Kimbo Slice (3-1) will make his first official appearance inside the Octagon opposite Houston Alexander (9-4) in a 215-pound catchweight brawl booked for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 Finale, which is slated for "The Pearl" at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 5, according to NWITimes.com.
Apparently the only thing standing in the way is special clearance from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) on Nov. 4. It's merely a formality because of Alexander's advanced age. He is 37-years-old.
Slice was invited to compete on the latest mixed martial arts reality series by company president Dana White. For years White had lambasted Slice while he competed under the Elite XC banner, feeling he did not deserve all the promotion and hype as a top fighter in the sport just because of his reputation as a backyard brawler in the mean streets of Miami.
So White was probably not surprised when Roy Nelson, arguably the best fighter in the house, took out Slice in episode three with a second round technical knockout. On the other hand, he was probably pleasantly surprised when the monster ratings poured in for the network -- Spike TV set all-time viewership records thanks to the Slice factor.
And when he laces 'em up on Dec. 5 the promotion and the network can expect more of the same. Slice has not competed since the infamous 14-second technical knockout loss to Seth Petruzelli at Elite XC: "Heat" more than one year ago (Oct. 4, 2008).
Alexander recently took out Sherman Pendergarst with a barrage of leg kicks and punches at Adrenaline MMA 4 in September, getting himself back in the win column after suffering three straight losses inside the Octagon.
The five-fight UFC veteran came up short against Eric Schafer, James Irvin and Thiago Silva, which was quite a twist of fortune after starting his career with the promotion with two big, and emphatic, victories over Alessio Sakara and Keith Jardine.
With a high-profile opportunity to battle Slice -- a fighter who he knows will likely stand and trade with him -- the Nebraskan can get his name back in the mix literally overnight with an exciting performance.
TUF 10 Finale will feature a showdown between the top two finalists from the Spike TV reality show, as well as a light heavyweight war featuring Jon "Bones" Jones as he inches his way closer to contention against Matt "The Hammer" Hamill.
Stay dialed in to MMAmania.com for more on TUF 10 Finale as it becomes available.
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