THE CANADIAN PRESS
Kimbo Slice’s first fight in the UFC was a ratings champ for Spike TV’s "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show.
Wednesday night’s episode of Season 10 featuring a bout between former IFL champion Roy (Big Country) Nelson and Slice drew 5.3 million viewers, peaking at 6.1 million viewers – the most-watched episode of an original series in the six-year history of the channel.
The 6.1 million viewership peak for the Kimbo Slice-Roy Nelson fight trumps any UFC programming ever on Spike TV. The previous mark was 5.9 million viewers for Rampage Jackson-Dan Henderson fight at UFC 75 in September, 2007.
Nelson stopped Slice, whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, via TKO in the second round. The six-foot-one, 264-pound Nelson got Slice in a crucifix position, pinning his arms and allowing him to punch at will.
Nelson (14-4) defended his win over Kimbo Slice on Thursday, saying his game plan was to beat the former street fighter while taking a minimum of damage.
UFC president Dana White was unimpressed by Nelson’s second-round stoppage over Slice in the episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" that aired Wednesday night.
"Roy did just enough to win and not get hit," he said on the show.
Nelson, a former IFL heavyweight champion, said he stuck to a simple game plan.
"Dana has for the last nine seasons stated that you just go in there, you try to take as little damage as possible and just get the W. Especially in this tournament format, fighting three fights in five weeks," he told a media conference call.
Nelson, who at 264 pounds outweighed Slice by almost 35 pounds, suggested Slice may want to move down to light-heavyweight (205).
Slice, who paid for his inexperience on the ground, has power but Nelson said he had been hit harder.
Filming on the show wrapped up in early July.
