Two of the most heralded members of TUF Season 10, former IFL champ Roy Nelson, and streetfighting legend Kimbo Slice were paired up to fight. Episode 3, which premired last Wednesday night, featured the two heavyweights going at it in a very hyped up bout. Episode 2 closed out with Rashad having control and choosing to put his most experienced fighter against possibly Rampage’s greenest.
From MMAWeekly:
”Rashad (Evans) took us all in the back and said, ‘okay, who would you like to fight? Who do you think you match up good with?’ The whole nine yards. And then you just kind of picked who you wanted,” Nelson explained to MMAWeekly.com. “Me, I went in and was like, I want Zak (Jensen). They were like, ‘why do you want Zak?’ I was like, ‘Well, he got gogoplata’d by Brad Imes, so I want Zak.’ They were like, ‘You match better against Kimbo.’ I’m like, ‘No I don’t. I match really good with Zak, trust me.’”
Believing the decision was as much political as strategic, Nelson commented, “You just need somebody that will make Kimbo look better than what he is because he can’t lose to nobody else. That’s kind of how I picked it. From a business aspect, it just makes sense. That’s what I would do if I was running the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter, but as a fighter, I wanted Zak.”
Nelson’s not new to the fight game. He understands matchmaking and the format of the show. Tough fights early are not smart. “That’s not the easy fight,” said the 33-year-old heavyweight.
“There were like four guys on our team that was like, ‘Oh, I want Kimbo.’ I was like, ‘Have him,’” said Nelson. “I don’t want him. They’re looking at it as a meal ticket.”
“We could have headlined shows just by ourselves. So it’s actually kind of funny to go that route, but I’m glad that we did it. I think it’s probably going to be Spike’s number one show by far than even the premier.
“I think it’s going to be the fight of The Ultimate Fighter, and then it just gets better because after that you get to see the drama of what happens to me and Kimbo living in the same room together.”
Enough time has passed since anybody has seen Kimbo Slice in competition. Everybody is still wondering, “can this streetfighter make the transition?”. With his position on The Ultimate Fighter, Kimbo has a chance to prove to the world that he really can compete in the octagon, and become a true Mixed Martial Artist afterall.