Upon seeing Kimbo Slice being knocked out by glorified mid-carder Seth Petruzelli on national television, many sports betting sharps assumed that they had seen the last of the converted street fighter. Slice was the main cog in the EliteXC hype machine that made its way onto CBS, and into the living rooms of millions of viewers for the better part of 2008. Unfortunately, the company rested on Slice’s shoulders, and with his monster status shattered, so were the dreams of the EliteXC as a whole.

Kimbo proved himself unfit in the octagon, with a poor ground game and lax defensive skills when standing up, despite a “big puncher” reputation. The BetUS sportsbook favored Kimbo in all of his fights—especially the Petruzelli disaster (which was supposed to be a contest against Ken Shamrock)—and the MMA odds turned out to be wrong.

Now, Slice will get a second chance, as UFC head honcho has signed him on to be a part of The Ultimate Fighter 10. While the UFC betting community immediately had reservations however, it seems as though the company is indeed gearing the show so that Kimbo has a remote chance of winning. Upon signing Kimbo to a deal, the UFC cancelled original plans for a middleweight division, and filled up a heavyweight division with many fellow raw athletes.

Kimbo will be joined in the competition by Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end and first round NFL draft pick Marcus Jones, former Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants player Matt Mitrione and former Atlanta Falcons player Wes Shivers.

While the NFLers will certainly be more athletically gifted than Kimbo, the former YouTube sensation actually has more fighting experience than his opposition for the first time in his short MMA career.

The big threats to Kimbo’s victory will be former UFC journeymen Scott Junk and Mike Wessel, who may be able to use their savvy to outlast the inexperienced field. Chances are, the two with UFC experience will open the program as the online sports betting favorites on UFC lines.

In all actuality, Slice is a good value pick on The Ultimate Fighter 10 odds, given that he has already established semi-competent standup skills, and has actually been inside of a cage before. Just as EliteXC did, the UFC is trying to guard Kimbo to a victory in the competition, in order to cash in on his internet fanbase.