Dhafir Harris (born August 4, 1977), known as Dada 5000, is a Bahamian-American retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and

Combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knocko ...

promoter. Turning professional in 2010, Harris went on to compete in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division of

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

in 2016. He is a former

internet celebrity An Internet celebrity, also referred to as an Internet personality, is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large ...

known for no holds barred street fight videos. He was the subject of the 2015 documentary film ''

Dawg Fight ''Dawg Fight'' is a documentary film directed by Billy Corben about the mixed martial arts career and personal life of Bellator MMA fighter Dhaffir Harris aka Dada 5000. The documentary is critically acclaimed for its sobering account of the brut ...

''. Harris is also the co-founder of the

bare-knuckle fighting Bare-knuckle boxing (also known as bare-knuckle or bare-knuckle fighting) is a full-contact combat sport based on punching without any form of padding on the hands. The sport as it is known today originated in 17th-century England and, although s ...

promotion BYB Extreme.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Harris began a career in the MMA at age 32, fighting in back to back local Florida state bouts, with two wins. 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. 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. Harris' next fight was against Tim Papp where he won by TKO in 50 seconds of the first round. 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. In late 2011 Harris announced he would be fighting childhood friend turned bitter rival

Kimbo Slice Kevin Ferguson (February 8, 1974 – June 6, 2016), better known as Kimbo Slice, was a Bahamian-American mixed martial artist, professional boxer, and actor. Originally a bare-knuckle boxer, he became noted for his role in mutual combat stre ...

in January 2012 for the WFO MMA promotion heavyweight championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, reported by several MMA and combat news sites. The fight never materialized however, and Harris would not compete in MMA for nearly another five years.

Bellator MMA

In 2016, Harris returned to mixed martial arts to make his

debut in the highly sought after, publicized match with Slice at Bellator 149. 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. 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 Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

, severe dehydration and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

during the contest with Slice. Following two weeks of hospitalization, Harris was released on March 2, 2016. Bellator President

Scott Coker Scott Coker (born October 3, 1962) is an American mixed martial artist, Taekwondoin, former movie stuntman, and combat sports promoter. He is the founder and former CEO of MMA promotion Strikeforce, former president of Bellator MMA, and founder o ...

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. In March 2016, it was revealed that Slice had tested positive for

nandrolone Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an endogenous androgen. It is also an anabolic steroid (AAS) which is medically used in the form of esters such as nandrolone decanoate (brand name Deca-Durabolin) and nandrolone phenylpropionate ...

and an elevated

testosterone Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and androgen in Male, males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testicles and prostate, as well as promoting se ...

epitestosterone Epitestosterone, or isotestosterone, also known as 17α-testosterone or as androst-4-en-17α-ol-3-one, is an endogenous steroid and an epimer of the androgen sex hormone testosterone. It is a weak competitive antagonist of the androgen receptor ...

ratio (T/E ratio) in a pre-fight drug test. The result of the fight was overturned to a no contest. Slice soon died at age 42 some months after the bout, and Harris, despite their rivalry and remembering their one-time friendship, paid tribute to his fallen adversary on his Instagram page, citing him as somebody who "Showed the World that a guy from the Back yard circuit Can make it in Professional Sports and do the impossible".

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. 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. 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. A return to combat sports was later ruled out for Harris as he was also barred from competing in a

bare-knuckle boxing Bare-knuckle boxing (also known as bare-knuckle or bare-knuckle fighting) is a full-contact combat sport based on punching without any form of padding on the hands. The sport as it is known today originated in 17th-century England and, although ...

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.

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 BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, founded as BYB Extreme Fighting Series (BYB), is a bare knuckle fighting organization founded in 2015 by former MMA fighter Dhafir ("Dada 5000") Harris and Mike Vazquez, former owner of NASCAR team HRT Motorsports. Ha ...

' next event "Brawl III: Brawl at the Rock," took place on March 7, 2020. The card was headlined by

Chris Barnett Christopher James Barnett (born June 14, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Barnett was born in Zaragoza, Spain, where his father ...

taking on Matt Kovacs, with the co-main event being Mike Trujillo taking on Matt Delanoit.

Mixed martial arts record

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Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

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Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, United States , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dada 5000 1977 births American male mixed martial artists Living people People from Cat Island, Bahamas Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Martial artists from Miami Bahamian male mixed martial artists Bahamian emigrants to the United States