09I was Kimbo Slice's boxing coach.
13:11Get him, Kimbo! Get him!
13:14This guy is just a pure fighter.
13:17The fact that Kimbo decides to go into mixed martial arts after he's been an internet sensation,
13:23that says everything about his personality.
13:25Kimbo wants to be the best fighter on the planet.
13:29My name is Bas Rutten. I'm a former UFC heavyweight champion.
13:33And I helped Kimbo when he became a pro fighter from his very first fight against Ray Merson.
13:39As a student, he really came in like a dry sponge.
13:42He never really sat down with any coach and learned the skill of combat sports.
13:48Obviously, he had technical ability. He was strong. He was fast.
13:51He moves his head really well. His footwork was really good.
13:55He was throwing a lot of hooks.
13:56So what I wanted to do right away was teach him how to throw a straight punch.
14:02His ground game was nothing.
14:04Thankfully, he had already an open stance.
14:06Everything becomes more powerful.
14:08We needed to add some kicks and some knees.
14:11He had to play catch-up.
14:12Starting combat sports at 33 years old is a tough journey.
14:18This man is making his cage debut right here for the CFFC.
14:25In Kimbo's first pro fight against former boxing heavyweight champ Ray Merson,
14:29Kimbo is said to earn $50,000 to fight with a $25,000 bonus to win.
14:35Unprecedented amounts for a rookie fighter.
14:38It's a sign of Kimbo's internet popularity.
14:41You'd be lucky as just a general pro fighter to make $1,000.
14:46As a UFC fighter during that time, $7,000 to fight, $7,000 to win.
14:50I knew what his worth was.
14:53Lots of MMA fans don't share that opinion.
14:56People wanted to say, like, oh, this is, he's not really even a good fighter.
15:00All these may sayers that were online, you know, these are people who don't train, don't fight.
15:05They have absolutely no idea what it takes for a guy like that who is this high on the internet
15:09to take a professional fight.
15:12This man is a boxer with a professional boxing record of 30 years.
15:17My dad was never intimidated by knowing he fought, never, never.
15:23Ten minutes before the fight, I said, cross your hands in front of you, make sure that you keep looking,
15:27and just bull rush him against the fence.
15:29And he actually did it.
15:39That's the moment that I knew he's going to go really far, because he's actually listening.
15:50One minute and 12 seconds into the fight, Mercer submits to Kimbo's guillotine chokehold.
15:56It's the same move Sean Gannon used to beat Kimbo in their infamous street fight.
16:01He wins. He freaking wins.
16:04And gets noticed by another MMA fight promotion, Elite XC.
16:09He won by submission. We never knew he had submissions.
16:13My name is Rich Chow, and I worked at Elite XC as a matchmaker.
16:18So all of a sudden, that gave us this whole different angle.
16:21What if he does commit to real training with great coaches and in the right environment?
16:29Who knows what he's capable of?
16:32However, we knew it was going to take him time to learn and develop the game.
16:35And there was an understanding that maybe we don't have years and years and years for him to get there.
16:40So, after signing him, Elite XC waits only a few months before setting Kimbo's first fight against Bo Cantrell.
16:47Bo Cantrell was a great guy for the first fight, because he had the edge in experience.
16:52He was a big, strong heavyweight that could knock people out.
16:55My very first time going out and photographing him was at his gym, ahead of his fight against Bo Cantrell.
17:02My name is Esther Lin, and I am a photographer with a specialty in combat sports.
17:07And I had the pleasure of photographing Kimbo Slice.
17:10You know, you hear people talk about how certain fighters or certain celebrities or whatever, they have it.
17:14And I think he just had it.
17:16I couldn't believe every single photo I took of him I liked.
17:19He definitely understood how to sell a fight.
17:22The Bo Cantrell fight was the big deal, because that was the first one, really, on television.
17:27Heavyweights in action as Kimbo Slice in his official mixed martial arts debut.
17:32He rolls in.
17:33Boom, here's this guy.
17:34The Kimbo brand was Miami.
17:37It was badass.
17:38And it was raw and underground.
17:41If I get in the submission move, he just got a great draw.
17:45I'm not tackling that.
17:46People started to think about those backyard brawls and, you know, people's eye hanging out.
17:53I want to kick him in his face.
17:55You know?
17:57Break his arm.
17:58Break his jaw.
17:59He won an MMA fight against Ray Mercer.
18:02Make no mistake.
18:04People were scared of Kimbo.
18:06Including, perhaps, Bo Cantrell.
18:09Do you think Kimbo's reputation helped in that way?
18:13I think Kimbo's reputation definitely helped him.
18:17At the weigh-in, he wouldn't look at Kimbo.
18:20He just looked really, really, really scared before the fight.
18:23A body shot.
18:25Ripping away at Cantrell.
18:26When he got hit, he just, I think he just went down.
18:29This one is over before it even begins.
18:33He didn't want to take another punch.
18:35That's got to be some kind of a record.
18:36At just 19 seconds of the opening round, slice-dropping Cantrell like names of a Hollywood party.
18:45And this guy is destined for stardom in mixed martial arts.
18:51Kimbo's lightning-fast KO of Cantrell supercharges his celebrity.
18:56He was everywhere.
18:57He was, like, doing conventions, signings, showing up with, like, celebrities.
19:01He was ubiquitous.
19:07The street fighter is quickly becoming less South Miami and more South Beach
19:12as his fame migrates from YouTube to network TV.
19:17It's the nice ball.
19:18When he got invited to the Jimmy Kimbo show,
19:21I'd never thought in a million years he would make it to that stage.
19:23That felt huge just because, at the time,
19:25most people still kind of considered MMA, like, human cockfighting.
19:29Do you like punching people?
19:30Yeah.
19:31You do.
19:33Do you ever feel bad afterwards?
19:34Nah.
19:35You never do?
19:36Nah.
19:36You never, even if a guy's, like, spitting out his teeth, you dare you?
19:39Nah, not at all.
19:40But when the fight's over with, I'll say, what's up, help him out, whatever.
19:43Be like, yo, you got to go to the doctor, man.
19:44Get that checked out.
19:51Kimbo always had charisma.
19:53He could make you laugh.
19:54The fact that he was goofy and happy was very disarming.
19:57It's fun to see somebody who's so scary and also not scary.
20:02He was that bridge between, like, pop culture and, like, this fringe sport.
20:08I hope I made you.
20:09I hope I made the wall of fame.
20:11This is the wall of fame.
20:14You feel me?
20:15The fame, none of it was planned.
20:18But he understood the more viewership,
20:20then the easier the negotiations are going to be going for the next contract.
20:24For the real talk, check me out on kimboslice.proleague.com.
20:29All day, that's how we do it.
20:30The allure was there, and people just wanted to see him fight.
20:34And keep winning.
20:36We are just minutes away from our main event,
20:39Kimbo Slice versus Tank Abbott.
20:42Kimbo Slice versus Tank Abbott in Miami.
20:45Easily one of my most memorable and favorite events.
20:49was the energy, the electricity.
20:51This was going to be his coming out party in terms of, like,
20:54this is where we're going to finally get to see Kimbo fight a fighter with reputation.
20:58He was fighting an ex-UFC heavyweight champ.
21:02Tank was not in his prime, but he also was still extremely dangerous.
21:08What a start already to this main event.
21:10Just listen to this crowd.
21:11When I looked into the crowd, those weren't fight fans.
21:15They were here to see Kimbo Slice the Phenomenon.
21:19I'm like, wow, my brother finally made it.
21:22For him to blow up and make it like he did, for the world to see, I was so proud
21:27of him.
21:27We got a police escort all the way to the fight.
21:30I've never seen them like it.
21:32They're not escorting anybody unless they're the president.
21:36The extra security, the extra police, the police escort.
21:41This was not your average fight.
21:43I knew at that moment we had crossed over.
21:47He was a superstar.
21:50This is showtime.
21:53Oh, that right hand really hurt Tank.
21:56Uppercut.
22:09He ended up knocking them out in, like, 40-some seconds.
22:13The fight takes Kimbo from street brawler to MMA certified.
22:17Listen to this crowd.
22:18This is insane.
22:20It was what the crowd wanted to see.
22:21And this reaction, this is loud.
22:23At that point, he was still invincible, and that's how we felt.
22:27After that was when, like, really, really bad stuff happened.
22:38Kimbo's win over UFC veteran Tank Abbott becomes more than just another victory.
22:43Everywhere you went, you felt like things were going well.
22:48Kimbo!
22:51Kimbo fuels UFC competitor Elite XC all the way to primetime.
22:57MMA on network television, on CBS for the first time.
23:02I remember going, our sport is on national television.
23:05We did it.
23:05The sport did it.
23:06Not everybody was happy about Kimbo headlining.
23:11One of his loudest critics has a lot to lose by Kimbo's success.
23:15Dana White, the UFC's president.
23:18Kimbo Slice would get murdered.
23:19Kimbo Slice is a street fighter.
23:21Kimbo Slice sucks.
23:22Coming up, folks, our main event.
23:24Kimbo Slice against James Colossus Thompson.
23:28Elite XC responds to the UFC sniping by upping its game.
23:32For this fight, they put in a lot more effort into the camera work,
23:37into the stage, into the walkouts, into the pyro.
23:41They hired, like, a bunch of dancers.
23:43And so it did feel like this grand experiment in trying to compete with the UFC.
23:48Now, they just need their star attraction to also step up.
23:51They want to see what Kimbo could do against a veteran guy like James Thompson.
23:55He had the same physique, if not bigger, than Kimbo.
23:59257 pounds.
24:00James came to the weigh-in, and his ear was just completely inflamed.
24:03It was huge.
24:06And round one.
24:07Quickly, across the cage.
24:09That first round, Kimbo gets hurt.
24:13All I really remember was just feeling like,
24:16oh, shit, what if he loses?
24:20He dug deep.
24:21In the third round, Kimbo's trainers get into his ear about his opponents.
24:26Boz and I both hit the ear.
24:28I will say that Thompson right now is probably a half-half.
24:33It exploded.
24:36The ear juices got all over the photographer next to me.
24:41It was gross.
24:42It was actually truly gross.
24:4338 seconds into round three.
24:46Kimbo is declared the winner.
24:54It's also a victory for CBS.
24:57CBS wanted Kimbo in that primetime slot.
25:01You know, it's their job to deliver ratings.
25:04Having a really exciting, dramatic finish was what we wanted, and we got that.
25:10They wanted everything to build up to this massive viewership moment, and they got it.
25:17Boom, there it was.
25:1834-year-old Kimbo is the hot, not-so-new face of MMA, making the cover of ESPN magazine.
25:25Man, was he just the biggest thing coming off network television.
25:30When we're out in public, and the fans, they want to meet him, he's still Kevin to me.
25:35The material things is what changed.
25:38The cars got more fancier.
25:39The gifts got bigger.
25:41Everybody had their own room, went to a good school.
25:44If he don't love nothing else, he love his kids.
25:46He always tried to find ways to take care of his family.
25:50Like, he needed those fights.
25:51And the bigger he gets, the bigger the backlash.
25:54Why is this guy in ESPN magazine?
25:56Why isn't it me?
25:57You know, I'm 15-1.
25:58I fight in the UFC.
25:59Kimbo's recent victory over James Thompson energizes his supporters.
26:04Thanks for the love.
26:07James, very tough opponent.
26:10I didn't underestimate him, but I didn't know he was going to be that strong on the ground.
26:15But this win comes with a warning.
26:17It would have been one of the first times where we realized, like, his cardio needed a lot of work.
26:24Up until that point, there have been really quick knockouts and quick fights.
26:28Going three rounds with a big guy, definitely people were talking.
26:32Kimbo's cardio concerns has Dana White's blood pressure soaring.
26:36Like I've said now for the last few months, this guy can't fight.
26:40All of a sudden, we noticed that there is a whole line of guys now waiting to fight him.
26:45They now felt like they could beat him.
26:47That's just for us to go back and, you know, make sure we tighten that game up, push him a
26:51little bit more in training.
26:53He didn't really listen to the haters.
26:55You have to have your mind right, you know, your mind and your heart.
26:57As long as he's getting paid, he's happy.
26:59But Elite XC is nervous.
27:01The company was struggling a little bit financially.
27:03We needed a really good, successful event to keep us going.
27:07So they look to match Kimbo against a legendary MMA fighter, 44-year-old Ken Shamrock.
27:13I'll do it.
27:13I said, but you better have an ambulance close by.
27:17I am Ken Shamrock, also known as the world's most dangerous man.
27:24I was like, dude, I could destroy him.
27:26I could fall down and submit him.
27:28Kimbo's trainer, boss Rutten, has fought Shamrock.
27:31Ken Shamrock as a fighter was a great submission guy.
27:36So when I fought Ken, I lost my submission by way of leg lock.
27:39But that was before my submission experience.
27:44So when I started training Kimbo, we started doing a lot of the leg locks.
27:48Leg lock escapes.
27:49Defend the submission and then get back on your feet.
27:52Kimbo trains intensely for six weeks on how to beat Shamrock.
27:56The Kimbo Ken weigh-in was high energy.
27:58It was intense.
28:01But something just felt a little off.
28:03The world's most dangerous man!
28:05Kimbo had turned his back on him at the weigh-in,
28:08which, you know, Ken took that as disrespect.
28:13Ken shoves him and starts yelling at him.
28:16There's a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes.
28:19He found out how much Kimbo was making and how much he was making,
28:22and he thought Kimbo wasn't deserving of that paycheck.
28:24Kimbo did everything he was supposed to do
28:26to put himself in a position to be recognized
28:28without ever having to fight a number one fighter.
28:32And you can't hate him for that.
28:33It's like, sign me up, please.
28:35But I have to build up some animosity.
28:39I'm not the kind of guy that can beat up somebody I like.
28:43All of a sudden, the day of the fight,
28:46we have an issue with Ken.
28:48He says he cut himself while working out in his hotel room.
28:53The cut was really fresh.
28:55Like, you knew.
28:57You knew there's no way in hell he's going to get cleared to fight.
29:01How do you get cut three hours before a big fight?
29:06Like, what are you doing?
29:07We were doing a drill.
29:08My head went down, and he popped his head up.
29:11Boom!
29:12And I reached up, and then there's blood.
29:14Some people have the theory that Ken cut himself
29:19to try and get back at the promotion.
29:21The things that came out of that were just ridiculous.
29:24I've gone through this my whole career
29:27with having disagreements in contracts.
29:29But I fought!
29:31Because I did not fight.
29:33I showed up even after I got cut.
29:35This is what people don't know.
29:37They said, we can't.
29:38Because I had stitches.
29:39I remember just that feeling of almost being sick.
29:43The stakes were so high.
29:44It's refunding tickets.
29:46How do you explain this to the network?
29:48We determined that we needed to try and get Kimbo
29:52to stay on the card.
29:54And he wanted to stay on the card.
29:55He wanted to fight.
29:56And he wanted to get paid.
29:57People in the crowd were starting to hear about it,
29:59so they were getting really rowdy.
30:01At the time of the Kimbo fight,
30:03I was supposed to fight Aaron Rosa.
30:04I needed the win.
30:06If I lost that fight, I was probably going to be done.
30:08My name is Seth Petruzzelli.
30:09I was a professional MMA fighter for about 15 years.
30:13They were like, hey, look, Ken Shamrock is hurt.
30:15Do you want to fight Kimbo?
30:17They offered me 60K to do it,
30:19and then another 40 to win.
30:22It was definitely a big pay jump.
30:24Plus a 20 grand bonus if he knocks out Kimbo.
30:26The head of Elytics, he found a cocktail napkin on the table,
30:30and that was the deal, done on a cocktail napkin.
30:33I had everything to gain, nothing to lose.
30:36Kimbo does have something to lose.
30:39I run backstage to try to get a photo of him walking out.
30:43I don't know what it's like to be told,
30:44you're fighting, you're not fighting,
30:46several times throughout the evening,
30:47but he didn't look confident.
30:49Gentlemen, this is the main event, and it's showtime.
30:52Welcome to CBS Elite XC style.
30:55Let's give the millions of fans that's watching this fight
30:57the fight that they want to see.
30:58Come back to your corners.
30:59Let's get ready to rock and roll.
31:01And then he's the first fighter in my entire career
31:03that never touched my gloves.
31:05Kimbo's lice, his fourth appearance inside the cage.
31:10I was like, okay, maybe you're doing it for show,
31:12but it still pissed me off.
31:13To be given a different opponent an hour before you fight
31:16is kind of unheard of.
31:19I just told Kimbo, put your hands on him.
31:21Get your distance and put your hands on him.
31:24I just don't think Kimbo's mind was in the fight,
31:26because he was there to fight Ken.
31:28And it's about to get serious.
31:31Slice quickly across.
31:32As he's charging in, I remember him crouching down,
31:36chin tucked, as he stood up to throw the rolling hook.
31:40I just threw that punch at his beer,
31:43because it was a big target.
31:54Seconds into his fight against last-minute opponent
31:57Seth Petruzzelli, Kimbo's slice makes a mistake.
32:00Slice in trouble!
32:02His knee came out.
32:03He had to get surgery right after that.
32:05I don't think a lot of people know that.
32:07And then, you know, Seth capitalized, got on top.
32:09He got clipped, he got dazed.
32:11Slice goes down!
32:12I remember him falling to his knees
32:14and just start round punches,
32:16bomb, bomb, bomb, to the side of the head.
32:17Slice up! Petruzzelli!
32:19Before you know it, the ref called the fight off.
32:21And he's stopping!
32:22I did not expect him to go down off a little clip like that,
32:25but if you're not expecting a shot to come,
32:27even if it's a little strike,
32:29yeah, it'll knock your lights out for sure
32:30for a split second.
32:31The whole arena went quiet.
32:34You could have heard a pin drop in there.
32:36I remember just being almost frozen there
32:40and honestly not sure what it all meant.
32:44The company had put a lot of eggs
32:45into the Kimbo basket,
32:47so I was nervous.
32:50We all collectively knew
32:51that that was not good for the company.
32:53People were like,
32:54you spent all this money on a street fighter
32:56and he didn't pan out.
32:57Within a month,
32:58Elite XC is down for the count
33:00and a beaten Kimbo
33:01is on the ropes with fans and critics.
33:04They were just like,
33:05see, told you.
33:06He's not a real fighter.
33:08Kimbo was their,
33:08I mean, their hero.
33:09Their dreams just got crushed.
33:12We knew there was going to be
33:14major repercussions from it.
33:16It went way beyond,
33:18hey, you know,
33:19there's a lot of work to do in the gym.
33:21With the demise of Elite XC,
33:23Kimbo's career is also presumed dead.
33:26It did feel like a party ended, I guess.
33:30Until the sport's ultimate promoter
33:32spots value in the person
33:33he once aggressively belittled.
33:35We got one more guy coming.
33:37I was like,
33:38Dana White's going to take him
33:39into the Ultimate Fighter house
33:40after saying that he's the guy
33:41that you want at your house
33:42at a barbecue
33:43but not in a professional fight.
33:45The Ultimate Fighter,
33:46UFC's reality show,
33:48follows pro MMA fighters
33:49living together as they train,
33:52all battling
33:52for a six-figure contract.
33:55This next guy that's coming
33:57is definitely a fighter.
33:59Question is,
34:00is he a mixed martial artist?
34:01Coming off a loss like that,
34:03it felt like,
34:05like a privilege
34:06to be able to be a part of it.
34:07The Ultimate Fighter show
34:08is really like
34:09their proving grounds.
34:11Talk more about this guy
34:12than anybody ever.
34:14And coming from me,
34:15that's saying a lot.
34:18The Ultimate Fighter
34:19always seemed like
34:19a building show.
34:21for up-and-coming fighters,
34:23so it's wild
34:24to see somebody
34:25so famous
34:25being on it.
34:27For Kimbo to take that
34:28and say,
34:28no, I'm going to go
34:29like any other fighter
34:30through the house,
34:32that gave him
34:33a lot of credibility.
34:34He wanted to become
34:34a UFC fighter,
34:35so he had to go through
34:37everything that they went through.
34:39Like, those guys,
34:40they're used to it.
34:41He had to get conditioned.
34:43This is what it takes
34:44to be an Ultimate Fighter.
34:46So he really had
34:47to put in the work.
34:48That was the moment
34:49that all the fighters
34:50started really respecting him.
34:51And of course,
34:52in the house,
34:52they find out
34:53what person he was.
34:55Being on that show
34:56was able to change
34:57public perception
34:58because they were able
35:00to see another side of him
35:01outside of the cage.
35:03He was a family man,
35:04and he loved his kids,
35:05and he read the Bible,
35:07and he took a journal
35:08every day,
35:09and he was a sweet,
35:10loving man.
35:12When my daughter
35:13was three months old,
35:14I was still nervous
35:15of holding my daughter.
35:16He just grabbed her.
35:17Hey, Rand,
35:17this is how you hold them.
35:19He had five kids.
35:20He knew what to do.
35:22I remember him saying,
35:23this is what
35:23unconditional love is.
35:25These kids,
35:25they're innocent, Randy.
35:27We're their rock.
35:28How long did it take you
35:29to grow their hair
35:30on your face?
35:31All right,
35:32my son is four.
35:33I started before he was born.
35:34He was a great father.
35:36Teach them right from wrong,
35:38gentle with the kids.
35:40Outside the cage,
35:41you know,
35:42he was just a gentle bent
35:43when we were sparring.
35:44I would tell him
35:45to hit me hard,
35:45and he wouldn't hit me hard.
35:46And he looked at me
35:48as, you know,
35:48190-pound guy,
35:50and he didn't want to hurt me.
35:53He couldn't wait
35:54to fight, though.
35:55Kimbo was eliminated
35:56during the Ultimate Fighter's
35:57first bout,
35:58but hangs around
35:59with the other contestants
36:00through the season
36:01and emerges
36:02a fan favorite.
36:03The highest ratings
36:04that the Ultimate Fighter
36:05ever had
36:06was the season
36:06with Kimbo Slice.
36:07The UFC rewards Kimbo
36:09with a professional contract,
36:11and his first opponent
36:12is the real deal.
36:14Houston Alexander
36:14was a monster.
36:17Before that fight,
36:18he was knocking out everybody.
36:19He was knocking them out cold.
36:21I mean,
36:21this one almost finished the fight.
36:23Kimbo takes Alexander
36:24down to the ground,
36:25proving you can teach
36:26an old MMA dog
36:27some new tricks.
36:29So we are seeing the growth
36:31of a true mixed martial artist.
36:34After Kimbo loses
36:35his second UFC fight,
36:37Dana White
36:37does not renew his contract,
36:39but he does walk back
36:40earlier criticisms
36:41of the fighter.
36:42I'm happy to have met
36:43Kimbo Slice.
36:44You know,
36:45he's not who I thought he was.
36:46He's a good guy.
36:47He came in,
36:48he worked hard.
36:50He's done everything
36:51he could to evolve
36:52as a mixed martial artist.
36:53In 2010,
36:54Kimbo announces
36:55his retirement from MMA
36:56to pursue an uneventful stint
36:58as a pro boxer.
36:59But in 2015,
37:00he's lured back to the cage
37:02for a fight
37:02that's seven years overdue.
37:04I moved on to a company
37:05called Bellator.
37:06We were in a position
37:07where we needed
37:07some star power
37:08and we needed
37:09some star power quickly.
37:10And there was a guy out there,
37:12an old friend of ours,
37:13Kimbo Slice.
37:14There was unfinished business.
37:15Seven years later,
37:17after that crazy night,
37:19it's Kimbo and Ken Shamrock again.
37:21The second time,
37:23it felt different.
37:24This feels right.
37:27In the first round,
37:28Kimbo's right hook
37:29sends Shamrock
37:30crashing to the mat.
37:33He beat me straight up.
37:35I let up,
37:37I gave him a chance
37:38and he capitalized on it.
37:39It was a very proud moment.
37:42He was finally able
37:42to make it happen.
37:43Would have been amazing
37:44to have just ended
37:45the career on that note.
37:46But he doesn't.
37:48Man, listen,
37:48I'm a man-hander, you do?
37:50Yeah.
37:50I promise you that.
37:51Promoter Bellator
37:52capitalizes on Kimbo's
37:53quick KO of Shamrock
37:55by putting him
37:56in another grudge match.
37:57The Dota 5000
37:58appeared to be
37:59Kimbo 2.0.
38:00It was a guy
38:01from the streets of Miami
38:02that Kimbo didn't like,
38:04which always makes it
38:06more fun
38:06and easier to promote.
38:07You got baby nuts.
38:08I bet you my nuts
38:09are bigger than yours.
38:10All right.
38:10Come on.
38:11I was excited.
38:12I was pumped.
38:13I'm sitting cage side.
38:14Mike Tyson was right behind me.
38:16Very surreal.
38:17The fans were expecting
38:19so much.
38:21My name is John McCarthy.
38:22Most people in the MMA world
38:24would know me
38:25as Big John McCarthy.
38:26I reffed the Dada
38:27versus Kimbo fight.
38:28But neither of the
38:29former street fighters
38:30feels much like fighting.
38:32These guys go out there
38:33and they swing
38:34for about 30 seconds
38:36and exhaust each other.
38:38Like, oh my God,
38:39I can't believe
38:39this is playing out this way.
38:41It was bad.
38:45The booing
38:46is so loud
38:47in the arena.
38:48I'm like,
38:48Kimbo,
38:49you got to do something.
38:50We got to have a fight.
38:51In the cage,
38:52Kimbo was awarded
38:52a technical knockout.
38:54Later,
38:55medical tests
38:55will not only
38:56overturn his victory,
38:58but reveal secrets
38:59that threaten more
39:00than just Kimbo's career.
39:01I sure didn't know
39:02the problem
39:03for Kimbo
39:05at the time
39:05was he had
39:06no business fighting.
39:08We always knew
39:10that he had
39:11high blood pressure,
39:13but never knew
39:15the extent
39:16of what
39:18the high blood pressure
39:19was doing
39:19to somebody
39:21who had
39:21an enlarged heart.
39:23I didn't find
39:24that out
39:25until later on
39:25when he was
39:27just driving
39:28and working
39:28as, like,
39:29security.
39:30We'd be at,
39:31like, a red light
39:31and he would
39:32just fall asleep.
39:33And he'd be like,
39:34oh, the light
39:34was too long.
39:36And it's like,
39:37man, it's, you know,
39:38light's not that long.
39:39I was just thinking
39:40he was, like,
39:41partying the night before.
39:42Now I kind of
39:43realize maybe
39:44it had something
39:45to do with what
39:45was, you know,
39:46inherently wrong
39:47with him.
39:49He always had
39:50an enlarged heart,
39:51so that's something
39:52and he had
39:52his whole life.
39:54So we always
39:55knew about that.
39:56I didn't even
39:56understand what it
39:57meant, to be honest
39:58with you.
39:58I was so young.
39:59He told me about it
40:00once and then
40:01it was like,
40:01life goes on.
40:03One of the very
40:04few times
40:04that we argued
40:06with one another
40:07was me pushing
40:08for him
40:09to not fight
40:10anymore.
40:10They had him
40:11set up to fight
40:12James Thompson
40:13again in England,
40:14but I'm like,
40:15look, man,
40:16this just can't happen.
40:18soon the decision
40:19to fight again
40:20is made for him.
40:22It went from
40:23getting a pacemaker
40:24to, you know,
40:25you need a heart
40:26transplant.
40:27That's when he knew
40:29this was no joke.
40:36Kimbo Slice's heart
40:37condition is difficult
40:38for his family
40:39to accept.
40:40In the hospital,
40:41his monitor
40:41was reading at 5%,
40:43but he was moving
40:44around like he was
40:45ready to be discharged
40:46and come home.
40:47That's just how
40:48strong he was.
40:49So I didn't know
40:50that would have
40:51been my last time
40:52seeing him.
40:52MMA fighter
40:53Kimbo Slice
40:54has died
40:54in a South Florida
40:55hospital last night.
40:56His death was sudden
40:58and unexpected.
40:59One of the worst
41:01things to experience
41:01is, you know,
41:02somebody that you
41:03care so much about
41:04and went on this
41:06crazy life journey
41:08with
41:09and not really
41:10being able
41:11to say goodbye.
41:17Being his oldest
41:18sister
41:19and always being
41:20able to protect him,
41:21I just couldn't,
41:22I couldn't deal
41:23with that.
41:24I couldn't deal
41:26with that.
41:31I was there
41:32to the end.
41:37Kimbo.
41:41My dad was
41:42always preparing me
41:43for his death.
41:44I wouldn't say
41:45he knew,
41:46but he just always
41:47prepared me for
41:48if something was
41:49to ever happen to him.
41:49So when it happened,
41:50I'm like,
41:51life goes on,
41:51it doesn't stop.
41:53But Kimbo dying
41:55while awaiting
41:55a heart transplant
41:56does cause the
41:58MMA community
41:58to pause
41:59and reflect.
42:00Frickin' heart transplant,
42:02went, are you kidding me?
42:05Right away
42:06went back
42:07to that
42:07Dada 5000 fight
42:10and I was pushing
42:11him not knowing
42:12he had a heart problem.
42:16I never knew
42:17about his heart.
42:18Nobody knew.
42:19Apparently Kimbo knew,
42:20but he didn't want
42:21to tell people
42:22because then
42:22we would say,
42:23hey,
42:23fighting is over.
42:25And fighting
42:25was his passion.
42:26The things he did
42:27stamina-wise
42:28and training-wise
42:29with his heart
42:30says a lot about
42:31the person he is.
42:32I don't think
42:32a lot of the
42:33traditionalists
42:33realized the age
42:34they came in at.
42:36You have to understand
42:36he had a lot of injuries.
42:37Shelf life of a fighter,
42:39I mean,
42:39you're probably at your peak
42:40at 28, 30 years old
42:41and after that,
42:42mother time
42:42catches up to us.
42:43And if you have
42:44a condition like that,
42:45it puts even more
42:46restraint on it.
42:48And then knowing
42:49yourself that
42:50your heart is not good
42:51but then still
42:52go through it,
42:54that's a special
42:55human being.
42:57If you take a guy
42:58like that back
42:58to his 20 years of age
43:01to a good coach,
43:02I think he could have
43:02been a real big fighter.
43:04He would have died
43:05in the cage
43:05to have made that money
43:08for his family.
43:09Even though
43:10it wasn't necessary,
43:13to him it was.
43:15Coming from nothing,
43:16being homeless
43:17and all of a sudden
43:17making the money
43:18that he was making
43:19and able to support
43:20his family
43:20that he'd never
43:21probably dream of.
43:22It fits his character
43:25to a T.
43:26Kimbo was somebody
43:27that if you knew him,
43:29you loved him.
43:30He was that good
43:31of a guy.
43:32I respected what he did.
43:33I knew where he came from.
43:34I knew how he had
43:35to get there.
43:36Could he have been better
43:37if he had started earlier?
43:38Maybe, yeah.
43:39But he struggled
43:41throughout his whole life
43:41and he got to this point.
43:44That's already
43:45a huge achievement.
43:46This sport is all
43:47about entertainment
43:47and going out there
43:49and putting out
43:49the best fight possible,
43:51giving 100%
43:51of everything you got
43:52and fighting to fight
43:53win or lose
43:54and that's what he did.
43:55Just remember him
43:56as Kimbo
43:57Slice the fighter.