Kimbo signs with Showtime-based EliteXC

By John McMullen
The Phanatic Magazine

Kimbo Slice, the YouTube created MMA star, signed a multi-year contract with Los Angeles-based EliteXC Thursday.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The move comes on the heels of canceled October 12 Cage Fighting Fury show in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, which was scheduled to be headlined by Kimbo and former UFC star Tank Abbott. The event was scuttled after a major investor pulled out of the show.

"Kimbo is a street fighting and Internet legend who has in excess of five million downloads on YouTube," said EliteXC live events president Gary Shaw. "He is a brutal fighter who has a take-no prisoners approach. We have had our eye on Kimbo from day one and have been actively pursing him since. We struck when the time was right, and now we have our man.

"For those who have never seen him, they are going to witness perhaps the most vicious of all fighters. It is going to be very exciting for Mixed Martial Arts fans who have been anxiously waiting for him to step into the cage on SHOWTIME to see how Kimbo does as he continues to cross over into MMA. I can’t express how happy we all are to have Kimbo become a part of our ProElite/EliteXC family."

The 6-foot-2, 250-pound Kimbo has been honing his MMA skills in recent months under the tutelage of legendary fighter Bas Rutten.

"I’m excited about this great opportunity," Kimbo said. "I’ve been waiting to fight and this is my chance. I’ll be ready for whoever they put me in with on November 10."

Kimbo won his lone MMA outing with a 1:12, first-round guillotine choke victory over former world boxing heavyweight champion Ray Mercer in June 2007 at Boardwalk Hall.

Elite XC also signed former UFC star Nick Diaz to an extension.

"Nick is a tremendously talented young fighter and we are extremely thrilled to have him join our family," Shaw said. "He is a very humble young man and dedicated athlete with an enormous wealth of talent."

Diaz (15-6) will take on KJ Noons (5-2) for the EliteXC 160-pound championship on November 10, in Corpus Christi, Texas.

"This is really awesome," Diaz said. "Everybody knows that I am just a fighter who is looking for some respect and an organization that will let me be me. Gary Shaw and EliteXC really stepped up and I am so grateful and happy for it. Everybody has made my job easier for me. Now I can focus on training to be the best I can be in and out of the cage."