“He would have been a huge star of bare-knuckle boxing”: Joe Rogan pays respect while commending deceased UFC veteran’s striking skills

Despite a short-lived career in MMA, Kevin Ferguson, aka Kimbo Slice, was known for his violent striking style. In fact, this is the very reason that Joe Rogan believed the former UFC veteran would have been a good fit for a promotion like Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, a promotion that runs on the idea of no gloves and all fists. In a recent podcast of the Joe Rogan Experience, the commentator praised the deceased fighter for his courageous step into the Octagon when he was in his late 30s. Ferguson died in 2016, succumbing to chest congestion.
Bahamian-born American MMA fighter and professional boxer Kevin Ferguson was primarily a bare-knuckle boxer, whose videos of the mutual combat street fight were very popular. His popularity even earned him the title of The King of the Web Brawlers by the American magazine Rolling Stone. Before being signed by the UFC, Ferguson was associated with promotions like Elite XC and was part of the TV series The Ultimate Fighter, created by Dana White. His official heavyweight debut at UFC 113 was his last match at the UFC after he lost the bout to Matt Mitrione in the second round. After UFC, the fighter tried to sign with the promotion Strikeforce, but the negotiations failed owing to a disputed pay structure. Even though the fighter had announced his retirement from MMA and had decided to venture into professional boxing, an announcement by Bellator MMA in 2015 marked the return of Ferguson into the world of MMA.
Ferguson was one of the few fighters who showed that a backyard street fighter from Miami could do what most people deemed impossible. The determination and strong will of Ferguson are much appreciated and applauded today. On the Joe Rogan Experience, the American podcaster praised the fighter for his striking style and the courage he showed by entering the world of MMA at an unconventional age.

“If he was fighting just stand-up only, he’s very dangerous. Like if he was involved in like if bareknuckle boxing was around back then he would have been a huge star of bareknuckle boxing. He would have f***** a lot of people up bareknuckle boxing.” Rogan further added, “Kimbo had a bunch of injuries from football. You can’t really grapple at full capacity with knee injuries and learn grappling at 35 or however old he was…But dude kudos to that guy for having the courage to actually get into the UFC and The Ultimate Fighter.”
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The Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championship was founded in 2018, two years after the fighter passed away. With a promotion like BKFC, Ferguson might have had better results and off-the-charts MMA stats.