Kimbo Slice doesn't mind taking backseat to Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock
Kimbo Slice has a track record with television ratings.
His 2008 bout vs. James Thompson on an Elite XC show broadcast live on CBS did 7.28 million viewers, which to this day remains the second-most watched North American MMA fight in history, behind the 2011 Junior dos Santos-Cain Velasquez bout on FOX.
Last June, the legendary street fighter from Miami proved he still has it: The 2.1 million viewers who tuned in for his bout with Ken Shamrock was a Bellator company record.
So how did Kimbo, having proven he still brings eyeballs to TV sets, react when being told he's taking second billing at Bellator 149 in Houston to Royce Graice vs. Ken Shamrock?
Slice says he has no problem sharing the bill with two of the sport's true pioneers.
"I mean, who wouldn't want to be a part of that?" mused Slice in an interview with MMAFighting.com. "I'm not going to demand to be the main event over Royce Gracie, the man who basically invented this sport."
Slice, instead, is taking a "more the merrier" approach.
"The way I look at this, February 19 in Houston is going to be like the Super Bowl of MMA. The people are going to tune in for my fight, they're going to tune in for the legends, and who know what other fights will be announced soon? This is a card every fighter should want to be a part of."