We knew heading into this season of The Ultimate Fighter that Roy Nelson is bigger, stronger and more skillful than Kimbo Slice, and that Kimbo needs to get better on the ground. So in one respect, Nelson's second-round TKO victory over Kimbo on Wednesday night's episode of the UFC's reality show didn't teach us much.But even though Nelson beat Kimbo decisively, I came away from their fight more convinced than I was before that Kimbo is worthy of fighting in the UFC. I also came away more convinced than I was before that Nelson is the favorite to win this season's Ultimate Fighter tournament.
I had never been particularly impressed with Kimbo in the past, and after he lost to Seth Petruzelli in 14 seconds in October, I didn't think he'd ever be a serious MMA fighter. I still don't think Kimbo will ever beat a Top 10 opponent, but I liked some of the things I saw him do against Nelson.
Kimbo Slice vs. Roy Nelson
Kimbo Slice punches Roy Nelson during the 'The Ultimate Fighter' episode which aired Sept. 30, 2009 on Spike TV.
UFC
Roy Nelson punches Kimbo Slice during the 'The Ultimate Fighter' episode which aired Sept. 30, 2009 on Spike TV.
UFC
Kimbo Slice punches Roy Nelson during the 'The Ultimate Fighter' episode which aired Sept. 30, 2009 on Spike TV.
UFC
Roy Nelson punches Kimbo Slice during the 'The Ultimate Fighter' episode which aired Sept. 30, 2009 on Spike TV.
UFC
Kimbo Slice punches Roy Nelson during the 'The Ultimate Fighter' episode which aired Sept. 30, 2009 on Spike TV.
UFC
Kimbo Slice punches Roy Nelson during the 'The Ultimate Fighter' episode which aired Sept. 30, 2009 on Spike TV.
UFC
Roy Nelson turns up the heat on Kimbo Slice during the 'The Ultimate Fighter' episode which aired Sept. 30, 2009 on Spike TV.
UFC
Roy Nelson battles Kimbo Slice on the ground during the 'The Ultimate Fighter' episode which aired Sept. 30, 2009 on Spike TV.
UFC
Roy Nelson gets his hand raised after a second-round TKO win over Kimbo Slice during the 'The Ultimate Fighter' episode which aired Sept. 30, 2009 on Spike TV.
UFC
I've always thought Kimbo needs to diversify his stand-up, so I was glad to see him try a leg kick in the early going, and shortly after that, Kimbo went on the attack and landed some good punches against the cage. His stand-up looks a little stiff, but mixing it up and staying aggressive on his feet is what we need to see from Kimbo. I was also impressed that when Nelson and Kimbo were tangled together midway through the first round, Kimbo didn't go down easily, even though Nelson outweighed him by more than 30 pounds.
Still, Nelson did eventually take Kimbo down and mount him, and late in the first round, when Nelson transitioned from mount to side control and started landing punches to Kimbo's head, referee Herb Dean would have been justified in stopping the fight. And although Kimbo did manage to make it out of the first round, the second round saw Nelson get on top of Kimbo again, get side control again, and eventually land enough punches to force Dean to stop it.
"He needs to use the rest of the time he's here to absorb as much knowledge as he can," UFC President Dana White said of Kimbo. "He will leave this a better fighter."
I think that's about right: Kimbo needs to get better on the ground so that bigger and stronger fighters can't simply follow Nelson's game plan and dominate him from the top. Kimbo's work with Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Ricardo Liborio at American Top Team will be crucial to his development.We'll definitely see Kimbo back in the Octagon again; White (and The Ultimate Fighter's narrator) implied that Kimbo might get another chance to fight on the show this season, and even if that doesn't happen, Kimbo himself confirmed that he's still in the UFC and will fight in the Octagon in December. I hope in his next fight we see a Kimbo who knows how to escape from side control.
As for Nelson, White was somewhat dismissive of his victory, saying afterward, "Roy did just enough to win and not get hit." I thought Nelson (who has seven first-round finishes on his 13-4 record) would beat Kimbo more quickly than he did, but he didn't do anything to change my opinion that he's the favorite to win this season's show.
Both Kimbo and Nelson could benefit from a good conditioning program, and Kimbo definitely needs to get better on the ground. But my overall takeaway from the most anticipated fight in the history of The Ultimate Fighter is that both men acquitted themselves well enough that I'm looking forward to seeing them in the Octagon again.
Follow the UFC? Follow me on Twitter @MichaelDavSmith.
Comments (Page 1 of 5)
your convinced he belongs in the ufc? his ground game was always suspect and now its proven, it sucks! he has no ground game period and will get eatin alive in the ufc. maybe after a year in brazil he could be a contender but not now that everyone knows his weakness.
In time, Kimbo will get better. He's a street fighter, yes, and he does have skills, he just needs more training to enhance those skills.
other than knowing something you can see apparently the write of this column and the person who write some of the dumb ass comments didn't seem to watch fat ass nelson punching like a little girl! it was PATHETIC and sad to see the ref just give fat ass nelson the tko KNOWING that he barely did much!! ya kimbo sucks in ground but you make that any other fight nelson who have had his fat ass handed to him!!! pay more attention people
Actually Fat boy did nothing but schlep around the ring till he got tired... then he laid on Kimbo. Not much of a show for a guy that is supposedly experienced.
Kimbo is open about wanting to learn, taking instruction and working technique. Isn't that the mark of an actual martial artist? (vs someone Dana describes as looking like he just left every buffet in Vegas)
I thought Nelson looked very weak. A strong fighter could have finished Kimbo after that extended mount. White was right about the weakness of those punches.
well, personally I am glad that kimbo did not win because then it would have meant that the ufc is rigged. i still can't believe that Lesnar is the champ with only 4 fights to his credit(1win 1 loss when he was awarded title fight) when there are fighters out there such as Gabriel gonzaga, Cain, Sylva, Kongo and Carwin out there that deserved a title shot before Lesnar.
That was such a dissapointing fight. Neither fighter looked good. Roy fatass Nelson just sat on Kimbo and landed punches with nothing behind them. Kimbo (or any of those fighters for that matter) could have sat through a whole round of those weak hits.
And I can't believe Nelson thought he put on a show! What a joke.
wtf,my 7year old could put up a better fight than whatever the hell u call that match=GARBAGE!!!!!!
Biggest bull ever roy jus didnt wanna get hit hes a lazy fatass he just laid on him i doubt any1 of those guys could push him off
I KNOW WHAT 2 CALL IT,I'LL CALL IT PIG VOMIT!
Wow, that's an hour of my life I wasted, it would have been more constructive clipping butt hairs. If Roy is a future champion... the UFC is in major trouble. To just lay a tub of goo on somebody and "tap" lightly away, hitting your opponant and mostly your own fat side while your team mates count like the WWE is a real snoozer for me. If folks had paid for that fight there would have been a riot. Rashad & Rampage need to throw down just to let us see two fighters in the ring at the same time. Fool me once....
Roy must have gotten the cauliflower ear laying his head on the dinner table waiting for his next meal. awful!!
Has Kimbo Slice beaten anybody? Why is he hyped up so much?
If you look up video's on youtube of Kimbo you will see his hands are deadly thats where all the hype comes from. But mixed martial arts is completely different from boxing. He tires out very easily
I'm so proud of Kimbo!! He's great fighter. He can beat Nelson SO EASY!! I laughed hard Nelson won the fight? He hold his body over him, so it's obviously he can't fight.. PERIOD! HEY Kimbo you're the BEST!
i agree with most all here-
Roy looked like trash-
he was shying away from a punchers game, and couldnt do any damage on the ground.
He didnt FINISH Kimbo- he just pinned him.
I think something needs to be changed with this rule.
The inability to intelligently defend makes sense if you are TAKING DAMAGE.
The Ref should do like in Boxing- ask the fighter if they're ok, and judge the response.
If the guy can respond "dude i'm fine, he's just tapping me" then the fight should continue-
Nelson did little to convince me that he is anything but fat... but I already knew that.
There was no differance between Roy JUST LAYING on him, and Roy JUST LAYING ON HIM and tapping Kimbos head with his fist besides the fact that it was for show- and Roy would have gotten tired from punching soon enough.
Even when he did try to bang, he had his hands down the whole time like chuck liddell- and we all see where that landed chuck once people realized the dude doesn't block his head.
Honest... much respect for kimbo.
I think he really has his head on straight and seems to be a good guy.
Roy seems like a tool.
well, personally I am glad that kimbo did not win because then it would have meant that the ufc is rigged. i still can't believe that Lesnar is the champ with only 4 fights to his credit(1win 1 loss when he was awarded title fight) when there are fighters out there such as Gabriel gonzaga, Cain, Sylva, Kongo and Carwin out there that deserved a title shot before Lesnar.
Oh please! What was he supposed to do while he was getting smothered by Roy's big ole belly? LOL
tickle him?
I think a lot of people are just upset about the fact that Kimbo lost. What it comes down to is this; Roy Nelson has a great ground game. With a black belt in bjj, it doesn't surprise me that he dominated Kimbo. Everyone keeps criticizing Roy for not standing up and fighting, but that's ridiculous. He did what he had to do to win, and that's it. As far as the weak punches go, he may not have found himself at the right angle to land the types of punches he wanted. Kimbo is a good stand-up fighter, but he has no place as a mixed martial artist because he HAS NO SKILLS other than trying to punch his way to victory.