Bellator heavyweight Kimbo Slice passes away at age 42 Bellator heavyweight Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson passed away Monday night in his home state of Florida. There hasn’t been an offical cause of death. Bellator President Scott Coker released the following statment “We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family. One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport. Outside of the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man. His loss leaves us all with extremely heavy hearts, and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ferguson family and all of Kimbo’s friends, fans, and teammates.” UFC officials also issued a statement: “UFC is saddened to learn of the passing of Kevin Ferguson, known to fans around the world as Kimbo Slice. Slice will forever be a part of UFC history as a contestant on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2009, and for having fought twice inside the Octagon at The Ultimate Fighter Finale and UFC 113. He carried himself as a true professional during his time in our organization. While he will never be forgotten for his fighting style and transcendent image, Slice will also be remembered for his warm personality and commitment to his family and friends. UFC offers its sincere condolences to Slice’s family, friends and teammates at American Top Team.” Ferguson (5-2- NC) became famous on YouTube as bareknuckle boxer and transitioned that into a professional MMA career. He headlined shows for the now defunct EliteXC and was also a contestant on Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. He fought twice in the UFC, defeating Houston Alexander and losing to Matt Mitrione. Ferguson was slated to rematch James Thompson (20-16) on July 16’s Bellator 158 event in London. MMAOddsBreaker would like to send out our condolences to Ferguson’s friends and family. Emil Weber Meek signs with the UFC, faces Jessin Ayari at UFC Fight Night Hamburg Fresh off his victory over former WSOF champ Rousimar Palhares, welterweight Emil Weber Meek has signed with the UFC. The 27-year old will make his promotional debut against Jessin Ayari at UFC Fight Night Hamburg. UFC officials announced the signing on Tuesday morning. Meek (8-2-1, 1NC) heads into this matchup off a three-fight win streak with all of his victories coming by stoppage. Ayari (15-3) heads into this matchup off a decision win in April against Mickael Lebout. UFC Fight Night Hamburg will come from the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany on September 3. Here’s an updated look at the card. Andrei Arlovski (25-12, 1NC) vs. Josh Barnett (34-8) Ryan Bader (20-5) vs. Ilir Latifi (12-4, 1NC) Jack Hermansson (13-2) vs. Scott Askham (14-2) Peter Sobotta (15-5-1) vs. Nicolas Dalby (14-1-1) Emil Weber Meek (8-2-1, 1NC) vs. Jessin Ayari (15-3) Rose Namajunas vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz set for UFC 201 in Atlanta A strawweight bout between Rose Namajunas vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz has been added to UFC 201 per UFC officials Monday. Namajunas (5-2 ) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over previously undefeated Tecia Torres. Since losing her championship bout to Carla Esparza at the TUF 20 Finale, the 23-year old has won three-straight fights. Kowalkiewicz (9-0) has won back-to-back fights in the UFC over Randa Markos and Heather Jo Clark. UFC 201 takes place July 30 at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Here’s an updated look at the card. Robbie Lawler (c) vs. Tyron Woodley – for welterweight title Demetrious Johnson (c) vs. Wilson Reis – for flyweight title Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Claudio Silva Cesar Arzamendia vs. Damien Brown Michael Graves vs. Bojan Velickovic Erik Perez vs. Francisco Rivera Damian Grabowski vs. Anthony Hamilton Matt Brown vs. Jake Ellenberger Ian McCall vs. Justin Scoggins Ed Herman vs. Nikita Krylov Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Rose Namajunas UFC 199 salaries: Dan Henderson tops payroll with $800,000 Main Card Michael Bisping ($250,000 + no win bonus = $250,000) def. Luke Rockhold ($250,000) Dominick Cruz ($350,000 + no win bonus = $350,000) def. Urijah Faber ($160,000) Max Holloway ($75,000 + $75,000 = $150,000) def. Ricardo Lamas ($53,000) Dan Henderson ($600,000 + $200,000 = $800,000) def. Hector Lombard ($53,000) Dustin Poirier ($55,000 + $55,000 = $110,000) def. Bobby Green ($24,000) Preliminary Card Brian Ortega ($23,000 + $23,000 = $46,000) def. Clay Guida ($55,000) Beneil Dariush ($31,000 + $31,000 = $62,000) def. James Vick ($23,000) Jessica Andrade ($20,000 + $20,000 = $40,000) def. Jessica Penne ($20,000) Alex Caceres ($24,000 + $24,000 = $48,000) def. Cole Miller ($33,000) Preliminary Card Sean Strickland ($23,000 + $23,000 = $46,000) def. Tom Breese ($19,000) Luis Henrique da Silva ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Jonathan Wilson ($12,000) Kevin Casey ($15,000) vs. Elvis Mutapcic ($16,000) Polo Reyes ($12,000 + $12,000 = $24,000) def. Dong Hyun Kim ($10,000)