Kimbo Slice may be headed to England. Irish mixed martial website and Sherdog partner WHOA.TV is reporting that Bellator plans to use the backyard brawling legend in their upcoming London show this summer at the O2 arena. His opponent? UK fighter James ‘The Colossus’ Thompson, who lost to Kimbo in a controversial back-and-forth battle that broke ratings records back in 2008.
While Bellator refuses to confirm the matchup, it does make sense and, if true, is a strong co-headliner for the promotion’s first London event. At the top of the card (if WHOA.TV is to be believed, and they have been quite reliable in the past) would be another rematch – this one between TUF winner Josh Koscheck and British slugger Paul Daley. Their first fight took place in the UFC back in 2010 and ended with Daley sucker-punching Koscheck after the final bell. The UFC fired Paul over the incident, with president Dana White saying he would never fight for the promotion again.
One reason Kimbo vs. Thompson may still be unofficial: Kimbo was hit with a steroid suspension in Texas following his fight with Dada5000 in February. Slice tested positive for nandrolone, but because of the state’s lax drug laws he may not be out of action for very long. Ninety-day suspensions are typical in Texas, which would leave him free and clear to fight for Bellator by May 19th. There’s still no official word on the suspension, though, so confirmation will have to wait until those regulatory hurdles are met.
At this point, there’s no firm date for Bellator’s London card either. We’ll keep you up to date when everything is confirmed. But it looks like the promotion is dedicated to putting together more fights that move the needle and are hard for fight fans to ignore.
(via WHOA.TV)
