Kimbo Slice proved that people are still interested in watching him fight. Despite a five-year hiatus from MMA, his return fight against Ken Shamrock drew the highest ratings in Bellator history. He also picked up a win in the bout, after weathering a storm on the ground. Slice joined The MMA Hour to talk about when he’ll fight next, how he kept his cool in the Shamrock fight, and addresses concerns that the bout may have been fixed.
On his return to the cage against Shamrock (transcribed by MMA Fighting):
“It felt good. You kinda miss it. You know what to expect from it. You just build up a confidence level know because all those years you f–king learned to love the sport. What I took for granted back then, I kinda embrace now, which is the ground game.
“I added more into a workout rather than just standing up, f–king someone holding pads and going through that ritual,” he explains. “I can do that with my eyes closed. I can do that in my sleep. What’s still a little new is that ground. With everything, you still can learn different s–t from it. No matter how much you train in it, you still find yourself learning something different.”
On surviving a bad spot on the ground when Shamrock almost choked him out:
“You kinda know where you’re at, so you don’t tap,” he notes. “It’s like, worst case, you just wake the f–k up and that’s it. No matter what happens, don’t bring yourself to tap. Considering that was happening in the back of my mind, I was just listening to my corners scream and yell, remembering the ritual: go to your back, go from there.
“Just remembering those steps,” he recalls, “I was able to pull that s–t off.”
On his popularity, and drawing big numbers for the bout:
“The s–t was awesome,” he confesses. “I gotta a lot fans out there that love to see me fight. That’s one thing you can’t change, you can’t stop. I’m going to put asses in seats. Those numbers are going to be there. I’m going to fight and they know when you’re coming to watch a Kimbo Slice fight – no matter who the f–k his opponent is – that’s gonna be a fight. Somebody’s getting knocked the f–k out. Something’s happening in that fight, in that match with Kimbo and whoever.
“That alone is going to stick with me until my days are done.”
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“People relate to me. I relate to them,” Slice says of his popularity. “Our come up is the same. I don’t think that I’m a superstar celebrity you can’t f–king touch. You see me on TV, so that’s celebrity status. I’m fighting in professional sports and also celebrity status. But you also see me in your local stores, you see me on the streets, you see me doing the same s–t you’re doing with your family and your kids.
“To see that alone is why they can relate to me, for that reason right there is why, I guess, a lot of fans and the average person can relate,” he argues. “Because I’m a real motherf–ker just like them. I gotta grind just like they gotta grind. I get up and get my s–t going in the morning just like they do, put my pants on one leg at a time. I don’t think I’m all that. I don’t think I’m better than the next man. But if it’s a one-on-one fight and we gotta fight, I’m bang your ass up, you can believe that.”
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“I have spent the last ten years of my life on the big screen fighting in these professional sports. A lot of people over the years has grown with me from middle school to high school, from high school to college and from college to adulthood. A lot of people grew with me and grew watching me. So, for the last ten years, I definitely believe I’ve been an inspiration to a lot of people.”
On the idea that the fight might have been fixed:
“I find it humorous, to be honest with you.
He also stated that he’d like to return to the cage in February, and is interested in fighting six more times before calling it a career. It has been rumored that he could face the winner of the Bobby Lashley vs. James Thompson bout at Bellator 145 next month.