Let's face it, Kimbo Slice is and always be a brawler with power in his hands. Yes, he's been training with American Top Team since his time on The Ultimate Fighter, but he isn't going to be shooting for take downs and/or trying to submit his opponents. The TUF 10 finale fight against Houston Alexander is a catch-weight bout that will take place at 215 pounds. That's about 15 pounds lighter than the weight in which Kimbo has fought in the past. I expect him to be able to make the weight, since he's probably known about this fight for quite some time. However, more than that, I think this is just a trial cut for Kimbo to fight in the UFC light heavyweight division provided he beats Alexander. I would liken this fight to the Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin catch-weight bout that took place at 195lbs.
The fact of the matter is, Kimbo can't compete with the huge wrestlers/grapplers in the UFC Heavyweight division. He has one way to win, and that's by knocking out his opponents. I can't think of another division better suited for him than the UFC light heavyweight division. While there are fighters with wrestling credentials and grappling credentials, more times than not, the light heavyweights like stand and trade and that's right down Kimbo's alley. He'll never compete for the title, but Kimbo would be a great way to gain additional exposure for fighters like Jared Hamman and other up and coming fighers.
Again, that's provided he can beat Houston Alexander on Saturday night.
[Note by Kelvin Hunt, 12/03/09 4:32 PM EST ]Apparently Kimbo Slice has been struggling to cut the necessary 15lbs to make the 215lb catchweight with Houston Alexander this week. From MMAWeekly:
“Not good,” the generously bearded heavyweight said of his first weigh cut. “Not good. Moody… you just don’t feel the same. It’s mental, but it’s not a good feeling, to be honest with you.”
However, he said he was on target to make weight. So if he wins this fight, it'll be interesting to see if he wants to stay at heavyweight or try to make the cut to LHW as I wrote up above.
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