Contrary to rumours suggesting that the fight may have changed, the Ultimate Fighting Championship confirmed today that a planned heavyweight bout between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Matt Mitrione will, in fact, take place at UFC 113 in Montreal, Québec, Canada in May.
Recent reports had speculated that the fight may be moved to the newly-planned April 17th UFC event on SpikeTV, which will run head-to-head against Strikeforce: Nashville on CBS, but today’s announcement confirms that the Slice-Mitrione matchup will remain on pay-per-view.
Slice (4-1-0), a former street fighter, first became an online sensation and later competed twice in MMA on primetime CBS television for the now-defunct EliteXC promotion. Following his shocking loss to late-replacement Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli at EliteXC: “Heat,” Slice was left without a promotion to compete for until he took up UFC President Dana White’s offer to be a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 10. Though he did not win, Slice was later victorious in his UFC debut at the TUF 10 finale.
Mitrione (1-0-0) won his pro debut on the same TUF 10 finale card when he knocked out fellow former professional football player Marcus Jones ten seconds into the second round of their fight. The talented and heavy-handed Mitrione was anything but popular during his time on TUF 10, but he saw the error of his ways and has stated that he is focused on competing and improving in MMA. Like Slice, he will make his pay-per-view debut at UFC 113 in a fight that promises fireworks.
With both fighters preferring to stand and trade, the fight could be over very quickly. Slice is coming off of a lacklustre decision victory over fellow brawler Houston “The Assassin” Alexander and he will need to employ a different game plan when he faces Mitrione, who will look to make a big name for himself at Slice’s expense. With decent takedowns and an improving ground game, Mitrione may take the fight to the mat if he finds himself in trouble.
UFC 113: “Machida vs Shogun 2” takes place on May 8th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Québec, Canada. The event is headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship rematch between Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)