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This comes in the wake of many tirades and rants from Dana either in his YouTube blog, or on radio interviews across the country, where he has stated what a bum Kimbo is, and how he would never last in the UFC.

Among Dana White’s constant bashing of “pussies,” “faggots,” and anything else not his BFF this week, we can all recall how much Dana degraded the name of Kimbo Slice. In case you’ve lived under a rock for the past couple of years, Kimbo Slice, the street brawler turned Mixed Martial Artist was trying his luck at getting national attention and stardom. Which, in a way, Dana White gave him by bashing him at every turn. Kimbo took it and ran with it, netting himself an undefeated record until everyone’s favorite over the hill fighter, Ken Shamrock, decided to headbut a wall. His absence from that fight forced Kimbo to go up against UFC-reject, Seth Petruzelli, in which he was knocked out fourteen seconds into the first round.

Dana, right as always, took the high road in the aftermath, which involved a promoter being investigated for tampering with a fight, a company filing for bankruptcy, and fighters filing suit in order to jump ship and fight with other companies. Okay, I lied. Dana was a gloating prick, as usual. But did that really surprise you? I mean, it’s not often that you see this bald headed goon go off on expletive-laced tangents on his YouTube blog. He reminds me of a thirteen year old talking about all the Twilight haters. One of the things he brought up was the idea that Kimbo Slice was now going to be a free agent with the collapse of EliteXC. Where would the big bald black beast end up? Not in the UFC, according to Mr. White. He even went as far to say that if Kimbo ever wanted a chance at the UFC, he could compete for a spot by going on the Ultimate Fighter.

Imagine the balls it takes to say that to someone. Now, I’m not going to claim that Kimbo is an established fighter by any stretch of the word. He was only 3-1, and really didn’t beat anyone that notable. He was protected by EliteXC, and he wasn’t properly prepared for a fight against a guy who did compete at the highest level of MMA. But at the same time, the guy is a spectacle. Why not just give him a chance and let him fight on an undercard? See how he does. That’s not Dana’s style. He enjoys humiliating people, making them feel beneath him. That’s fairly obvious from his bashing of everything under the sun, and from a management prospective, it’s probably the stupidest thing you can do. I’m sure anyone who works for Dana will praise him, though (or be the victim of another YouTube shoot!). But to me, it’s all a frat house mentality anyway. I’m almost surprised that Zuffa’s headquarters doesn’t have the name on the front in Greek letters.

Well, Kimbo shows that deep down, he really is humble. All you heard about was how willing Kimbo was to learn the fight game. How he worked his tail off to fight at the highest level. Sure, he fought some nobodies, almost lost once, and then got a TKO that finished off both his momentum and a company. But this is probably the biggest step in showing how humble and willing the man truly is.

Dana White put it on the table, and Kimbo has accepted it. While the prospects of seeing Kimbo Slice working with either Rashad Evans or Rampage Jackson has me already scrambling to get a DVR box, I think we will see a different Kimbo. A Kimbo that is willing to prove that he belongs at the pinnacle of the sport. And you know what? I hope he succeeds. He’s the next star that the UFC heavyweight division needs. He can make things interesting for either Brock Lesnar or Frank Mir. Most importantly, to me at least, he can shut Dana White up by coming into camp, keeping his mouth shut, and learning from two phenomenal fighters, and winning the whole damn thing. But that wouldn’t make good TV, now would it? Then again, it could be Kimbo’s own way of shoving it all back in Dana’s face. It’s time for Kimbo to prove to the world he is ready to hang with the best of the best.

Check out EliteXC: Street Certified – Kimbo Slice vs. Tank Abbott on DVD by clicking here.

The Ultimate Fighter: Season 3 – Shamrock vs. Ortiz – The Ultimate Grudge

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Erik Espenberg is a native New Yorker who is an avid fan of the Yankees, Rangers, and Jets. When not writing for Camel Clutch, he can be found killing his brain cells playing assorted video games. He can be contacted at [email protected].