The oldest son of late fighting legend Kimbo Slice, Kevin Ferguson Jr., will make his professional mixed martial arts debut next month for the Bellator promotion, The Associated Press learned on Monday evening.
In March, Ferguson had his first amateur MMA fight, in which he stopped his opponent in only 83 seconds. Now it has been announced that on August 26, 24-year-old Ferguson will fight on the undercard of Bellator 160 in Anaheim, California less than three months after the death of his father.
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Ferguson told the AP: “I was always around the fight business and everything, so I saw it and I understood what was going on. I just knew without a doubt that one day, this was what I wanted to do.”
After studying photography at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Ferguson decided to pursue fighting in the cage. He has been training full time now for two years, and believes he is up for the challenge.
His father, 42-year-old Kimbo Slice, fought for Bellator earlier this year. Slice collapsed on June 6 at his home, and then died several hours later at the hospital. He had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and needed a heart transplant, according to ESPN.
In light of his father’s passing, Ferguson stated, “It was more of a shock to the world, put it like that. It was still a very big tragedy, but I got through it. I’m still getting through it. I won’t say I’m over it, but I’m working on it, I guess.”
Ferguson has been training with veteran MMA fighter Antonio McKee in Long Beach, California. He has also been working alongside fellow Bellator fighters such as A.J. McKee, Bubba Jenkins and Joey Davis, who are all scheduled to fight in Anaheim next month.
The opponent Ferguson will face should be selected at some time this week.
Bellator 160 will be headlined by former UFC Champion Benson Henderson and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. The fight will air on Spike.
Do you plan on watching Kimbo Slice’s son, Kevin Ferguson Jr., fight in Bellator 160?
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