Dada 5000

Last updated
Dada 5000
BornDhafir Harris
(1977-08-04) August 4, 1977 (age 46)
Cat Island, Bahamas
NationalityBahamian
American
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) [1]
Weight265 lb (120 kg; 18 st 13 lb) [1]
Division Heavyweight (2010–present)
Reach77 in (200 cm)
Fighting out of Miami, Florida, United States
Years active2010–2011, 2016 (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total3
Wins2
By knockout2
Losses0
No contests1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: May 25, 2016

Dhafir Harris (born August 4, 1977) known as Dada 5000, is a Bahamian-American retired mixed martial artist. He is a former internet celebrity known for no holds barred street fight videos. He was the subject of the 2015 documentary film Dawg Fight . His most notable MMA fight was against the late Kimbo Slice at Bellator 149. [2] Harris is the co-founder of the bare-knuckle fighting promotion BYB Extreme. [3]

Contents

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Harris began a career in MMA at age 32, fighting in back to back local Florida state bouts, with two wins respectively. [4] Harris' made his debut against Cedric James at the fourth event of the Action Fight League based in Florida. Harris won by KO at less than 3 minutes of the first round. [5] There was controversy, as James, who was a ground styled fighter and who had Harris in a submission, Harris got his arm free and threw strikes. Soon the ref came in and broke the men up, returning the fight to stand up, and Harris would batter James with a flurry of blows. [6]

Harris' next fight was against Tim Papp where he won by TKO in 50 seconds of the first round. [7] In contrast to his first prior bout, Harris paced himself and focused on tactical attacks during this fight, even putting Papp into a guillotine choke, but released his opponent to go for a KO victory. [8]

In late 2011 Harris announced he would be fighting childhood friend turned bitter rival Kimbo Slice in January 2012 for the WFO MMA promotion heavyweight championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, reported by several MMA and combat news sites. [9] [10] [11] The fight never materialized however, and Harris would not compete in MMA for nearly another five years.

Bellator

In 2016, Harris returned to MMA to make his Bellator debut in the highly sought after, publicized match with Slice at Bellator 149. [4] Midway through the first round both fighters would become fatigued, leading to a very uneventful fight. Harris was defeated by way of technical knock out during the waning moments of the third round. [12]

Having collapsed at the end of the bout, Harris was removed from the ring on a stretcher and immediately rushed to the hospital. He was later determined to have suffered the results of cardiac arrest, severe dehydration and kidney failure during the contest with Slice. Following two weeks of hospitalization, Harris was released on March 2, 2016. [13] Bellator President Scott Coker stated after the bout that Dada 5000 would not be invited back to fight in Bellator, and thus was not re-signed past his one-fight deal against Slice. [14] In March 2016, it was revealed that Slice had tested positive for nandrolone and an elevated testosterone to epitestosterone ratio (T/E ratio) in a pre-fight drug test. The result of the fight was overturned to a no contest. [15]

Slice soon passed away at age 42 some months after the bout, and Harris, despite their rivalry and remembering the one time friendship, paid tribute to his fallen adversary on the Instagram social media page, citing him as a somebody who "Showed the World that a guy from the Back yard circuit Can make it in Professional Sports and do the impossible". [16]

Suspension and retirement

In May 2016, Harris stated his intention of not competing in MMA again for the immediate future due to his health concerns, but hoped to be back in action for combat sports when he was fully recovered. [17] In addition, as a result of the events surrounding his fight with Slice and his health concern, Harris was suspended from MMA in the state of Texas indefinitely. [18] Harris confirmed on August 16, 2021, in an interview with Jimmy Smith of Fight Nation that his fight with Slice was indeed his last and that he was retired from MMA. [19] A return to combat sports was later ruled out for Harris as he was also barred from competing in a bare-knuckle boxing match in November 2022, as in addition to the Texas commission, the Florida commission made their decision based on the judgement of the Texas suspension. [20]

Promoting career

BYB Extreme Fighting Series

In April 2019, Harris started his own bare-knuckle fighting promotion in Miami, Florida. Serving as the promoter and face of the organization, BYB Extreme Fighting Series hosted its first event in April 2019; the event was notable for having the self-proclaimed smallest cage in combat sports. Known as the "trigon," the triangular cage debuted at the first event. BYB Extreme Fighting Series' next event "Brawl III: Brawl at the Rock," took place on March 7, 2020. [21] The card was headlined by Chris Barnett taking on Matt Kovacs, with the co-main event being Mike Trujillo taking on Matt Delanoit. [22]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
3 matches2 wins0 losses
By knockout20
No contests1
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
NC2–0 (1) Kimbo Slice NC (overturned) [23] Bellator 149 February 19, 201631:32 Houston, Texas, United StatesOriginally a TKO win for Slice; overturned after Slice tested positive for nandrolone and an elevated T/E ratio.
Win2–0Tim PappTKO (punches)MFA – New Generation 4February 12, 201110:50 Miami, Florida, United States
Win1–0Cedric JamesKO (punches)Action Fight League – Rock-N-Rumble 2March 5, 201012:34 Hollywood, Florida, United States

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References

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  13. Al-Shatti, Shaun (2016-03-03). "Dada 5000 finally released from hospital". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
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  21. "Dada 5000's "Brawl at the Rock" Set for March 7, PFL Vet Muhammed DeReese Faces Matt Kovacs". 29 January 2020.
  22. https://bybextreme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/March-7-Brawl-III-official-press-release.pdf [ dead link ]
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