Bellator 149 - Shamrock vs Gracie, Kimbo vs Dada 5000

Shamrock v Gracie 1

– Bellator fans at the recent event, Bellator 145 were surprised to see Kurt Angle cageside. Angle who is not contracted to any promotion currently was there to make an announcement.

But the announcement that the fans wanted of Kurt joining Bellator did not come, instead Angle announced that there will be a third Ken Shamrock vs Royce Gracie match at Bellator 149. The match is to be contested in open weight and has been one of the most brow-raising match announcements since Shamrock vs Kimbo Slice.

Royce Gracie and Shamrock have had two earlier bouts with the first one ending in controversy as Shamrock lost to a rear-naked hold and the second one ended in a draw which was also marred by a sudden change of rules.

Royce left UFC only to return after an 11-year hiatus. Gracie who is 48, quit MMA in 2007 after testing positive for the use of anabolic steroids after defeating his rival Kazushi Sakuraba.

Shamrock last had a match with Kimbo Slice and was left embarrassed. Shamrock has been criticized a lot by the media for fighting past his age. He got beaten by Kimbo with one of his trademark powerful right hooks resulting in a TKO loss.

A portion of the media also suggested that the Bellator 138 event, where this took place, looked nothing but staged. 

Shamrock and Gracie have quite a history with Gracie having won against Shamrock. This will hopefully spur Shamrock further to dig out a win against his opponent. They have been involved in a fight since UFC 1 and this upcoming bout is set to be historic. 

Shamrock's last conqueror, Kimbo Slice, will be facing his former bodyguard and friend Dhafir ‘Dada 5000’ Harris. There is not a lot of buzz around this whole booking and the fans seem to be not pleased with the situation.

Both the bouts are scheduled at Bellator 149 which will air on Spike TV live from Toyota Center in Houston on February 19th 2016.