I’ve intentionally avoided giving any more run to the various MMA fighters calling out Kimbo Slice, since they know that Dana White would never let them fight Kimbo outside of the UFC nor is he coming to their organization. Chuck Liddell is the most egregious example of this of late, though my guess is that he’s threatened more by Kimbo’s growing status as a mainstream celebrity than anything else.

Kimbo, meanwhile, has put Liddell and the others calling him out that he’s not adverse to taking care of matters “old school”:

Ferguson says that Liddell and other fighters are “only creating a monster” by calling him out and that they should come see him directly if they have a problem.

“We can always take it back to old-school; that’ll work for me,” Ferguson said. “But I still got love for all the MMA fighters, but if you keep on rapping man, I’m going to have to zip it close, baby, because I’m getting tired of the talk.

“The next one that has something to say, just see me [directly]. I’ll come to your camp, and that’s real talk.”

Unlike most people who say they’ll “take care of it in the streets” there’s plenty of footage on YouTube of Kimbo doing just that.

Whether Liddell has been put up to this by Dana White and the folks at Zuffa in an effort to discredit EliteXC’s franchise fighter, or whether he’s just stupid enough to get into a dis war with a monster like Kimbo, its pretty pitiful and looks really petty IMO. Kimbo’s getting a lot of run in the media–he’s got the primal appeal that neophyte MMA fans (and non-fans) find attractive. His story is pretty amazing, and I’d be surprised if he’s the last fighter who comes to the sport in this manner. That notwithstanding, he’s hardly the first fighter who’s come to MMA from a non-traditonal background (if there even *is* such a thing in MMA). Tim Sylvia got into the sport when Pat Militich saw him at a UFC event and approached him with the now famous line “you’re a big sonofabitch. You do any fighting?” That’s pretty much Kimbo’s story minus the videos of him beating up rastas in the parking lot of a boat dealership on YouTube.

It’s also worth noting that Kimbo hasn’t called anyone out–he’s stayed down and is working to become a more complete fighter. If you need visual confirmation of how dedicated he’s been to training look at him before the Ray Mercer fight, or even the Bo Cantrell fight, and then compare that Kimbo with the lean, cut fighter that entered the ring against Tank Abbott. Granted, there’s more to MMA than physical appearances but his notable change in build indicates that he hasn’t just been sitting around drinking Hennesey.

Liddell is coming off like a crybaby–you’d expect a guy who’s likely the highest paid fighter in MMA and a former UFC champion to conduct himself accordingly. “Calling out” every new fighter who enters the sport from a background you don’t approve of is disgraceful. And when you’re calling out Kimbo, it could be bad for your physical well being.

Kimbo issues warning to Chuck Liddell @ MMA Junkie