Kimbo Slice vs. Dhafir Harris: Career Stats, Highlights Before Bellator 149

Bellator 149 is going to be a monumental day for the sport of mixed martial arts, featuring many high-profile returns, including Kimbo Slice stepping back in the cage for his first fight of 2016 against Dhafir Harris. 

Slice started his Bellator career on a high note, knocking out Ken Shamrock last June in his first MMA fight since 2010. He spent 2011-13 as a professional boxer, going 7-0 in two years, before returning to the sport that made him a star. 

Harris, like Slice, got his start putting on exhibitions in backyard events. DADA 5000, as Harris is also known, used to be Slice's bodyguard before creating his own path to a career in mixed martial arts that will culminate in Friday's showdown at Houston's Toyota Center. 

Kimbo Slice Highlights

Any discussion of Slice's fighting career has to start with his time as a backyard street fighter, which propelled him to stardom on YouTube.

Because those videos were generating millions of hits, Slice began training to start an official mixed martial arts career. His debut came in an exhibition with Cage Fury Fighting Championships in June 2007, and he won against Ray Mercer with a guillotine in 72 seconds. 

Slice's official professional debut came against Bo Cantrell as part of EliteXC in November 2007. It was a perfect night that allowed the brawler to show off his skills in quick fashion:

It was also an ideal debut for Slice because his fight was the semi-main event on a Showtime card, so the MMA world was watching. Two more knockout wins in 2008 seemed to have him on a path to stardom, especially with a match against Ken Shamrock set for a CBS prime-time card. 

However, an injury to Shamrock forced Seth Petruzelli into the spotlight. Petruzelli could have been a sacrifical lamb but instead upended everything by knocking Slice out in 14 seconds:

Slice's MMA career would continue with little success. He made it to UFC, winning a match in The Ultimate Fighter finale card against Houston Alexander, but a loss to Matt Mitrione in his first pay-per-view bout at UFC 113 spelled the end. 

UFC cut Slice following the loss, and he hasn't been back since. His five-year hiatus ended on June 19, 2015, when he finally got that match with Shamrock and scored a first-round knockout. 

Even though Slice is clearly more of a novelty act than a fighter, he's still entertaining to watch and capable of providing fireworks. A matchup against someone who is basically his equal in terms of polish and style has the potential to be thrilling. 

Dhafir Harris Highlights

Harris highlight videos are sparse, mainly because he doesn't have much professional experience despite being 38 years old. His major highlight-reel moments are all in low-quality videos uploaded to YouTube (Warning: Video contains NSFW language):

Harris' two professional fights took place between March 2010 and February 2011—both victories by knockout in the first round. 

It's easy to get lost in the parallels between Slice's and Harris' respective careers, but Harris broke away from Slice precisely because they couldn't come to an agreement on which direction to take. 

In an interview with MMAJunkie Radio, Harris said he wanted to keep organizing unsanctioned backyard fights, but “they saw it different, so I went my separate route. They told me I was making the biggest mistake of my life.”

Harris appears to have gotten the last laugh, saying in the interview that he's "been in Maxim, ESPN several times, Miami Herald, (Orlando) Sun Sentinel, VICE. We’ve broke records for everything we’ve done, and it’s clear, anything that I throw up, it blows up."

In addition to those appearances on mainstream networks, Harris had a documentary called Dawg Fight released on Netflix. The movie showcases his work as a promoter of backyard fights and his getting discovered by scouts. 

The final piece of this puzzle will be decided on Friday as the student looks to overcome his former teacher.