Earlier today, we received a press release from the UFC Public Relations office that basically announced the return of UFC heavyweight up-and-comer Kevin Ferguson, who's more commonly known as Kimbo Slice. He's set to take on NFL veteran and former fellow TUF 10 castmate Matt Mitrione, who's only had 1 fight in his young professional MMA career, on Saturday, May 8th, at UFC 113 in Montreal, Canada. Although Slice himself currently holds a mixed martial arts record of 4-1, the bout will mark only his second fight inside the Octagon. Not for nothing, but if I were a veteran or up-and-coming fighter for the UFC and saw a press release sent out to hype another fighter that's only had one fight, a boring one at that, inside the Octagon, I'd have to seriously start wondering just how much the organization is doing to promote my own career.

For example, take Roy Nelson (15-4), who actually won The Ultimate Fighter 10 heavyweight tournament, getting an easy victory over Kimbo Slice in the process. Nelson is set to return to the Octagon on March 31st when he takes on Stefan Struve (23-3) at UFC Fight Night 21. Did the UFC Public Relations team take the time to send out a press release announcing the return of Big Country? Of course not. Or how about undefeated Todd Duffee (6-0), who has yet to be able to capitalize on his record-setting 7-second knockout of Tim Hague back in August of last year at UFC 102? Whether he's fighting soon or not, one would think that the Public Relations office might want to send out a press release talking about ANYTHING related to Duffee just so he's not forgotten.

Some would argue that Kimbo Slice deserves the special attention. Due to the popularity he received via his street fights on YouTube, his name alone has consistently put butts in seats, one of the main reasons why the UFC signed him to a contract in the first place. That being said, why even bother putting out a press release for a fighter who already has a large fanbase and doesn't need any additional exposure. If the UFC, or more specifically mixed martial arts, hopes to continue to grow, it might be a good idea to actually start promoting some of these lesser known, up-and-coming fighters instead of only promoting the cash cows in hopes of maximizing profits in a rapidly declining pay-per-view market.

Just a thought.

Anyway, here's the official press release:

KIMBO RETURNS AT UFC 113 ON MAY 8TH

Canada will get their first dose of the Kimbo Slice phenomenon on Saturday, May 8th, when the Ultimate Fighter alumnus looks to make it 2-0 in the Octagon on the UFC 113: Machida vs Shogun 2 card at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Slice (4-1), fresh off his three round unanimous decision victory over Houston Alexander at the TUF10 finale last December, will be in with a familiar foe on May 8th, as he takes on his Ultimate Fighter castmate, Matt Mitrione in a heavyweight bout made official today.

Mitrione (1-0), an NFL veteran, made his proper mixed martial arts debut on the TUF10 finale card and showed impressive poise and power as he knocked out Marcus Jones in the second round, and he hopes to make another statement when he squares off with Kimbo this spring.

Tickets for UFC 113 are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $250, $150, $100 and $50. Tickets are available at the Bell Centre box office, by phone at (514) 790-2525 / 1-877-668-8269 or at www.geg.ca.

UFC 113 will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer's Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).