The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

KEVIN “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson will step back into the Bellator cage this week to settle a score with a former employee and fellow

street fighter from the South Florida area.

Slice will be the co-headliner at Bellator 149 against rival Dhafir “Dada 500” Harris on Friday at the Toyota Centre in Houston, Texas. The card will be aired live on Spike TV.

The tale of the tape gives the edge to Harris at 6ft 4in and 265lbs while Slice stands two inches shorter and 29lbs lighter.

Both fighters were veterans of the underground fight scene in Miami and Harris worked as security for Slice once his bare knuckle brawls went viral.

Their relationship has since soured since Slice rose to international prominence and Harris has attempted to publicise his own bare knuckle boxing startup promotion.

Neither fighter has shrunk from an opportunity to offer a bold prediction.

“With this clown here, it’s personal,” Slice said at Tuesday’s open workouts. “So I’m just not going to beat him to want to beat him. I’m trying to hurt him. I’m going to try to exploit my ability to try to break his jaw or break his ribs.

“I’m going to try to break something. If I get his ankle, I’m going to break it. I know I’ve got a few seconds before the ref gets in there, so I’m going to go as fast as (I can) … to end this guy’s career.”

Harris, who has a career professional win-loss record of 2-0, said: “I’m a slugger, I’m a brawler and I’m coming in there. I just got my black belt. What’s it in? It’s in blunt-force trauma.

“Everybody’s going to earn their money come Friday night. My suggestion for the EMT? Keep the bed ringside for that guy because he’s going to need it.”

The co-headline event will be Royce Gracie against Ken Shamrock.

Slice defeated Shamrock at Bellator 138 last June in one of the highest-rated shows for the promotion. At the “Unfinished Business” card on Spike TV, 2.1 million viewers tuned in to watch Slice escape an early rear-naked choke hold to defeat Shamrock by knockout at the 2min 22sec mark in the first round.

Bellator’s previous highest viewership came in November, when 1.8 million viewers tuned in to see Tito Ortiz defeat Stephan Bonnar at Bellator 131.

With the victory, Slice improved to 5-2, while the loss dropped Shamrock to 28-16-2.

Slice became an Internet sensation when his series of street fights became popular on Youtube.com. He converted a career as a backyard street fighter into becoming one of the most sought after fighters in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) history.

His career as an MMA fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship was short lived however, limited to just two fights.

After the brief but much-hyped stint in the world of MMA, Slice looked to capitalise again on his notoriety, with an attempt at professional wrestling. He then ventured in professional boxing in 2010 and he posted a 7-0 win-loss record up to 2013 before it was announced on January 16, 2015 that he had signed to Bellator MMA.