Why Kimbo Slice isn't bothered by rival Dada 5000's trash talk

Dhafir Harris isn’t too impressed with Kimbo Slice’s accomplishments.

Harris, better known as Dada 5000, comes from the same suburb of Miami, West Perrine, where Slice made his name a decade ago as the original YouTube street fighting sensation.

But Slice went mainstream, deftly parlaying Internet infamy into mainstream credibility as a record ratings mover in the mixed martial arts world. These days, Slice owns a nice home in Coral Gables as he puts his oldest children through college.

As far as Harris is concerned, though, Slice has abandoned the neighborhood that made him. Harris is best known as the key figure in the popular Netflix documentary "Dawg Fight," promoting backyard fights in West Perrine.

When the two meet on Friday night in the co-main event of Bellator 149 at Houston’s Toyota Center, Dada 5000 believes he’ll deliver a message on behalf of the neighborhood.

“I still stay where he left, the same streets where he’s from,” Harris said. “I’m still there. I’m still seeing guys get gunned down, even on Thanksgiving. He’s a seven-figure [expletive] now who’s moved in with the white folks.“

Slice, who turned 42 last week, is dismissive of Harris’ talk. As far as he’s concerned, the whole point of using his fists to knock other people out was to create a better life for himself, not to prove himself to anyone else.

"I don't care what he has to say about the community and what he do," Slice said. "I'm a family man. I got a wife. I got six kids. The goal when you're a kid is to move up and out of the hood.”

So how did we get to this point? Both sides agreed that Harris was part of Kimbo’s entourage for a spell. Footage in Dawg Fight which shows Harris backstage with Slice the night of Slice’s MMA debut against former boxing champion Ray Mercer in 2007 confirms that.

If you believe Harris, he was an integral part of Slice’s posse before they had an unspecified falling out.

“When I came on board, I came on board as a friend,” Harris said. “Someone who watched his career blossom from the backyard to the MMA cage on Day 1 against Ray Mercer. And I was there to support him, but the support was not given back. They lied to me and did not fulfill promises.”

Slice, for his part, portrays Dada 5000 as a hanger-on who had a brief stint with his crew and is milking his 15 minutes of fame off Slice's hard work.

“He was never a part of our inner circle,” Slice said. “He wasn’t a tight part of our crew. He was a guy who was there for a minute and that was it, and ever since then he’s been trying to use that association to make a name for himself.”

There’s no dispute Harris has been angling for a fight with Slice ever since their split up. From copping Kimbo’s look to including Slice in "Dawg Fight" scenes he clearly wanted no part of, Harris has been waiting on Friday’s fight for years.

Now that Harris has finally gotten this opportunity, he's taking every opportunity to prod Slice and annoy him and claim he represents Slice’s old streets.

"I'm just one of the ones that was sent to do what the community has been wanting to do, and that's remind this guy of where he come from," said Harris, who is signed to a one-fight Bellator contract. "You know? He said I took his identity. I think he’s taken too many hits to the head. He lost his identity when he forgot where he came from. No one’s mad that you went away, but the streets are mad at him since he left. I’m there to bring him back home. What goes up must come down.”

Slice, for his part, is willing to admit this is personal. Over the course of his career, despite his rough roots, he’s unfailingly shown his opponents respect, a true mixed martial artist in spirit if not in technical skills. But as the fight draws near, it’s clear Slice is getting sick of Harris’ talk.

"For him to say I don't represent the hood, I have no [expletive] reason to go back to my old neighborhood, my friends ain't down there," Slice said. "My true friends are successful. They have grew up, and grew out of the hood. I [expletive] with them on the outside of the hood. The new people that are up in the hood now? I know of you, but I don't [expletive] with you like that. It ain't like we were buddies, and we were drinking beer and hanging out. If that was the case, I'd still be in the hood. You know what I'm saying? That ain't my thing no more. I've got a family now.”

None of this will matter once the cage door is locked. To that end, Slice has trained for years with the highly respected American Top Team. Harris, for all his backyard fight experience, has fought only two sanctioned MMA bouts, and while his record is 2-0, his opponents have a combined record of 1-16.

"He think's he's the people's champ, the hood's with him," Slice said. "I don't give a [expletive] about that. You need to be concentrating on what I'm saying to you. I am going to try to [expletive] you up. I have the ability to do it. You're worrying about the wrong [expletive].”

Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: @DaveDoyleMMA