The UFC's announcement that Kimbo Slice will be joining the cast of fighters selected for The Ultimate Fighter 10 has been met with a variety of skepticism.
The first time this story unfolded before me was at UFC 90 in Chicago. We were standing off to the right side and Slice leaned into my ear and said "Ask Dana if he would have Kimbo on The Ultimate Fighter."
I remember looking at him as if he had two heads.
I didn't know if he had read that somewhere or saw it online via one of Dana's video blogs, so I did not want to look like a fool in front of my fellow media members.
He said, "trust me...ask," so hesitantly, I did.
Dana's response was a foreshadowing of things to come.
"What has the guy done to deserve to be in the UFC?," White replied. "Nothing. I don’t consider him a real athlete or anything. He won’t win The Ultimate Fighter. The offer is out there if he wants to take it and he won’t win it."
He followed that up with a comment that he would put together a full show of heavyweights just for Slice.
For the past seven months, the Kimbo Slice on TUF was a question I would always ask White. Not only was it jokingly mandated by my producer, but he also convinced me to keep peppering the UFC president until a final chapter was written to this story.
After the news broke in Miami that Slice was going to forego his career in MMA for a new one in boxing, I asked White one last time. I was honestly intrigued to know if Slice and his management were interested or if they declined. White simply said there was nothing there and they had declined.
Little did we all realize that White was crossing his fingers, had an ace up his sleeve.
The huge announcement caught me by surprise, as the curiosity had subsided and I had put the Slice on TUF story to bed. Now, it has awakened not just me, but the MMA world with a thunderous roar.
Kudos to Slice for stepping up and wanting to prove himself. Kudos should also go out to the UFC for bringing him on and for to sticking by their word. Slice has already been embarrassed once in his career so one has to respect that he is willing to put it all on the line again, for everyone to see.
Pass or fail, I commend him for stepping up.
The bearded brawler on next season's Ultimate Fighter is only one storyline. The two coaches on the show, Sugar Rashad Evans and Quinton Rampage Jackson, are show stoppers and are never at a loss for words. These two do not like each other and one of them will now have to deal with Slice as one of their students.
How will they deal with the drama that Slice will bring to the show? When I say drama, I am referring to the bull’s-eye that will be painted on his back due to every fighter on the show gunning to be the name that defeats the Miami native.
History has shown that neither Evans or Jackson keep their comments to themselves, so we can just imagine the complete circus that will be Season 10.
We have seen what living in the house with 15 other men can do to one's mental psyche. Now imagine Slice in that house with what is being reported as four former NFL veterans.
Season 10 is reported to start on Sportsnet on September 16th.
One thing is for sure, the network will never be the same.
