Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson isn't even in the running for The Ultimate Fighter 10 title.
Yet the former Internet backyard brawler might have the most to lose in tonight's TUF 10 finale.
As Roy "Big Country" Nelson and Brendan Schaub square off for top TUF honours, Slice will take on power-puncher Houston Alexander in an undercard bout.
Following a season of the reality show that saw Slice lose his only fight and turn down the potential return to the cage at the end of the show, the Florida banger will need to win tonight to remain relevant in the MMA world.
With a 3-1 record, his last non-TUF fight was against heavy underdog Seth Petruzelli, who KO'd Slice in 14 seconds.
Adding insult to injury, UFC president Dana White called Slice a sideshow before allowing him on The Ultimate Fighter to prove himself.
Slice said his time on the show was too short to make him a better fighter, though he did add it may have improved his mental game.
'STREET MENTALITY'
"It does do something to you," said the 35-year-old.
"I have the mentality that I don't like to be cooling down with the person I'm about to fight. That's just the street mentality that I have. Being on the show, Roy (Nelson) and I were roommates and then we had to fight each other. I had to adjust to that mentally."
Nelson went undefeated on the show, while Slice got to mill around for camera time.
He said the man fans saw on TV was the real Kimbo Slice.
"I'm the same way on and off camera. I didn't try to be anyone I wasn't," he said.
"I'm a family man. I have a fiancee back at the crib and I have six kids that I take care of. This is me. What you saw is what you got."
As he prepares to take on Alexander at a 215-lb. catchweight, Slice admitted he is suffering.
"Last time I was at this weight, I was in middle school," said Slice, whose website lists him at 250 lbs.
"(Cutting weight is) not good. I'm moody. Just don't feel the same. It's mental and it's not a good feeling, to be honest with you."
A terse Slice was coy about his opponent and his future.
"I can't tell you anything about Houston Alexander," Slice said of his Nebraska opponent, who was dumped from the UFC earlier this year following three straight first-round losses. "If he's a guy who strikes like myself, then I got to strike back."
Asked if his fight tonight is a one-off or if he's in negotiations to fight again in the UFC, Slice dismissed the question.
"I'd rather not comment on that," he said.
JOSE.RODRIGUEZ@SUNMEDIA.CA
