Boos Were Warranted, Slice Says

LAS VEGAS -- Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson heard the chorus of boos and understood why it was delivered.

The 35-year-old street-fighter turned mixed martial artist fought patiently in his unanimous decision victory over Houston Alexander at “The Ultimate Fighter 10” Finale on Saturday at the Palms Casino Resort. Slice spent much of the first round stalking Alexander, who circled to his left and avoided early exchanges, much to the displeasure of those in attendance.

“I would have booed, too,” said Slice, who made his first official appearance since his embarrassing 14-second loss to Seth Petruzelli 14 months ago.

The two men picked up the pace in rounds two and three of their 215-pound catchweight tilt. Slice hit one of his high notes when he deposited Alexander on his head with a devastating slam in the second, and Alexander made his move in the third with a crippling leg kick. Neither of them could seal the deal, however, and Slice earned a unanimous verdict on the scorecards -- 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 -- in his anticipated UFC debut.

“He rode the ring a lot,” Slice said. “It was probably his game plan; maybe a little fear, too. But I think it was more his game plan than anything else. I wanted to bang. The crowd is there to be entertained, and we’re entertainers.”

Slice -- who succumbed to second-round strikes against eventual winner Roy Nelson in his only bout during Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series -- plans to continue his training at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., his manager, Mike Imber, told Sherdog.com. There, his eyes have been opened to an entirely new level of training, preparation and dedication.

“You have to be almost genius-type smart,” he said. “You have all these dimensions balled into one.”