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 Kimbo Slice's highly anticipated return to the octagon was less than exciting on Wednesday night (September 30), when he was TKO'd by Roy "Big Country" Nelson during the third episode of "The Ultimate Fighter".
However, Nelson's win wasn't very spectacular.
The match started off slow, with Kimbo seeming a little timid to explode with strikes as he usually does, as seen in his previous fights.
Not much happens immediately. A few jabs are thrown with none connecting. That's until Slice slaps Nelson's leg with a kick. When Kimbo finally begins to let his hands go, Nelson is backed up against the cage, but clinches and pins the YouTube legend against the fence before taking him to the ground.
This has always been where Kimbo's skills have come into question. Not much had changed Wednesday night, when he failed to display any improved ground techniques and Nelson exploited that.
Nelson and Kimbo struggled on the mat for more than a minute, before Nelson mounted Kimbo and eventually secured a crucifix position -- where both of Kimbo's arms are pinned -- and reigned down multiple, light but unanswered punches to the top of his head. No serious damage was delivered, but if the bell didn't sound, Kimbo probably would've laid there unable to answer.
The second round was much like the first, but Kimbo was able to get off a few vicious punches, cracking Nelson in the head several times before he was able to take him down once again.
Guess what? Kimbo is placed in the crucifix position again. But, there's much more time left on the clock this time. Nelson reigns down several soft punches with Kimbo lying there unable to answer. The ref tells Kimbo he must answer back or work to get out of the position, but is unable to, leaving him no choice but to stop the fight.
After winning, Nelson was ecstatic. He walked over to UFC president Dana White and co-founder Lorenzo Fertitta and asked for a double Whopper. While White laughed at his joke, he wasn't impressed with the win.
"He had Kimbo down and he was hitting Kimbo, but it wasn't like he was hitting him with these punches that were like ... like we were sitting there saying 'Oh my God, stop the fight'," White said, following the match. "It's like I let my daughter pin me down and let her hit me, you know? That's the type of shots Roy Nelson is hitting him with.
"This guy's acting like the whole world should be blown away by the performance this guy just put on. Roy did just enough to win and not get hit," he continued.
While Kimbo's loss means he's eliminated from winning "The Ultimate Fighter" competition, word is, it's not the last time we'll see the beard-wearing fighter. According to an L.A. Times report, an industry source says that Kimbo is primed to become the replacement for another fighter who couldn't proceed in the tournament.
If you watched the sneak peak of the next episode, you may have noticed that former NFL player Marcus Jones collapses in the house. This, coupled with his complaints of bad knee from tonight's episode, makes it seem he'll likely be the one to drop out.
If he does, this could give Kimbo another shot at competing for the six-figure reward and contract into the UFC.
"TUF" will continue weekly on Spike TV and conclude with a live finale on December 5th at The Palms hotel in Las Vegas, with the winner of this season's "Heavyweights" taking the prize.
Does Kimbo still have a shot? Sound off with your comments below.
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