American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Kimbo Slice has died aged 42.
The fighter was taken to a hospital in South Miami, Florida, on Monday night.
He'd been due to top the bill at London's O2 Arena next month in a rematch against James Thompson at MMA event, Bellator 158.
"We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family," said Bellator MMA president Scott Coker in a statement.
"One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport.
"Outside the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man.
"His loss leaves us all with extremely heavy hearts, and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ferguson family and all of Kimbo's friends, fans, and teammates."
A sergeant at Coral Springs Police in Miami, Carla Kmiotek, said that the fighter, whose real name was Kevin Ferguson, was admitted to hospital on Monday night.
She says officers were dispatched to his home and said there was no foul play suspected.
Kimbo Slice, was a Bahamian-born American mixed martial artist, boxer and occasional actor. He became famous for mutual combat street fights which were spread across the Internet, leading Rolling Stone to call him "The King of the Web Brawlers".
Kimbo Slice left the underground fighting scene and signed a professional contract with EliteXC in 2007. Kimbo Slice competed in The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, where he lost in his first fight to series winner Roy Nelson. In his UFC debut, Kimbo Slice defeated Houston Alexander in the The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights finale. From January 2015 until his death in June 2016, Kimbo Slice was under contract to Bellator MMA.
In 2005, Kimbo Slice started training in martial arts at the Freestyle Fighting Academy under Marcos Avellan and David Avellan. At first, Kimbo Slice was training exclusively for street boxing, focusing on bare-knuckle techniques, dirty boxing from the clinch, and elbows - but then he began to develop an interest for MMA. Kimbo Slice signed to make his MMA debut against former WBO Heavyweight champion and Olympic gold-medalist boxer Ray Mercer at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 5, in Atlantic City on June 23, 2007. A month prior to the fight, Kimbo Slice switched camps and was trained by retired MMA fighter Bas Rutten and boxing instructor Randy Khatami at Rutten's school, EliteMMA, in Thousand Oaks, California.
Kimbo Slice made his MMA debut against former WBO Heavyweight champion and Olympic gold-medalist boxer Ray Mercer at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 5, in Atlantic City on June 23, 2007.
His heavyweight rematch against James Thompson next month was being billed as the "tentpole" event at Bellator 158 at London's O2 Arena on 16 July.
The pair's original fight in 2008 was the most-watched fight in the history of mixed martial arts with 7.28 million viewers.
Kimbo Slice won in the third round after the referee controversially stopped the Elite Xtreme Combat contest.
The fighter also won seven boxing bouts between 2011 and 2013 and also acted, appearing in The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption in 2012 as Zulu Kondo.
The fighter; Kimbo Slice has six children and was engaged to long-time girlfriend, Antionette Ray.
The fighter was taken to a hospital in South Miami, Florida, on Monday night.
He'd been due to top the bill at London's O2 Arena next month in a rematch against James Thompson at MMA event, Bellator 158.
"We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family," said Bellator MMA president Scott Coker in a statement.
"One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport.
"Outside the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man.
"His loss leaves us all with extremely heavy hearts, and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ferguson family and all of Kimbo's friends, fans, and teammates."
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| Kimbo Slice |
A sergeant at Coral Springs Police in Miami, Carla Kmiotek, said that the fighter, whose real name was Kevin Ferguson, was admitted to hospital on Monday night.
She says officers were dispatched to his home and said there was no foul play suspected.
Kimbo Slice, was a Bahamian-born American mixed martial artist, boxer and occasional actor. He became famous for mutual combat street fights which were spread across the Internet, leading Rolling Stone to call him "The King of the Web Brawlers".
Kimbo Slice left the underground fighting scene and signed a professional contract with EliteXC in 2007. Kimbo Slice competed in The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, where he lost in his first fight to series winner Roy Nelson. In his UFC debut, Kimbo Slice defeated Houston Alexander in the The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights finale. From January 2015 until his death in June 2016, Kimbo Slice was under contract to Bellator MMA.
In 2005, Kimbo Slice started training in martial arts at the Freestyle Fighting Academy under Marcos Avellan and David Avellan. At first, Kimbo Slice was training exclusively for street boxing, focusing on bare-knuckle techniques, dirty boxing from the clinch, and elbows - but then he began to develop an interest for MMA. Kimbo Slice signed to make his MMA debut against former WBO Heavyweight champion and Olympic gold-medalist boxer Ray Mercer at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 5, in Atlantic City on June 23, 2007. A month prior to the fight, Kimbo Slice switched camps and was trained by retired MMA fighter Bas Rutten and boxing instructor Randy Khatami at Rutten's school, EliteMMA, in Thousand Oaks, California.
Kimbo Slice made his MMA debut against former WBO Heavyweight champion and Olympic gold-medalist boxer Ray Mercer at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 5, in Atlantic City on June 23, 2007.
His heavyweight rematch against James Thompson next month was being billed as the "tentpole" event at Bellator 158 at London's O2 Arena on 16 July.
The pair's original fight in 2008 was the most-watched fight in the history of mixed martial arts with 7.28 million viewers.
Kimbo Slice won in the third round after the referee controversially stopped the Elite Xtreme Combat contest.
The fighter also won seven boxing bouts between 2011 and 2013 and also acted, appearing in The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption in 2012 as Zulu Kondo.
The fighter; Kimbo Slice has six children and was engaged to long-time girlfriend, Antionette Ray.
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