HispanicBusiness

UFC, meet Kimbo Slice. After a humiliating 14-second knockout loss on national television, Slice, the short-lived face of mixed martial arts, will attempt to land a UFC contract when he appears on Spike TV's hit show, "The Ultimate Fighter."

Slice had a rapid rise to fame last year. After starring in some YouTube backyard brawls, Slice attempted to become a professional fighter. But he quickly proved that he was more show than go. Last year, he was knocked out by Seth Petruzelli, a pink-haired back-up fighter, who wasn't even booked to appear on television that night.

Promoters hoped the hulking Slice would do for mixed martial arts what Mike Tyson did for boxing in the 1980s, but the fantasy crumbled quickly. After Slice's knockout, the company folded.

Now Slice is attempting to move to the sport's premiere MMA organization. The UFC, led by president Dana White, is home to some of the sport's top competitors, including Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Rashad "Suga" Evans and Brock Lesnar. Slice will live in a house and compete against other upstart MMA competitors in hopes of landing a contract. Each week, a loser of a match will go home.

White, whose promotional skills have helped launch MMA above boxing and professional wrestling in terms of pay per views buys, has blasted Slice in the past, and criticized the organization he worked for, EliteXC. Slice was embroiled in scandal after Petruzelli admitted in a radio interview after his knockout victory that the EliteXC promotes had paid Petruzelli to "stand-up" with Slice, rather than take the battle to the mat. Slice, who was being groomed for national stardom, stood a better chance of winning in a boxing-style fight than a pure MMA fight. In his three professional fights, Slice had not shown any measurable ground skills.

In the end, it didn't matter. Petruzelli stood up with Slice, and knocked him out with a straight right hand.
The new season of "The Ultimate Fighter" begins shooting this week.