When the UFC released Kimbo Slice in 2010, he knew his days in mixed martial arts probably weren’t over.
What mattered was the opportunity. The man once known as The King of the Web Brawlers, who became an instant hit and launched mixed martial arts onto the prime-time airwaves for the first time, had been given just such an opportunity by the UFC a year earlier. UFC President Dana White had famously said that if Slice wanted to fight in the UFC, he’d have to work his way into the promotion by competing on The Ultimate Fighter reality show.