Tentative Jabs, Then the Takedown

Roy “Big Country” Nelson defeated Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson by ground-and-pound technical knockout on the third episode of The Ultimate Fighter 10 reality show, which aired on Spike last night. Spike and the Ultimate Fighting Championship had been hyping this fight as “the greatest fight in the history of The Ultimate Fighter.” Nobody really believed this, but most mixed martial arts fans were certainly interested in seeing how the former street fighter would fare against a proven mixed martial artist.

The outcome did not surprise me in the least. In fact, it ended almost exactly the way I’d envisioned it, with Nelson on top of Kimbo, pounding him out.

But it wasn’t precisely as I’d envisioned it. I had actually pictured Nelson in the full mount, raining down big punches or big elbows. Alternatively, I imagined a Nelson submission win, with Kimbo on his stomach and Nelson on Kimbo’s back, applying a rear naked choke.

Neither of these scenes actually played out. The first of the two rounds started with the two fighters throwing very tentative jabs at each other. The one strike that did land was a leg kick from Kimbo. I was actually very surprised at how tentative both fighters were with their punches. Both Kimbo and Nelson have won fame as hard-hitting knockout artists, and maybe that’s what led them to be somewhat overrespectful of each other.

The Belly of the Beast

Nelson finally managed to clinch with Kimbo almost three minutes into the round, after an exchange in which Kimbo showed he had the quicker, crisper punches. After a bit of wrangling up against the cage, Nelson secured a takedown. Big Country almost immediately got a full mount, but he opted to give it up and transition to side control instead. He then worked to attain a cruciform position, pinning Kimbo’s arms to the mat so that he could land unblocked punches to Kimbo’s head.

The problem was that his own gigantic belly got in the way. Only a bit of Kimbo’s forehead was exposed, and the rest of the head was submerged beneath the sea of pale flesh that is Nelson’s stomach. Being forced to punch to the hard noggin bone with his left hand, Nelson threw a lot of little punches, hoping referee Herb Dean would stop it since Kimbo was obviously unable to defend himself intelligently. Herb didn’t buy it, though, and he let the clock run out.

Kimbo came out swinging harder in Round 2, but Nelson wasted no time closing the distance and getting the bearded Bahamanian-American back down to the ground. Big Country opted to pick up where he’d left off in the previous round. After working a bit to get Kimbo’s right arm pinned under his left knee, he once again started methodically punching Kimbo in the head. This time around, though, he had better access to the side of the head, and referee Dean judiciously stopped the fight.

Nelson walked over to UFC President Dana White, who was sitting next to the cage, and asked for a double whopper with cheese. Dana giggled, but during an interview after the fight, White didn’t seem too thrilled with Nelson’s performance, saying that the big man’s punches to Kimbo’s head were like White’s little daughter’s punches.

I think Dana was being unfair. Nelson did what he had to do to win the fight. I think he was being careful not to break a knuckle against Kimbo’s head. It’s the kind of thing a veteran would think about, particularly if he has his eyes on winning it all.

Big Country, Big Opportunity

I don’t think there’s any reason Nelson can’t win the title on The Ultimate Fighter 10, and the six-figure UFC contract that comes with it. He’s got more real experience than anyone else on the show except Wes Sims, but Nelson’s been a lot more successful. Sims has a track record of losing tough fights against good opponents, hence his 22-12-1 record. By contrast, Nelson is 13-4-0, and three of his four losses came at the hands of truly top-level fighters: Jeff “The Snowman” Monson, Andrei “Pitbull” Arlovski and Ben Rothwell.

Last time I wrote about this matchup, I suggested Nelson lose 25 to 30 pounds of fat to make him more competitive as a UFC heavyweight. I take that back. I think he could lose 60 pounds and be an excellent UFC light heavyweight at 205 pounds. At six feet tall and with his frame, that’s really the weight at which he should be fighting. If he got in top shape, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to run in the pack with Forrest Griffin, Keith Jardine, Michael Bisping, Wanderlei Silva, and the other predators who lurk in that stacked division.

Nelson’s a talented and smart fighter who can adapt to various situations in order to win. He proved that numerous times on his way up the International Fight League ladder, all the way up to earning the heavyweight championship belt.

For all his joking and pretending to be proud of his belly, Nelson’s got to know that he could really be one of the best in the game if he got his act together and lost the extra weight. Six months of a healthy diet and plenty of aerobic exercise would easily melt away all that blubber. I say he goes for it. Inside that obese bad boy is a sleek fighting machine waiting to get out.

As for Kimbo Slice, it’s pretty clear from the promotional clips shown after the show that Dana White and the UFC intend to put him back in the octagon at the first opportunity. Kimbo is this season’s top marketing tool for the reality show, so they’re doing their best to keep him in the public eye. And with good reason: Kimbo is cool. He is really a special person. He is earnest, genuine, funny and winsome. He is bursting with charisma. I want to hang out with at a backyard barbecue and watch him play with his kids. He’s that kind of guy.

Check Out Video of Big Country Squashing Kimbo With Authority! Watch Video Now!

Check Out MMA Scuttlebutt: Kimbo Slice to Rise Again in Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale! Read It Now!

Check Out Our Backgrounder on Big Country vs. Kimbo Slice Read It Now!

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