Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson has turned his back on competition entirely to embrace entertainment.

The former backyard brawler-turned-mixed-martial-artist will perform Feb. 5 in Japan during a professional wrestling bout with ex-sumo wrestler Shinichi “Wakakirin” Suzukawa, the Inoki Genome Federation announced Tuesday. Ferguson previously expressed interest in boxing after the Ultimate Fighting Championship released him last year, but his enthusiasm has been lacking, promoter Jared Shaw told MMA Fighting.

“Upon his return, he didn’t show me any interest in boxing, so we just decided for right now to put it to the side,” Shaw said. “Due to the wear and tear on his body, he wasn’t able to perform up to the standard we wanted him to.”

Ferguson isn’t the only American on the card with MMA experience. Strikeforce heavyweight Josh Barnett — an IGF regular and former UFC champion who has balanced Japanese pro wrestling and MMA for years — has been booked to appear with the original Tiger Mask, Satoru Sayama.

Japanese pro wrestling superstar Antonio Inoki founded IGF in 2007. Although he and Sayama never took part in the sort of mixed martial arts competition seen nowadays, they’re seminal figures in the development of modern MMA in Japan.

Written By Sergio Non & Full Story here