NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio – MMA Fans everywhere can prepare for a big fight weekend out of the two top promotions in the world as both the UFC and Bellator will have cards on free tv for all to see!
The action kicks off Friday with Bellator 149 on Spike TV live from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The main event features a trilogy fight between two MMA legends, Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie. They are the two pioneers of the sport of have serious beef with one another.
Royce Gracie initially beat Ken Shamrock in fifty-seven seconds via rear-naked choke at their first meeting at UFC 1 in 1993. A rematch was held in 1995 at UFC V that went 36 minutes and was billed as a draw. Many fans and media who saw it state that if judged by today’s scoring system Shamrock would have won.
This will be good for the novelty and nostalgia value alone. Both men are 20 years past their prime but have the pride of 10 hungry lions combined. Plus, factor in the fact that they can’t stand each other and it should be can’t miss TV.
Gracie needs it to get out of the first round and he should roll from there. Any chance of a Shamrock winning will need to happen in the first two minutes before he gases out. Speaking of novelty, the co-main event is expected to feature a heavyweight bout between former Miami-Dade County street fighters Kevin Ferguson, aka “Kimbo Slice” and Dhafir Harris, aka “Dada 5000.
You can rest assure neither of these men will ever be fighting for a legitimate title. Slice is perhaps the worst MMA fighter to receive the large amount of attention he has over the last 10 years. He is not worth an ounce of it, however, Dada 5000 is worth less. Expect this one to be a slugfest that Slice wins easily.
The UFC will have their turn Sunday night as they visit the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for only the second time in the UFC’s 20 plus year existence. The card will be headlined by a welterweight bout between former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Donald Cerrone and Alex Oliveira.
For Oliveira this fight can put his young career on the map as it is only his fifth fight in the UFC and the largest of name value. It was originally expected to be headlined by Donald Cerrone and Tim Means, however, on February 3, it was announced that Means was informed of a potential USADA anti-doping policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection. Because there was insufficient time for a full review and proper promotion before the scheduled bout, Means was pulled from the fight by the UFC and named Oliveira the replacement.
Donald Cerrone is coming off of his first loss in over two years as he was defeated handily by UFC Light Heavy Weight Champion Rafeal Dos Anjos on December 19. Cerrone lost the fight via TKO just 66 seconds into the first round.
It stopped an eight fight win streak for Cerrone and caused him to bump up the 15 pounds to Welterweight. All signs points to Cerrone rolling to victory by KO in his Welterweight debut.
No matter who your favorite fighter or promotion is, this weekend should provide a little something for every fan of the sport.
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