By John McMullen
The Phanatic Magazine
The Kimbo phenomenon is alive and well.
Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson overwhelmed former UFC star David "Tank" Abbott in 43 seconds before a sellout crowd of 6,187 in the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami.
Kimbo (3-0), a Florida native, wowed the crowd en route to demolishing Abbott (9-14). Slice knocked Abbott down three times and the knockout could have come even sooner but the ref stopped things for a moment after an illegal punch to the back of the head.
"I wanted him to get up, I wanted to bang," Kimbo said. "I had to push him off because we were too close. Then I just knocked him down. It was great fighting in front of the hometown fans. I'd be lying if I told you they didn't jack me up.
"I have a lot of respect for Tank. This was one of my dream fights, along with Mike Tyson. But I am ready to fight anybody and ready to fight again really soon."
Abbott was gracious in defeat. "I tried to take it to him at the start and take him to the ground, but then I just said, the heck with that and started to fight," Abbott said. "But I ran into one and that was it. I was just getting started.
"It is still too early to know how good or great Kimbo will be. But what I do know is that I absolutely want to keep fighting. Maybe I will go after Ken Shamrock."
In other action, Antonio Silva (10-1) won a split decision over Ricco Rodriguez (27-8) in a heavyweig
ht encounter, 28-29, 30-27 and 29-28.Rodriguez scored a takedown in round one and won it 10-9 thanks to some impressive ground and pound.
Silva bounced back in round 2, dominating the action and busting Rodriguez's left eye open. The former UFC heavyweight champ told the referee he couldn't see and got a breather.
Round 3 was give and take, Silva controlled the early portion but Rodriguez was able to take him down with about 90 seconds left and scored the rest of the way. The Phanatic Magazine gave it to Silva 29-28.
"Ricco is a dangerous fighter," Silva said. "I knew it was going to be a tough fight. I fought hard and came out with a victory, but it was a difficult fight for me."
"The reality is, I didn't train as long for this fight as I needed to, but I think I showed that I am still dedicated and can fight,"’ Rodriguez said. "I am in this for the long haul and I wouldn't be surprised if we fought a rematch. I would love to fight Silva again."
Scott Smith (15-4) lost the first round to Kyle Noke (14-4-1) but rebounded to floor Noke seconds into the second round at 180 pounds.
"I'm sorry for that first round, that's not the way I fight," Smith said. "I didn't start to get comfortable until toward the end of the round."
At 165 pounds, MMA veteran Yves Edwards KO'd Edson Berto late in the first round with a jumping knee. Berto was attempting a single leg takedown when he got caught.
"I am back and ready to fight anybody," Edwards said. "I'd love to fight (EliteXC lightweight champion KJ) Noons. He’s the guy with the gold. If you're not doing this to be a world champion, you better do something else."
Meanwhile, in another heavyweight encounter, Brett Rogers connected with a knee to the jaw and quickly followed with a flurry of punches that knocked out James Thompson midway through round one.
"I don't think I have to say anything; it showed for itself," Rogers said."He's got a weak chin and I knew it was going to happen."
In non-televised fights Moyses Gabin (2-0), of Miami, registered a 2:32, first-round knockout over Jirka Hlavaty (1-2), of Miami; Lorenzo Borgameo (3-0), of Miami, won by submission (triangle) at 4:11 of the second round over Mike Bernhard (3-1), of Miami; Eric Bradley (3-1), of Las Vegas, took a unanimous decision over Mikey Gomez (6-4), of Orlando; Dave Herman (10-0), of Indiana, scored a third-round TKO over Mario Rinaldi (6-3), of Miami; Yosmany Cabezas (5-0), of Tampa, won by second-round submission (rear naked choke) over Jon Kirk (10-3), of Houston; and Rafael Feijao (4-1), of Brazil, knocked out John Doyle (6-2), of Allentown, Penn., at 2:17 of the first round.
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