UFC loss won't stop Kimbo

As the first round opened between Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson, I couldn't take my eyes off Kimbo's hands. Bulky, gloved and almost paw-ish, Kimbo's hands fluttered — left, right, slight hesitation, quick stutter step, left, right.

In previous fights I've watched, I can't remember being so fixated on the attributes of one fighter. I didn't watch with amazement as Chuck Liddell's patented overhand right sent opponents into oblivion during his reign of terror. I was never stupefied by any of Brock Lesnar's merciless ground and pound.

But Kevin Ferguson, now more widely known as Kimbo Slice, was different. In a sport where only a few fighters have managed to attain mainstream popularity, Kimbo has been able to capture America's attention, and in only four professional fights.

As a mixed martial arts fan, I love it when the sport receives media attention. And right at the time when MMA seems to be hitting its stride — breaking pay-per-view and network TV records, expanding into foreign markets, hovering at the edge of mainstream popularity — it's biggest star isn't much of a mixed martial artist at all. He's more of a street fighter.

But Kimbo Slice lost last Wednesday night. His fight with Roy Nelson drew 6.1 million viewers, but Kimbo was never in much of a position to win that fight.

Following his victory, Nelson said he did exactly what he wanted to do.

"I baited him to come in for the kill so I could clinch him and take him down," he said.

The moment when Nelson took the fight to the ground, most of America saw "the fat guy kneel on Kimbo and punch him a bunch of times." What really happened, however, was a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu man strategically taking a fighter with limited wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu skills to the ground and repeatedly pounding on the back of his head with his fists until referee Herb Dean thankfully stopped the fight early in the second round.

To America, Kimbo lost, but who cares? Brand identification matters, and as Kimbo continues to fight, fans will flock to watch the UFC (or so the UFC brass hopes). Slice's YouTube clips are viral sensations and it seems anything with his name attached is marketable.

The UFC, observing the public's fascination with anything Kimbo Slice, has moved to capitalize on the 18- to 34-year-old male demographic's love-affair with Kimbo. This time around, the UFC has created Kimbo Slice Balboa — the humbling story of a street fighter turned mixed martial artist. The UFC is now aiming to market Kimbo around his softer, gentler side. No longer is Kimbo headlining events called "Street Certified." Instead, he's just a mere participant on "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show, an underdog who UFC president Dana White said could never make the UFC unless he went through "The Ultimate Fighter."

In this season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Kimbo is seen giving us Shakespeare-esque soliloquies, explaining how his ultimate intentions are to feed his six kids and that his enemy is "the inner me." We see a pre-fight clip of Slice jogging through the Las Vegas desert, and we think of Rocky Balboa training for his fight with Apollo Creed. We see Kimbo's vulnerability, his dedication to his children and his willingness to succeed despite innumerable impediments.

Kimbo might lose, but it's hard to not continue rooting for him. People are tuning in because of him. They might seek the impossible — a novice mixed martial artist beating a skilled veteran — but they are watching nonetheless.

I won't say Kimbo is fulfilling my dreams of legitimizing a highly skilled and under-appreciated sport, but maybe we're getting there. Kimbo's here. I hope he brings America with him.