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[Sakara=Excitement]

Boos Were Warranted, Slice Says

LAS VEGAS -- Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson heard the chorus of boos and understood why it was delivered.

The 35-year-old street-fighter turned mixed martial artist fought patiently in his unanimous decision victory over Houston Alexander at “The Ultimate Fighter 10” Finale on Saturday at the Palms Casino Resort. Slice spent much of the first round stalking Alexander, who circled to his left and avoided early exchanges, much to the displeasure of those in attendance.

“I would have booed, too,” said Slice, who made his first official appearance since his embarrassing 14-second loss to Seth Petruzelli 14 months ago.

The two men picked up the pace in rounds two and three of their 215-pound catchweight tilt. Slice hit one of his high notes when he deposited Alexander on his head with a devastating slam in the second, and Alexander made his move in the third with a crippling leg kick. Neither of them could seal the deal, however, and Slice earned a unanimous verdict on the scorecards -- 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 -- in his anticipated UFC debut.

“He rode the ring a lot,” Slice said. “It was probably his game plan; maybe a little fear, too. But I think it was more his game plan than anything else. I wanted to bang. The crowd is there to be entertained, and we’re entertainers.”

Slice -- who succumbed to second-round strikes against eventual winner Roy Nelson in his only bout during Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series -- plans to continue his training at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., his manager, Mike Imber, told Sherdog.com. There, his eyes have been opened to an entirely new level of training, preparation and dedication.

“You have to be almost genius-type smart,” he said. “You have all these dimensions balled into one.”

[LefthookStcrook]

I was waiting for Houston to win the decision because of his back-peddling

[ckauffman28]

well now at least we will see kimbo in the ufc 2 more times at least...

[notBJpenn]

Originally Posted by Lefthookstcrook

I was waiting for Houston to win the decision because of his back-peddling

It's a good game plan, I mean it's worked in the past...lol

[AmboPB]

Glad to see Kimbo's gonna stick with ATT for the time being at least. Such a solid top level camp can only improve his game overall. I mean, look at the obvious difference in just this past fight from his previous against Nelson. Granted Houston is much smaller than Nelson, doesn't have remotely the same level of ground skills, and is primarily a striker much like Slice, but all the same you could see a major difference already in his game. I never see Kimbo challenging for the heavyweight title, or even being any sort of serious title contender; but I do think he'll give the audience at least a few solid entertaining bouts during his UFC tenure.

[danaloveschuck]

I don't know how long Houston's contract was for but if it was for more than one fight he will be cut before the end of the week. I was expecting 30 seconds of mayhem. If I'm going to watch a fight as a guilty pleasure it should at least be entertaining.

[GL Jeff]

I dont blame Kimbo for Houston backing up the whole fight. And anyone who thought Houston should of won wasn't watching the fight I was. Kimbo has crazy power, he landed jabs that sent Houston reeling backwards. And great TD's from Kimbo, and that slam was very good, ATT is making him into a monster.

[JakeMorgan]

I want to see Kimbo fight Bryan Stann and Doug Marshall. I think they would be good fights to watch. KImbo isn't a world class fighter Neither are Stann or Marshall but all three will stand and deliver

[Lok Bresnar]

Would not surprise me if UFC brass paid off Alexander to just lay off and let Kimbo win it. Same way Strikeforce tried to bribe Petruzelli to keep the fight with Kimbo standing. We all know exactly what Dana and the UFC want from Kimbo. It's not rocket science.

[Lok Bresnar]

Originally Posted by AmboPB

Glad to see Kimbo's gonna stick with ATT for the time being at least. Such a solid top level camp can only improve his game overall. I mean, look at the obvious difference in just this past fight from his previous against Nelson. Granted Houston is much smaller than Nelson, doesn't have remotely the same level of ground skills, and is primarily a striker much like Slice, but all the same you could see a major difference already in his game. I never see Kimbo challenging for the heavyweight title, or even being any sort of serious title contender; but I do think he'll give the audience at least a few solid entertaining bouts during his UFC tenure.

Obvious difference? Kimbo looked as pathetic and hopeless out there against Alexander as he did against Nelson. If that was Nelson in there, Kimbo would've gotten crunched again the same way.