So I finally got back to KimboFever.com and am adding Kimbo Slice news daily. You guys let me know if you hear any good Kimbo news, okay?

So what do you guys think of Kimbo anyway?

I think he's proven to be way overrated, as he had to be thanks to all the buzz. But I also find him hugely entertaining, and a really likeable character.

I never watched any of his fights before Roy Nelson.

That was the single most pathetic fight I have ever seen.

He was at least likable on that episode, unlike his opponent who was stoked over laying on another dude's face until the ref called the fight. 

I have yet to see the man fight. As far as image goes, I think he looks like a total badass. He reminds me of a smaller more toned down Duncan Dokiwari from when I used to watch a lot more boxing. The thing is Dokiwari looked like a fucking ogre, but he lost every fight I saw him in save the first one. I wouldn't be too surprised if Kimbo Slice turned out underneath that crazy beard to be just a nice guy who sadly loses quite a bit.

I agree with Si, though, he comes off as a pretty likable guy.

EDIT: Is Kimbo finally fighting in the cage against real fighters yet or is he still in the ubergay UFC reality-show club-house?

So far (like everybody's said) Kimbo's come off as a down to earth likable guy. Whether he's over rated or not I guess depends on whether you ever believed the Elite XC hype-machine or not. If that's all you knew about Kimbo and MMA then yeah, he's been exposed as a terribly overrated fighter. MMA fans however, have been crying foul the whole time, knowing that Kimbo was nowhere near the level fighter that Elite XC was making him out to be.

The Nelson fight was disappointing on many levels. For one, I'm really shocked that Kimbo's ground game hasn't developed AT ALL in the last two years, which is shameful because his fight against Thompson really should have been a wake up call for him to take the ground game seriously. Now, Nelson is a high level BJJ guy. He's a black belt, and he beat Frank Mir at a grappling tournament, the man's not an opponent anyone should expect Kimbo to handle on the ground, but Kimbo sadly seemed to have NO IDEA what to do and ended up just laying there while Nelson gave him noogies. Why after two years with people like Bas Rutten training him does Kimbo have no idea what to do? Well, Bas Rutten and Kimbo's cast mates on TUF have made some statements to the effect that the reason Kimbo has no ground game is mostly because he's simply not training for it.

I also am beginning to get the idea that Kimbo may also be one of those guys that just don't "get" the ground game. If I were Kimbo's trainer I wouldn't be teaching him submissions, I'd be drilling the shit out of take down defense, basic wrestling, and getting back to his feet as quickly as possible.

If I were the UFC I'd be finding some fighters who prefer stand and have them go toe to toe with Kimbo, because let's face it... Kimbo puts butts in seats, but nobody's going to want to watch Kimbo get ground and pounded every time he gets in the Octagon.

Yeah I can't really see Kimbo using rubber guards for example.

Uh, yeah. Rubber guard is out of the question.

Yeah.  He either just doesn't get the ground game at all, or just isn't training it.  With my opinion based entirely on that one match, Kimbo's game seems to depend entirely on rocking you with a big punch.

One the reasons I don't really like the heavier weight classes - kicking often seems to be a complete afterthought.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I would think a good way to approach a guy like Roy Nelson would be to try to do some damage to his legs.  Avoid the take-downs & hammer away at the legs, then open up with some more punching as he fatigues.

The big problem with kicks is that you open yourself up to the takedown, which is what a guy like Nelson is looking for anyway.

Anyone that hasnt seen Kimbo fight, check out his old backyard stuff on youtube first, thats where I got started. The man may not be a professional, but he's definately an animal in a stand up fight.

You've got to be able to control distance & level somehow, don't you though?  I'd want something else other than punches in my arsenal at least.

You can't compete in MMA as a striker without having strong takedown defense and being familiar with the ground game. Guys like Liddell, Rampage, and even Tank Abbot who are (or were) accomplished stand up fighters all have a strong background in collegiate wrestling. You don't spend all that time wrestling without learning how to stay on your feet.

Like Krsna says, if you want to compete in MMA and you only have punches as offense, you'll need expert take-down defense.
I see most guys who are only strikers using a lot of ground and pound and chokes (especially rear naked chokes).
I see a lot of guys who are only strikers getting destroyed by muay thai, though. That shit is dangerous voodoo.

Today I added Kimbo's fights to kimbofever.com, next comes organizing them!

I watched that fight again just now and I still would throw some round kicks at his lead leg.

Roy was in complete control of that fight. 

I guess whether you should throw leg kicks at somebody like Roy Nelson depends a bit on your skill at throwing leg kicks.  Surprisingly, Kimbo did throw one early into the fight - I never expected that from him.

He also looked pretty sheepish too, I wonder where that came from? Kimbo's trainers have to get his confidence back.

Back to leg kicks though... I'm a HUGE fan of the leg kick, and have been so for ten years now, but I don't think I agree with you on using a roundhouse or Muay Thai style leg kick for distance control. They're great for harassing your opponent and giving them more to think about than your fists, but against a professional fighter you're going to have to throw a lot of them to do any real damage.

Even on the street they don't work (in an actual fight) as advertised. Lay one on someone joking around, or BEFORE they know the fight started and it's a fight ender. But once the fight starts? Even a hard ass Muay Thai leg kick doesn't have the effect you're expecting. There's too much moving around, the quadriceps are tensed up, and and adrenaline rush to deal with. I've clocked people on the street with Muay Thai kicks that nearly knocked both their legs out from under them, but it still wasn't enough to persuade them to stop the fight on it's own.

If you were looking to use kicks for distance control you're better off using the Muay Thai foot jab, but that's definitely not one I'd advise against a grappler. If there's any chance of your opponent grabbing your kicking leg and you're not using it as a set up for a hand strike I think you're better off keeping your feet on the ground and using your footwork and jab for distance control.

Also, if you know your opponent wants to shoot for a takedown keep working your angles and don't stand there in front of them. It's going to make it really difficult to shoot in if they can't get squared up.

Oh yeah, about the Kimbo vs. Nelson fight, if you ignore the part where Kimbo just laid there and didn't do anything while Roy punched the top of his head, he didn't look too bad. LOL!

What I mean is, on re-watching that fight Kimbo certainly did badly, but not as badly as it had seemed the first time I saw it.

Oh yeah, about the Kimbo vs. Nelson fight, if you ignore the part where Kimbo just laid there and didn't do anything while Roy punched the top of his head, he didn't look too bad. LOL!

I get what you mean but still that's some funny shit!

I'm probably projecting too much because I like to use kicks or knees as an entry to try to hit a cross or hook instead of jabs.

I guess what I'm thinking about with control isn't so much distance as movement.  If I keep hitting the inside of the thigh, for instance, I would expect the other guy to circle away from that kick.  I was thinking distance control more along the lines of making him realize he can't just hang out outside of jab distance and expect to be able to circle all day.  If you're getting angles, closing, and throwing punches, I suppose that does the exact same thing.

I don't have much experience, though, so I'm sure I will learn plenty of lessons as I can spar more.