Kimbo Slice vs Matt Mitrione?

Rumors have been circulating as of late that Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson's next fight will take place at UFC 113, against none other than Matt "Meathead" Mitrione.

MMA Junkie reported on January 16th that "both parties have verbally agreed to the contest".

However, just a short while after the story broke, Matt Mitrione took to his Facebook page to announce that nobody had contacted him regarding a potential fight with Slice, but that he would certainly be interested.

Matt Mitrione would seemingly be a perfect opponent for "Kimbo". Mitrione is a fighter who likes to stand and throw, and 100% doesn't like to take any of his fights to the ground.

Having said that, there are no "easy" opponents for Kimbo Slice in the UFC, and Mitrione would very likely be a favorite to win. He has a good chin and was able to knock out Marcus "Big Baby" Jones in his first official fight in the UFC.

I have a feeling that this fight will happen, but not at UFC 113. That card is already stacked as it is - would the UFC want to put Kimbo Slice on the undercard of a show? I doubt it.

UFC Fight Night 22 would make sense to me for this fight, if it does in fact take place. A Kimbo/Mitrione fight would be sure to bring in great ratings, and the fight would make sense for both fighters.

Who else makes sense for Kimbo at this point? The UFC isn't going to put him against anybody who is even halfway decent on the ground. The only three names that make sense to me as potential opponents for "Kimbo" at this time would be:

1. Matt Mitrione
2. Cheick Kongo
3. James Toney

Toney would obviously be a longshot, as the UFC would have to agree to sign him first. This doesn't appear to be likely, given recent comments from Toney.

Cheick Kongo is looking for an opponent after being smashed by Frank Mir, and he doesn't have any sort of a ground game to speak of. Having said that, he would likely dispatch of Kimbo in a very short period of time, and the UFC probably doesn't want to throw a big ratings draw to the wolves at this stage of the game. I just can't see Kimbo ever beating Kongo.

My guess is Slice/Mitrione, but not at UFC 113.

Play Poker - Receive a $600 Bonus