“If you don’t go hard, there is only one other place for you to go: home.” -Dada 5000, Dawg Fight,
Josh Connor
When Bellator CEO Scott Coker announced Kimbo Slice’s next fight at Bellator 145 this past Friday night, many MMA fans and media were expecting a potential pairing against the winner of the Josh Thompson-Bobby Lashley fight. Instead, what followed was a perplexing announcement of a matchup against a fighter by the name of Dhafir Harris, better known in Perrine, Florida as “Dada 5000”. In full disclosure, when the announcement was made I have to admit I didn’t know who “Dada 5000” was. A quick search of the Sherdog fight finder revealed a 38 year old fighter with a 2-0 professional record with his last win coming by TKO in February of 2011. After conducting a little more research on “Dada 5000”, I was brought to an intriguing E:60 piece on Backyard Brawling and then discovered his role in the Nextflix documentary “Dawg Fight”. Cross checking IMDB, I was provided the following summary of the documentary from director Billy Corben who also produced a great ESPN 30 for 30 series about the University of Miami football program: The U and the U part 2.
With a summary like that and a solid IMDB rating, the documentary was clearly dripping with story lines which would play into the Bellator 149 fight build up of Dada 5000 and Kimbo Slice. As I closed out Netflix at the conclusion of Dawg Fight, I can tell you whole heartedly you won’t fully appreciate the context of this fight until you watch the gripping and compelling documentary. In fact, the matchup won’t even make sense to many MMA fans until you view it through the prism of how Dada 5000 was raised and the neighborhood and childhood ties he shared with former childhood friend Kimbo Slice in South Florida.
In the documentary, viewers are introduced to the impoverished town of Perrine, Florida where Dada 5000 is the Don King equivalent of Back Yard Brawling. In bare knuckle brawls in his mother Eleanor “Sista” Stewart’s backyard, Dada 5000 gives the opportunity for former convicts and down on their luck residents to put food on the table for their families as well as chase unrealized athletic dreams often derailed by stints in prison incarceration. With a GoPro camera strapped to his head, Dada 5000 acts as the matchmaker, promoter, and referee and gives inspired speeches to fighters which make it easy to understand how he has become one of the most influential promoters of underground fighting in the State of Florida. Putting the fighters cut of the profits ahead of his own is also a noteworthy point worth mentioning in the film in a sport characterized by countless accusations of promoter greed and fighter mistreatment. With the community of Perrine rallying around his cause of reducing gun violence and emphasizing settling community differences in the back yard instead of the streets, Dada 5000 comes across as a visionary with a mind for both business and community improvement.
Throughout the film, watching Dada 5000 navigate the challenges brought before him from the Florida State Boxing Commission in comparison to as he states: “how we do it in the hood” is an intriguing element to see play out. Currently, it appears as though he has made substantial headway in continuing his dream of continuing his promotion of Back Yard Brawl Extreme if you follow the progress posted on his website bybextreme.com Also of note is the remarkable journey Dada 5000 has accomplished despite severing ties with Kimbo Slice and setting out on his own path many years ago. From his journey from street fighter to professional MMA fighter and promoter, Dada 5000’s success and determination is an inspiration to the anyone in Perrine, Florida looking for a blueprint to change their life for the better. Moving from the “streets” to the “suites” may be just what is in store for Dada 5000 if he can somehow find the recipe on fight night to become the next Kimbo Killer. Without question, it won’t be an easy task for Dada 5000 going against a Kimbo Slice who has been growing his arsenal of weapons while training out of American Top Team. Yet, the benefits of taking out a legend on such a high profile national stage could do wonders for his upstart fight promotion and cement his legacy in the street fighting lore of his very own community in South Florida.
ESPN E60: DADA 5000:
Back Yard Brawl: DADA 5000's Fight Promotion Promo:
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March 2016
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