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[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Kimbo Slice Off UFC 113 Card as James Toney Speculation Mounts7
Comments 3/04/2010 2:00 PM ET By Michael David Smith

The UFC formally announced last month that Kimbo Slice would be making his pay-per-view debut at UFC 113. But Kimbo's fight against Matt Mitrione is absent from the official UFC 113 card at UFC.com.

And a whole lot of people are thinking that it's more than just coincidence that Kimbo's next fight was called into question just hours after the UFC announced that James Toney will step into the Octagon.

Toney's trainer Juanito Ibarra is already on the record as saying he hopes Kimbo is Toney's first opponent in the UFC. Prior to signing with the UFC, Toney said he wanted to fight Kimbo, although he seemed only vaguely aware of who Kimbo was and repeatedly called him "Simba."

But even if he doesn't know who Kimbo is, Toney knows that the best opponent for him is someone who is:
1. A well-known name
2. Not good enough at wrestling and Brazilian jiu jitsu to simply take him down and dominate him.

Kimbo is really the only fighter under contract to the UFC who qualifies in both categories. Kimbo vs. Toney would be a huge pay-per-view draw and would probably generate more mainstream media hype than any other UFC fight all year. And Kimbo is not a particularly good MMA fighter, especially on the ground, which means Toney would have a real chance of winning his UFC debut. (Randy Couture, on the other hand, would probably need less than a minute to take Toney down and beat him on the ground by TKO or submission.)

And as much as a Kimbo vs. Toney fight would have "freak show" written all over it, it would actually be a somewhat interesting stylistic match-up. I honestly don't know who I'd pick to win. Do you?

UPDATE: To clarify, although UFC President Dana White said publicly that Kimbo would fight Mitrione at UFC 113, and although the UFC announced during UFC 110 that Kimbo would fight on UFC 113, the Kimbo vs. Mitrione fight was never listed at UFC.com. Until an official opponent for Kimbo is listed at UFC.com, expect the speculation to continue.

Kimbo Slice Off UFC 113 Card as James Toney Speculation Mounts -- MMA Fighting

This Toney thing is pretty interesting and I would not be surprised whatsoever if they pulled the Mitrione fight for this one, seeing as how much bank this fight could draw....

[Xtremo]

This doesn't look respectable for MMA in my eyes for the UFC to make such a fight...but at the same time, I can't wait!! (if it gets signed)

[beau420]

I predict Kimbo vs Mercer outcome.

Kimbo is not a good boxer....throws nice hooks and counters, but he has horrible footwork...just watch his fight vs Houston Alexander, he didn't know how to cut off the ring and just followed Alexander around.

I predict Kimbo going for takedown and making Toney tap out....probably RNC....could go for kimura if he still remembers the training Bas gave him.

I hated Mittrone on the TUF show....but after seeing him in a couple interviews and his last outing....I was pretty impressed. I was looking forward to seeing him take out Kimbo.

[QOTSA420]

This has the potential to be a sloppy fight to me. Not something I am overly excited about. If Kimbo does not get knocked out he will probably drag James to the ground and pull off an ugly sub. I dont particularly like this match up. I was thinking maybe UFC would give Coleman a chance at Toney, to kinda figure out where the boxer stands.

[OutlawRicky]

Why not wait , do not make sense to get a loss on any of their cash cow's record.

TONEY

Achievements
• The WBA Heavyweight Champion 4/30/2005 Ruled no-decision
• The Ring Magazine “2003 Fighter of the Year”
• USA Today “2003 Fighter of the Year”
• World championship fights - 10-1-1
• Rated WBO #1, The Ring #5, WBC #3, WBA #3, IBF #4 at heavyweight
• Former IBF cruiserweight world champion
• Former IBF super middleweight world champion, 3 successful defenses
• Former IBF middleweight world champion, 6 successful defenses
• Former USBA light heavyweight champion
• The Ring Magazine “1991 Fighter of the Year”

[Rambo]

Aren't both Toney and Kimbo Dana's cash cows right now? Both transcend MMA and bring in their own base of fans. Toney brings in a large pool of boxing fans and Kimbo is Kimbo...Internet streetfighting sensation I guess you can call it.

[Kimbo> Rampage]

im sick of the mma vs. boxing topic using kimbo as the mma fighter. not on the mma forums but on sports shows that call it a top mma guy vs. a top boxer, just because kimbo is a known fighter. The ufc needs to have a better fighter represent mma. I do understand it from a ppv perspective

[Renny]

i dont think they should fight right now, they can fight on separate cards against lesser well rounded easy opponents, and still generate the money....then slowly build the fight.....

[The Sensational One]

What if, i know this is crazy and prolly not ever going to happen, but Kimbo vs Toney as the main event on spike to counter program Strikeforces April CBS card?

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by rampage9712

im sick of the mma vs. boxing topic using kimbo as the mma fighter. not on the mma forums but on sports shows that call it a top mma guy vs. a top boxer, just because kimbo is a known fighter. The ufc needs to have a better fighter represent mma. I do understand it from a ppv perspective

It's about who puts butts in seats. Bottom line.