RIP Kimbo Slice

[GeneChing]

Kimbo Slice dies at age 42
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4:57 AM PT
Brett Okamoto
ESPN Staff Writer

Professional mixed martial artist Kimbo Slice died Monday at age 42, Bellator MMA announced.

"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 in a statement, calling Slice "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," Coker said. "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."

EDITOR'S PICKS

It's time to reappraise Kimbo Slice
Kimbo Slice is a very scary guy. He is also a thoughtful friend, loving dad and budding entrepreneur. As MMA's date with mainstream destiny nears, it's time to reappraise the ultimate YouTube legend.

There was no word on the cause of Slice's death.

Slice had been hospitalized earlier Monday in Margate, Florida, for undisclosed reasons, according to Coral Springs police, who had been dispatched to his residence to prevent a potential gathering outside. They said no foul play was suspected.

"We lost our brother today," Slice's longtime manager, Mike Imber, said in a text message to The Associated Press.

Slice, birth name Kevin Ferguson, was a former backyard brawler and internet sensation. A heavyweight at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, he had a 5-2 professional record with four TKOs.

He was signed to Bellator MMA and scheduled to headline Bellator 158 on July 16 in London against James Thompson.

He last fought at Bellator 149 on Feb. 19 in Houston. He defeated Dhafir Harris, aka Dada5000, in a three-round decision. The result was later changed to a no-contest by the Texas commission, after Slice tested positive for anabolic steroids and an elevated testosterone ratio.


Kimbo Slice was "a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport," Bellator president Scott Coker said. Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Slice also previously fought for the UFC.

"He carried himself as a true professional during his time in our organization," the promotion said in a statement Monday night. "While he will never be forgotten for his fighting style and transcendent image, Slice will also be remembered for his warm personality and commitment to his family and friends."

Slice was born in the Bahamas on Feb. 8, 1974, but grew up in South Florida. He played middle linebacker at Miami's Palmetto High and showed the potential to play in college before Hurricane Andrew caused Palmetto High's season to be cut short and his scholarship offers vanished. He flunked out of college at Bethune-Cookman University and was homeless for a brief time. He worked as a limo driver, strip-club bouncer and bodyguard before rising to fame through his viral street-fighting videos.

He was not embraced by much of the MMA world as it attempted to go mainstream, with UFC president Dana White famously saying Slice would not last two minutes in the Octagon. However, due in part to his immense popularity, Slice's third professional fight, a fourth-round TKO against Thompson in May 2008, aired on CBS, making it the first MMA fight on prime-time network television.

In 2009, the UFC booked Slice as a contestant on "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series. He ultimately fought for the UFC twice, compiling a 1-1 record, before taking a leave of absence from MMA to compete in professional wrestling.

In 2015, Bellator signed Slice and promoted him in a main event against MMA pioneer Ken Shamrock. Slice won the fight via TKO in the first round, after nearly being submitted by Shamrock in the opening minutes.

Shamrock tweeted about Slice's death Monday night.

KEN SHAMROCK ✔@ShamrockKen
We battled inside the cage, warrior vs warrior. Outside the cage, we have loved ones. REST IN PEACE KIMBO SLICE. May God Watch Over You.
8:09 PM - 6 Jun 2016
2,605 2,605 Retweets 3,074 3,074 likes

The two Bellator events Slice competed in, Bellator 138 and Bellator 149, set new ratings records on Spike TV.

Slice made his professional MMA debut on Nov. 10, 2007, for the now-defunct promotion EliteXC, knocking out Bo Cantrell in just 19 seconds.

He trained out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. The team also mourned his passing on Twitter.

American Top Team @AmericanTopTeam
The ATT Family and South Florida community lost a legend today. RIP Kimbo.
7:53 PM - 6 Jun 2016
6,742 6,742 Retweets 3,729 3,729 likes

For all of his glowering in-cage swagger and outsized fame, Slice was extraordinarily honest about his fighting abilities. He acknowledged being an MMA newcomer with much to learn, never claiming to be anything but a big puncher providing for his family while constantly working to learn the sport's other disciplines.

"The guys who are holding the titles, heavyweight and light heavyweight, these guys are awesome," Slice told the AP in a 2010 interview before his second UFC fight. "I'm really just having happy days in the midst -- being among them, fighting on the undercards, just contributing to the UFC and the sport. That's really what I want to do. I'm not looking ahead to winning a title or anything like that. I'm just enjoying each fight as it comes."

Slice is survived by six children, and he credited his MMA career for allowing him to send them to college. One of his three sons, Kevin Ferguson Jr., made his MMA debut in March.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

There's a vid if you follow the link. I never met him. He was in the audience of a fight I was at but I didn't get close to him.

[David Jamieson]

Rose up from bum fights. Somehow got into MMA. Made good. And now he's out.
I didn't expect him to make it as far as he did.
See ya Kimbo.

[GeneChing]

JUNE 8, 2016 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2016, 1:20 AM
Mixed-martial artist was diagnosed with heart failure

BY LINDA TRISCHITTA AND WELLS DUSENBURY
SUN SENTINEL | THE RECORD

Kimbo Slice, the mixed-martial arts star who died Monday at age 42, had been diagnosed with heart failure and advised that he would need a transplant.

Slice, as Kevin Ferguson was widely known, was admitted to Northwest Medical Center in Margate, Fla., on June 3 after complaining of severe abdominal pain, shortness of breath and nausea, according to information the hospital reported to Broward County medical examiner.

Slice was found to have a liver mass and congestive heart failure, and was placed on a ventilator in intensive care, according to the report.

As Slice's condition declined, doctors advised his family that he would need a heart transplant, the report states.

He died at 7:30 p.m. Monday as doctors were preparing him for transfer to a facility in Cleveland, where Slice could have been placed on an organ-donor list.

The report also stated Slice had no history of illicit drug use, and trauma and foul play were not suspected in his death.

Multiple calls to reach Slice's family were not immediately returned.

Slice was scheduled to headline the Bellator 158 fight card in London next month against James Thompson.

Slice became a viral sensation in the early 2000s for his street-fighting clips on YouTube. Raised in the Miami area, Slice was a strip club bouncer and bodyguard before his MMA career began to take off.

Slice's most recent fight was on Feb. 19, when he faced Dhafir Harris, known as DaDa 5000. Following his third-round TKO victory, Slice was found to have elevated testosterone levels and tested positive for the steroid nandrolone.

For the past seven years, Slice trained at American Top Team, where news of the fighter's death hit the Coconut Creek, Fla., gym's "family" hard.

"This is like losing a brother," Top Team coach and co-founder Marcus "Conan" Silveira said.

Slice trained at ATT four days a week for a couple of hours at a time. Silveira said Slice was always learning, training and "improving himself for the next fight."

"I think that is what drove him from being a street fighter to a professional fighter: to do the right thing, be a pro."

Top Team general manager Richie Guerrerio recalled Slice's first appearance in the gym in 2009, when Slice was near the height of his fame. Known primarily for his street-fighting videos at the time, Slice was initially met with some skepticism by those in the gym, but Guerrerio said those fears quickly dissipated.

"It was one of those oddities," Guerrerio said. "You see a guy doing these YouTube videos and you're thinking, 'Is he legit or not?' People had their preconceived notions. He came in the gym with a humble attitude and was looking to learn. He wanted to become better and become a mixed-martial artist. He was very much embraced."

Slice eventually competed for several promotions, including the UFC and Bellator, and became one of the sport's most popular figures.

Recently married, Slice is survived by his wife and six children.

'no history of illicit drug use' + 'tested positive for the steroid nandrolone' I suppose nandrolone isn't categorized as 'illicit' by this report.