215 lbs: Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander

Odds: (+225 Slice / -285 Alexander )

Fresh off a season-long infomercial advertising his brand, Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson will finally make his official UFC debut against, shock of shocks, an opponent that seems custom-made for his skill set.  Slice will square off with Houston Alexander, who at one point had a pretty big buzz of his own, but has rapidly descended to journeyman status after a string of losses.  Yet another loss for Alexander, especially a knockout, would probably spell the end of his UFC tenure, while a loss to yet another unheralded opponent might finally take the wind out of Slice’s sails, so both guys are going to have to leave it all in the cage if they want a future at the highest level of the sport.

Houston Alexander, a tough brawler with a rugged everyman charm, captured the imaginations of UFC fans with his unlikely string of powerful knockouts early in his UFC stint.  His last three fights in the UFC though, all crushing losses, stripped most of that momentum away and instead shone a spotlight on the many glaring holes in his game, notably his total lack of a ground game and his rather questionable chin.  Alexander has become the proverbial glass cannon, capable of flooring anyone with his huge power, but capable of being floored by anyone or taken down at will by even the most marginal wrestler.  His strategy against Slice is not hard to figure out.  As always, he will move forward and try to overwhelm Slice with strikes before Slice can do the same.

Kimbo Slice, an undeniable ratings phenomenon, has probably the most out of whack ratio of popularity to ability in the sport’s history.  Clearly one of the most popular fighters in the world today, the simple possibility of Slice’s involvement on a show is enough to raise the ratings spectacularly.  Slice’s popularity seems wholly related to his persona, though, since he has never shown any legitimate fighting skills whatsoever.  Over his last three fights, Slice has seen his fighting abilities called into question one by one.  First, his much-touted punching power was called into doubt when he seemed unable to finish the notoriously glass-jawed James Thompson.  Then, his chin was exposed when he was floored by what amounted to a jab from Light Heavyweight journeyman Seth Petruzelli.  Against Roy Nelson, any thoughts that Slice’s ground game was coming along were put to rest by Roy Nelson, who took Slice down and basically laid on him to prove a point.

Alexander is, on paper at least, the perfect opponent for Kimbo.  Neither man has anything remotely resembling a ground game, a necessary ingredient for a potential Slice win.  Furthermore, Alexander is the type of the opponent who will not only keep coming forward and willingly engaging Slice, he has shown a weakness in his chin which is another must-have for a Kimbo opponent.  All that said, though, I still don’t think Kimbo can win this fight.  Neither man can grapple and neither man has an iron chin, but Alexander has at least proved that his punches pack a sizable amount of power, something Kimbo has yet to do against an even remotely credible opponent.  I don’t think this one will last long.  The two will rush each other, throw haymakers, and one of them will get caught.  Considering Kimbo’s track record, I see Alexander getting the best of him fairly early.

Fight Prediction:  Alexander by T/KO, round 1.

1.  Frank Szostak on December 2nd, 2009 9:29 pm

   Kimbo will catch him and finish him. He will bounce back after being imbarresed. You can bet on it.

2.  james hess on December 4th, 2009 7:16 am

   who ever wrote this is a joke how are you gonna clown on anybodys fighting skills i garuntee you housten alexander or kimbo slice would smash YOU standing up or on the ground. Second of all Kimbo has proved many things that he isnt afraid to stand and bang with ANYONE. Third of all he blew james thompsons ear off. That seth punk got lucky. and roy nelson is a fat slob that used his weight to lay on him. Kimbo has bet many of people worth talking about for example the well know Tank Abbot. Kimbo smashed that dude bad. Now before you go talking about what you think you know maybe you should do your research. Im out

3.  james hess on December 4th, 2009 7:20 am

   By the way Frank Szostak you actually know what your talknig about Kimbo will beat housten alexander and he will be a great UFC fighter because he has the heart of a lion and killer instinct. Kimbo is going to the top believe that!

4.  Adam on December 4th, 2009 8:04 pm

   Frank – how will you bounce back from that embarrassing spelling?

   James Hess – The fight with Thompson should never have made it out of the first round. Kimbo took unblocked, unanswered shots for literally 2 minutes on the ground in Round 1. And while yes, he did cause Thompson’s ear to bleed, look at that ear before the fight even started. All it was going to take was one punch to pop it open. You missed my fundamental point, though, which is that every single fighter who has ever landed a power punch on James Thompson has knocked him out, except Kimbo Slice. Aleksandr Emelianenko knocked Thompson unconscious with a jab. You know, the same punch Kimbo got knocked out by from an unheralded 205 pound fighter who took the fight on 2 hours’ notice.

   Don’t get me wrong, Kimbo could win this fight, because Alexander is the only fighter in UFC history as unskilled as Kimbo is who also has a chin bad enough to match Kimbo’s. No one is a winner in this fight, not the fighters, not the fans, not the sport. More likely, Alexander will clinch Kimbo and reduce his head to its component particles.

5.  Adam on December 4th, 2009 8:06 pm

   Oh, and by the way, the fact that Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander is the only fight anyone commented on makes me want to vomit up blood.

6.  sam rakes on December 5th, 2009 8:02 am

   Hey dude are you off your meds!!!!!??? Alexander 1st round tko……tell me your having a drug induced hallucination??

   Kimbo Slice to the rescue of the UFC…..ask dana white how does that crow he’s eating taste…..find the nearest psychiatric hospital and check yourself in because I really think your loosing it!!1

   Kimbo Slice 1st round tko of alexander

7.  evan angus on December 5th, 2009 2:04 pm

   James hess is absolutley right here buttfucks. I cant wait to see these two guys fight. Houston and Kimbo both come out throwing punches, this is gonna be one hell of a slugfest, you can count on that. Like hess said, the Roy nelson fight was shit. the fat ass piece of shit layed on top of him and waited for the ref to call the end. you call that a fuckin fight? you deserve to get fucked up for thinking that was a brawl. Watch this Kimbo will indeed come out on top of this fight, if it aint a knockout its gonna be one hell of a slugfest between these two.