The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights has proven to be the best TUF season yet. The media star is unquestionably Kimbo Slice, the amateur street brawler of YouTube fame who continues to evolve into a more formally trained mixed-martial-arts fighter. But the rest of this season’s bunch is entertaining, too. From the profane, hilarious arguments between opposing team captains Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson to the colorful personalities of other fighters such as Marcus Jones, who loves flowers and collects comic books, Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights is a lot of fun to watch.
Last night’s tussle between Kimbo and Roy Nelson had been hyped all week — Kimbo even put in an appearance on Tuesday night’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, taking part in a goofy sketch that involved smashing a lot of fake, breakaway furniture.
So what about the showdown this week? Well, as Rampage said of Nelson’s girth, “That’s a big belly.” On visuals alone, anyone would have given Kimbo (trim and cut) the edge over Nelson (rotund and jiggly).
Unfortunately, Kimbo’s ground game remains his greatest flaw; get him on the mat and he’s in trouble. Which was exactly Nelson’s game plan. Once he had Kimbo down, he just laid that massive stomach across Kimbo’s face and Slice was flailing, nearly helpless. After Nelson had him pinned and was pounding Kimbo’s bald pate with one punch after another, the fight was called in the second round, a TKO win for Nelson.
Of course, this being a UFC production headed up by the motor-mouth president Dana White, we immediately saw some future footage that suggested Kimbo may make a quick return to the ring when Marcus Jones experiences some sort of pre-fight jitters.
That’s the thing about TUF these days: It’s so well-cast, with an array of amusing, trash-talking, frequently articulate fighters, that even when a fight like this night’s turns out to be a shoulder-shrugger, you still want to tune in next week, to see who’ll put down who, verbally or physically.
Did you watch The Ultimate Fighter? What did you think?
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Not impressed with Roy at all. Laying your big belly on someones face is not nighting. True, Kimbo went down and he needs to get his ground game improved to even an intermediate level- though still- with that belly on anyone what IS the escape other than not going down?
Roy acted like a child after the “fight”. He won. He did not BEAT Kimbo.
That was a BS fight. Roy “BIG” country Nelson just laid th at big ass belly on Kimbo and that was it. I couldn’t escape that big fukin’ belly.
it was great 2 see another side of kimbo slice (still wtf dude, u had plenty time of time 2 work on your ground game before the show)
he is in his 20 retard hes 28
It wasn’t kimbos fault Roy can’t fight, he cocky and arogant. Only reason he won was cus he fell on kimbo and just layed there.
Ya is was a BS fight so what. Move on get ya training up to par. Kimbo needs to work on nothing but his ground game and conditioning cause no one will want to or be able to stand toe to toe with Kimbo and take those hits. It just not possible.” you know the song trunk hit hard like Kimbo Slice !”
I still like the brother and I think he will be great in the world of the UFC. Think about it if he would have started mixed martial arts when he was in his 20’s. Unstopable KIMBO KIMBO KIMBO! MIAMI BABY
Yeah dude that fight was bull shit i still believe in kimbo and i know hes a way better fight and yeah if he works on his ground game way more he will be unstopable foreal hes the hardest trainer on there but yeah man he couldve wone that fight but that dude was just fat as shit
Great show so far- and it’s fantastic to see that White & Co are willing to let it all hang out, having Slice fight and lose so early in the show.
The fight was really quite good… Watching Roy Nelson test Slice’s power shots and immediately
recognize that he needed to take the broad-shouldered man down was almost comic… Even for a man as skilled as Nelson, the desire to just “make sure” that those big arms are as powerful as they look is hard to miss. Nelson implemented his (somewhat weak, but very intelligently conducted) ground & pound strategy perfectly, barely breaking a sweat to take the fight…
Kudos to Roy Nelson, proof that you just cannot judge a book by its cover!
What you mean Kudos to Roy Nelson that was one of the most pathetic fights I have ever seen. I have never been much of a Kimbo fan but as far as I am concerned he won that one, he did more damage in 3 hits than Nelson did in every one. Personally even though they say he one Nelson looks like the loser of that match it was absolutely pathetic.
Oh, and Kimbo is strong as hell, but along with his wrestling and ju jitsu (like, he needs to learn some) he needs to build up his legs- they’re far too weak. He’s just top-heavy…
Kimbo needs to learn to sprawl. What he should have done is kept Roy moving backwards. It’s hard to shoot when you are circling backwards to avoid being hit.
Kimbo is a joke in MMA. He will lose as long as he keeps fighting in MMA. This is his 2nd lose and in his first lose he never went to the ground…WAIT yes he did after he was KO’ed by Seth. You see he isnt a MMA figher. his ground game will never allow him to be a good MMA fighter. i say this becasue of his age. with age you start to lose a lot and his ground game cant catch up in time as he isnt getting any younger. ask Chuck or Randy they will tell you how age is your enemy. Sorry kimbo you will never be a good MMA figher. Yes you did well by making money off your name but thats as far as you will make it.
He didn’t lose by KO it was TKO. If someone trips and falls on the ground does that mean they got knocked out? I don’t think so.
Is he any more of a joke than Roy Nelson? Nelson’s considered a season vet and yet he’s the fattest BJJ black belt on the planet. He reminds me of Chris Farley in Beverly Hills Ninja.
EVER SO TRUE !!!!
Yeah well it’s not a body building contest is it? He beat Kimbo, just as he’s beaten plenty of other fighters. He didn’t hold the IFL heavyweight title for nothing….
“ask Chuck or Randy they will tell you how age is your enemy.”
That’s kind of funny considering that Lidell was pretty much a stand-up fighter for most of his career, and only added to his ground game later on. I think if Kimbo gets some defensive skills on the ground, he could be a fair fighter…not a contender, but a solid fighter. He allowed himself to be cruicifixed TWICE! I have nothing against Big Country either…he’s a decent fighter. I just wonder why Rothwell got a UFC contract and BC has to go thru the house when in the IFL, they were both about on the same level.
Yeah chuck was a stand up fighter but not because he did not have a ground game. He had a wrestling background before he started kickboxing besides if no one can take you down you can just be a stand up fighter.
@ #bays – I agree with you. That’s why I think Kimbo really just needs to add to his takedown defense (which he did stuff a couple of good attempts in the first round, but Big Country just stuck with it until he got him to the ground) and learn how to pass a guard, and he could be a decent fighter, able to bring it back to the feet. You don’t have to have all the skills to be a good MMA fighter, just enough to keep the fight within your game, and whatever your game is just has to be good enough to beat the other guy at that same game. Like Chuck, Kimbo has some very heavy hands and can be a legit fighter as long as he can keep it (or get it back to) standing up.
Yeah age is an issue but just like with randy it doesn’t have to be that big of a problem…he’s inton his 40’s and he is still putting on great fights and he is still doing well for himself I think kimbo needs to work on every other part of his game but as soon as he does he will be one of trhe roughest fighters in the game
I was amped to see this fight all week, and was def pulling for Kimbo. Its just hard not to cheer for this guy, he’s got heart. But I also think it was a long shot for him to take nelson. In the first round he was getting pounded in the head repeatedly, I’m thinking any other fighter and the fight would have been stopped then as he wasn’t defending himself intelligently. Still it was good to see that the UFC would allow Kimbo to lose this early, I’m thinking he will be back and end up with a contract. I think he can improve his ground game to a point where he can compete in the UFC. Go kimbo!
I don’t know that Herb Dean would have stopped the fight if it was anybody else. He could see, as Dana White said after the fight, that the blows Kimbo was taking to the top of his head weren’t doing any real damage. I think it was a good stoppage in the second round, as the ref saw Kimbo was not able to move that tub o lard off of him and letting the fight continue would have been stoopid. I think Kimbo has shown heart and humility so far and was glad to see him on TUF. Dana White has already said Kimbo will fight in the UFC, but unless Kimbo improves on the rest of his game, it won’t be very many times. The preview for next week seemed to hint that Kimbo may get another opportunity on TUF when a teammate can’t fight. The editor’s aren’t usually very subtle (remember that Nelson was shown telling his teammates by the pool the night before the fight that he planned on getting Kimbo in the crucifix and pounding his head, which is exactly what happened.
I get tired of all the Kimbo haters who turn their criticisms into personal attacks. Yeah he was over-hyped buy an organization trying to generate buzz (beyond Nick Diaz’ perpetual state), but he isn’t pursuing an MMA career for reasons different than any other up and comer, he just got there differently.
roy does have skill, but all he did was sit on kimbo and hit him in the the like a little girl those punches didnt ahve power kimbo jsut couldnt get up because roy is jsut Bigger than him(Fatter).But Kimbo Needs to improve his ground game once he does its over! Kimbo is just a good fighter.
When Kimbo was in the crucifix, there was nothing he could do to defend himself. I don’t think he even needs a ground “game” to become a much better fighter, just better ground defense. If he can roll out of there and get back to his feet, it’s back in his game. Roy is a good, experienced fighter. He knew what he was doing. While he may be fat, he knows how to use it (not just pin the guy down, but take his arms out of the equation). I do think that his belly made his punches a lot weaker. He doesn’t have the athleticism to get the leverage to ground and pound a guy to submission like, say, Brock Lesnar does. Brock can use his weight to pin a guy down, but still lift himself up enough to get a strong punch. Roy can’t do that.
I agree with Crit I mean Nelson wasn’t putting any heat behind those punches, my daughter could have laid there and took it. If he was really hitting hard Kimbo would have been out! He just basically suffocated Kimbo with his ginormous gut and slapped him on the head. Granted Kimbo needs to up his ground game but that was no exciting win, and nelson acted like he put on this awesome show and was this huge success when in fact he’s become nothing but a big joke and I don’t think this fight helped him.
Yea, last night was dissapointing to say the least….once i saw kimbo get taken down i knew it was all over….. roy just weighed to much for kimbo to move his fat butt off of it…from there, he just had to you his weight to his advantage and get him in the cruisifix position and it was all over….you already know kimbo is going to get another chance…they wouldnt of aired this so early if kimbo was getting the ratings for this season of TUF.
Best season yet huh? Had you ever even heard of the UFC before your boss sent you on a mission to write an article? What a joke – way to lose credibility in the first sentence.
What about season 1? Are you suggesting that ANYthing you’ve seen this season compares to bonnar v griffin? What about other seasons? CB Dolloway? Josh Koscheck? Cole Miller? Diego Sanchez? Mac Danzig?
These fat, out of shape, wanna be fighters have no place in the UFC. Other than Brock Lesnar, these guys are all gassed after 30 seconds. The fights amount to the fattest guy winning by laying on top of the other guy. Kimbo is a joke too – he’s a great publicity stunt but I guarantee you Dana White is kicking himself for letting last night happen. Viewership might have been up but that will be the peak. Nobody will tune in to watch crap like that. We want Anderson Silva’s, GSP’s, Lyota Mochida’s, Nate Diaz’s – guys with skill and talent. This season of TUF is a disgrace to the Ultimate Fighter name.
that fight was horrid, this season has been weak in general
I agree and question whether Ken Tucker has actually seen other seasons of TUF. I was really looking forward to seeing the heavies go at it but they are so out of shape. Even Rashad’s #1 McSweeny was too gassed to finish a TWO ROUND FIGHT…
I agree too. All three fights have been boring as hell so far. But I find that most of the time with heavyweights. Once the fight gets to the ground it’s just one big guy smothering another big guy for two to three minutes. That’s why I prefer welterweight and lightweights. Way more transitions, way more speed, way more excitement.
kimbo has god given talent he just need to learn a few more things on the ground and he will be ustoppable
This fight was a joke. I was so disapointed. Kimbo has great heart and chrisma. Roy had nothing less than a cheap win. If you watched the post fight comments during the show even Dana White said Roy was hitting Kimbo about as hard as his daughter does when they are play fighting. All he did was manipulate Kimbo and expose his weakness. Kimbo does have a lot of work left to do, but Roy does not deserve any gratitude for winning in my opionin. It wasn’t like he was beating Kimbo senseless, they were just love taps. The funniest thing was when Rampage said having Roy Nelson on you is like trying to get the moon off you. Haha.
I’m so glad EW is covering The Ultimate Fighter – at last my love of MMA and pop culture has finally come together! The result of the Kimbo fight was predictable and he still has a lot to learn but you can’t help but like him for his humble attitude, willingness to learn, and his outsider status. Rashad and Rampage = good tv.
I hope this season breaks from what it has been so far, and what I predicted-Which has been one fight after another of wheezing fat men, out of gas after half a round. Without knockouts, heavyweights are BORING.