Next Fight for Kimbo Slice?

As of last night Kimbo Slice has officially proven himself in the UFC's octagon against Houston Alexander. While it was a boring fight with a disappointing amount of action it did show that Kimbo has come far since his days of bare-knuckle street fighting. He had a few impressive takedowns against Alexander including a very well-executed slam. While this victory is a step in the right direction Kimbo definitely has a lot of ground to cover. The next question is who will he fight next? Here are a few of the people that I would like Kimbo to fight next.

Matt Mitrione
Fellow Ultimate Fighter 10 cast mate and UFC novice is a good candidate for Kimbo's sophomore fight into the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Matt Mitrione's debut fight at TUF 10 finale showed an impressive win over Marcus Jones. After a close first round Mitrione was able to achieve a technical knock-out over a tired Jones. Both Mitrione and Slice have a slim amount of experience with MMA and only one victory in the UFC. It would be nice to see Kimbo fight someone that doesn't feel washed up, and actually fight someone young. While Kimbo was a fan favorite on TUF1 0 Mitrione was disliked for his negative personality. A fight between them could be seen as another "Team Rashad vs. Team Rampage" fight and should draw viewers attentions.

Chase Gormley
Chase Gormley recently suffered his first professional MMA loss against Stefan Struve at UFC 104 by submission in the first round. As a relative unknown it should be a nice fight for Kimbo Slice. From marketing perspective it could be seen as potential disaster. If Slice were to lose it would prove that he cannot compete at the UFC level of Mixed Martial Arts. For the amount of experience Slice has, he is a very big money maker. Having him have a loss against Gormley could mean tragedy for that. But from the perspective of keeping the UFC the MMA promotion with the highest-level of competiveness, it would be just another test to see if Kimbo belongs.

James McSweeney
I would like to see Kimbo Slice fight James McSweeney for many of the same reasons I would like to see him fight Matt Mitrione. They are both fresh out of TUF into the UFC with a victory under their belt. McSweeney has 8 professional MMA fights with 4 victories though, giving him more experience than Mitrione and Slice combined. It would be a good fight for both McSweeney and Slice; being another fight to weed out who belongs and who doesn't. McSweeney's kickboxing experience has the potential to be a good contrast to Kimbo's street fighting. If this fight comes to be there should be a fair amount of stand-up action, which we all love to see from Kimbo.

Gabriel Gonzaga
Gabriel Gonzaga has much more experience than Kimbo Slice, and by almost all standards is a better fighter. Gonzaga is coming off a strong victory over Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 102 by a technical knockout. While it can be argued that his victory is because of a strong accidental kick to Tuchscherer's groin, Gonzaga still showed strong fighting skills the remainder of the round until his victory. Gabriel Gonzaga would almost surely bring a defeat to Kimbo Slice. But on the off chance that Kimbo does defeat him, he suddenly proves almost undeniably that he does have what it takes to be an MMA fighter, and that is what he needs to do more than anything else.

As a Light Heavyweight?
Kimbo Slice's last fight against Houston Alexander was at a catchweight of 212lbs, just 7 pounds over the weight limit for the Light Heavyweight division. In my opinion with giants like Brock Lesnar at the top of the Heavyweight division contenders weighing in at the 230lb range really don't hold a chance anymore. The Light Heavyweight division is much more competitive and could quickly overwhelm Slice. There are far too many options to start speculating on who Kimbo would fight as a Light Heavyweight, but I can say for sure he wouldn't be looking to take out Lyoto any time soon.

No matter who Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson fights next he has already jumped over his biggest obstacle by not only making it into the UFC, but also by securing a victory in it. While he is almost certainly a way for the UFC to make quick money off of, he has shown us a lot of heart and commitment to the sport. After seeing his Mixed Martial Arts fighting improve each and every fight even his biggest critics have to be anxious to see what he brings us next.