Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson said his rivalry with Bellator 149 opponent Dhafir “DaDa 5000” Harris is more deep-seeded and personal than when he faced Ken Shamrock earlier this year.

The Slice-Shamrock disdain goes back to 2008, when they were supposed to fight under the now-defunct EliteXC banner before the contest famously fell apart just hours before the event. The matchup finally came together nearly seven years later, and Slice emerged victorious by first-round TKO.

Although countless words were exchanged between Slice (5-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and Shamrock, the street brawler turned MMA fighter said his feelings toward Shamrock pale in comparison to those he has for Harris (2-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

“This guy stole my image, stole my look – he tried to look like me, he tried to sound like me, and he tries to be me,” Slice told MMAjunkie. “He talks sh-t about me, and then he posts sh-t on Twitter saying he can fight and beat me. For years he’s been running and hiding from me.

“The fact I get to fight this piece of sh-t enhances my training. I have bad blood. This is worse than the Ken Shamrock fight. I wanted to get at Ken Shamrock’s ass over the years, but this is worse than that. This dude knows who I am. This is a different level.”

Slice said his relationship with Harris goes back well beyond his MMA career. Both men are from the same Miami neighborhood and actually went to high school together. They spent plenty of time in similar circles, but Slice said he was never particularly close with Harris.

It didn’t take long for Harris to capture Slice’s attention, though. Through street fighting, MMA and other ventures, “Kimbo Slice” has become a brand known by people around the globe. He said Harris tried to take advantage of that fame by mimicking him from head to toe.

“The guy got my same f-cking tattoos that I got on my body; just follow the history of this piece of sh-t, and you understand my anger,” Slice said. “People that know me and are from the same neighborhood, they know what’s going on here. I just want to get in that cage and do what I got to do. The more I talk about it, the more upset I get about it.

“He’s copying me in a very clownish way. He’s a f-cking clown. He’s a piece of sh-t. I have nothing good to say about this guy. He’s a joke. I don’t even know how his family, his kids and his mom even respect him. I don’t know how he has the following that he has. I’m just glad this opportunity is here and that he signed the contract.”

Although Slice is bursting with anger, he knows he can’t bring any of it inside the cage at Bellator 149. The event takes place Feb. 19 at Houston’s Toyota Center, and the main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

History shows one of the biggest mistakes a fighter can make is bringing excess emotion into competition. It works for some, but more often than not, an emotional performance can lead to careless mistakes and unexpected defeats. Slice said he refuses to fall into that trap, especially against someone like Harris, whom Slice said he could never cope with suffering a loss to.

“I have to come back to my senses and realize, ‘Kimbo, you’re a professional now, so save it for the cage,'” Slice said. “Every fighter is a punch away from victory. You have to take every fight in a respectful manner. I don’t want to be so anxious that I make mistakes and I go in there and I get knocked the f-ck out. I have to be smart and make sure all my t’s are crossed and all my i’s are dotted. You’ve got to have a game plan. There’s a game plan to have sex. You have to have a game plan before you take your girl out.”

Much of Slice’s MMA career has seen him facing fighters with significantly more experience. That’s not the case for his next fight; Harris has even less pro experience than Slice.

Slice said past experiences aren’t going to matter at Bellator 149, though. He’s determined to make Harris regret his decision to “steal” his image and intends for him to pay for those actions in the most violent fashion imaginable.

“For this piece of sh-t, I’ve got a level of respect that I’m going to knock his ass out; I’m coming in with the intentions that I’m going to make this motherf-cker respect me,” Slice said. “He’s going to respect who I am. He’s going to respect the nature of who I am and the work that I’ve put in. For you to make a mockery and try to copy and steal my image and run with it then you talk sh-t about me and try to be like me? That in itself is something I’m fighting for. I’m fighting for my f-cking respect right now. This isn’t a title fight. This is for my f-cking respect.”

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