The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

KEVIN “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson continues to be a major draw for the Bellator MMA promotion and despite testing positive for PEDs recently, he headlines another major event this summer.

The Bahamian-born MMA pro is scheduled to take on James Thompson at Bellator 158 at the 02 Arena in London, England, on July 16. The fight will be televised live on Spike TV.

It will be the second meeting between the two fighters after Slice won the first bout via TKO under the now defunct EliteXC promotion in 1998.

It was just the third professional MMA bout of Slice’s career and gave the first indication of his ability as a main draw as the fight produced major positive ratings for CBS.

The fight was remembered as the first major network television showcase for the sport which aided the transformation from niche market to crossover appeal. It was also noteworthy for its gruesome nature as Thompson came into the bout with severe cauliflower ear, which ruptured in the third round.

Slice has a professional record of 6-2 thus far and has gone 3-2 since the first Thompson fight.

Thompson has a record of 20-16, (one no-contest) and enters the bout with a two fight losing streak.

The second bout has now come under scrutiny with several MMA pundits as Slice, 42, tested positive for the anabolic steroid, nandrolone, and an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio prior to his TKO win over Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris in February.

Slice was handed a 90-day suspension by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation as the fight was staged in Houston, Texas.

He followed up the suspension with an explanation of his positive test in an interview with GNP1, including tying in an error with UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock’s sample. Shamrock also tested positive for nandrolone at the Bellator 149 card.

“Maybe the guy (from the laboratory) used the same glove from Ken’s [sample] and touched my [sample] I don’t know,” Slice said.

“We’re fighters man, we’re a little bit older than normal, we’re on a professional level of entertainment. You gotta look at athletes, like really professional athletes, and officers, and fire fighters, who really put their bodies and themselves through what’s not the norm.

“Like, the average guy would be at the desk or at the TV for example, his testosterone levels don’t need to be that high, because he’s just chilling at his job. But when you’re working a job, when you’re a entertainer, when you put your body through some serious workout, I think your levels should be a little bit above normal, because you gotta be able to compete on a professional level.”

He elaborated on the perceived use of PEDs in the sport.

“I don’t think the commissioners should really blackball fighters for having to use a little extra vitamins to perform, because we’re entertainers. We perform on a high level. We put our body through some extreme workout to entertain the public and the media, he said.

“The commissioners should sit down and come to an agreement on what levels should be okay. The levels should be okay for professional entertainers on that level. You know, not so much like some guy who’s doing this for a living. We’re not those guys. We’re just performing for a certain time. So yes, our levels should be just a little bit above normal. That should be okay in the professional world.”

Despite the critics, Slice continues to be a major draw for the promotion as Bellator 149 set new records. The card averaged 1,964,000 viewers over the three hours to beat the company’s all-time record by 24 per cent.

The match against Dada 5000 drew 2.5 million viewers for its 14-minute duration. The prior record was set on June 19 when Slice defeated Shammrock in his Bellator debut. That card averaged 1,580,000 viewers, and peaked with 2.3 million viewers live for the main event.

Bellator 149 was also the third-most watched MMA programme on cable television in nearly five years just behind UFC Fight Night 59 the FS1 aired bantamweight title fight between Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw.