# Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie: Event Discussion



## LizaG

*February 19, 2016 | Toyota Center | Houston, Texas *


*Main Card*
*Spike, 9 p.m. ET *

Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock 
Kimbo Slice vs. Dhafir Harris 
Emanuel Newton vs. Linton Vassell 
Derek Campos vs. Melvin Guillard 
Daniel Pineda vs. Emmanuel Sanchez 


*Preliminary Card*
*MMAjunkie, 7 p.m. ET *

Juan Torres vs. Justin Wren 
Jeremy Mahon vs. Davis Sylvester 
James Christopherson vs. Charlie Ontiveros 
Ruben Esparsa vs. C.J. Hancock 
Daniel Santos vs. Adrian Yanez 
Richard Knepp vs. Isaac Villanueva 
Mike Trinh vs. Angel Zamora 
Anthony Ivy vs. Jason Langellier 
Manny Lozoya vs. Jacob Norsworthy​


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

Kimbo and Dada should have headlined a different card. With two stupid old guy fights on one card, they have less up and coming show off guys.

Newton and Vassell doesn't make sense as a fight either.


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## Ape City

This is a sad, sad main event and co main. Actually having kimbo in a professional organization is far sadder than two old guys looking for a paycheque. My bad.

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

Ape City said:


> This is a sad, sad main event and co main. Actually having kimbo in a professional organization is far sadder than two old guys looking for a paycheque. My bad.
> 
> Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


I don't think Kimbo's the worst. I'd say he'd have a shot against one or two UFC guys. He's a bit on the old side but he's still got a few fights under his belt.

Ken/Gracie and Dada are all much worse. I'm going to watch it but I like a freakshow fight. I liked Kimbo/Ken.


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## Danm2501

This is hilarious. Can't believe this is a card provided by a legit MMA organization in 2016. I'll watch the main and co-main after it, but this is dire stuff.


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## Spite

Danm2501 said:


> This is hilarious. Can't believe this is a card provided by a legit MMA organization in 2016. I'll watch the main and co-main after it, but this is dire stuff.


I was actually thinking the other fights were better. The Co-Main/Main is a freakshow.

Bellator really ought to be moving away from this kind stuff. If you must have a freakshow then at least put it at the bottom of the card. How are you ever going to come across as the No.2 org when your main events are 2 street fighters and 2 old men.


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

Spite said:


> I was actually thinking the other fights were better. The Co-Main/Main is a freakshow.
> 
> Bellator really ought to be moving away from this kind stuff. If you must have a freakshow then at least put it at the bottom of the card. How are you ever going to come across as the No.2 org when your main events are 2 street fighters and 2 old men.


The problem is, ARE the others much better?

Linton Vassell Vs Emmanuel Netwon...even though Newton beat Linton just a fight or two ago.

Derek Campos Vs Melvin Guillard...Guillard lost his Bellator debut and Campos is hardly on a win streak. Two low level enough guys in 2016.

Daniel Pineda Vs Emmanuel Sanchez...best fight on the card. Sanchez I haven't seen before but he's got a decent record and Pineda has looked okay since leaving UFC.

Justin Wren is a decent watch too if you like big massive guys who can't stand anymore cause they are so tired, which tbh I actually think can be exciting since they still carry power.


A bad card all round though. I'll be watching but Bellator REALLY should utilize freakshow fights to promote other people. I think it was John who tried to tell me Bellator is a better organisation than the UFC. With the entire Will Brooks saga and this card, I can't believe anyone could think that. So many people said Coker was the best thing Bellator could have done but if Bjorn had got rid of the tournament structure, I thought he was better.


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## LizaG

The Rebney-era was the best thing for Bellator, not Scott Coker.


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

LizaG said:


> The Rebney-era was the best thing for Bellator, not Scott Coker.


I like the freak show fights idea. But freak show fights should be a co-main. If you're tuning in to watch Royce and Ken, you'll stick around for the main event. If that main event has Will Brooks win dominantly, boom, plenty of people just say a guy with gold looking great. Instead of making freak shows the main attraction, Coker should be using them to sell the legitimate fighters. 

But he's not. And Rebney was completely focused on guys like Chandler and Warren and really put a lot of time and stock into the Bellator 'legends' so it's a shame they're all taking a back seat now.


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## oldfan

I'm looking for Royce to get the first KO of his career and move on to face Sakuraba at a huge stadium event in Japan with Wandy vs Fedor......
it's like Earth2.


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## Woodenhead

Joke.

I think they both gassed on the walkout.


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## Rygu

Legendary fight, can't wait to download it so i can watch it again.


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

Kimbo Vs Dada is one of the worst MMA fights of all time on paper. A quick brutal KO would have been justice this fight didn't deserve.

Kimbo Vs Dada deserved to be one of the worst MMA fights of all time, and it lived up to what it deserved to live up to.


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## Woodenhead

BAH HAHAHA Quick TKO to the Groin for another Gracie victory! F*** LOL


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

You deserved every second of those Bellator. I feel like the co-main and main event, both on paper and how they ended, have the potential to be promotion breaking. This is the kind of thing you look back at and think "Yeah, that's where it started".

Bellator's future currently looks bright, but something like this doesn't bode well at all.


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## edlavis88

That's gotta take the record of worst MMA card in history surely?


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

edlavis88 said:


> That's gotta take the record of worst MMA card in history surely?


Outside of the top 2, the rest was mainly "okay". I mean, Justin Wren fight was boring as hell outside of hilarious in-fight commentary from Juan Torres. CJ Hancock fight was absolutely hilariously bad. Best fight easily was Guillard and Derek Campos.


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## Ape City

ClydebankBlitz said:


> I don't think Kimbo's the worst. I'd say he'd have a shot against one or two UFC guys. He's a bit on the old side but he's still got a few fights under his belt.
> 
> Ken/Gracie and Dada are all much worse. I'm going to watch it but I like a freakshow fight. I liked Kimbo/Ken.


So who would Kimbo have a chance against? 

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


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## Life B Ez

This wasn't even awesome bad. It was just bad.


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## TheAuger

Spike just started televising this card a little over an hour ago for me. Since I already know the outcomes, I doubt I'll make it to the two joke fights. Sleep sounds like a better alternative. 

Seriously, did anyone actually think those two fights were going to be anything other than what they ended up being?


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## John8204

ClydebankBlitz said:


> The problem is, ARE the others much better?
> 
> Linton Vassell Vs Emmanuel Netwon...even though Newton beat Linton just a fight or two ago.
> 
> Derek Campos Vs Melvin Guillard...Guillard lost his Bellator debut and Campos is hardly on a win streak. Two low level enough guys in 2016.
> 
> Daniel Pineda Vs Emmanuel Sanchez...best fight on the card. Sanchez I haven't seen before but he's got a decent record and Pineda has looked okay since leaving UFC.
> 
> Justin Wren is a decent watch too if you like big massive guys who can't stand anymore cause they are so tired, which tbh I actually think can be exciting since they still carry power.
> 
> 
> A bad card all round though. I'll be watching but Bellator REALLY should utilize freakshow fights to promote other people. I think it was John who tried to tell me Bellator is a better organisation than the UFC. With the entire Will Brooks saga and this card, I can't believe anyone could think that. So many people said Coker was the best thing Bellator could have done but if Bjorn had got rid of the tournament structure, I thought he was better.


Wow what bad luck you must have, you seemed to have missed every great fight on the prelims and only watched the one bad prelim fight. Amazing how that worked out.

Although to be fair Slice/Dada and Shamrock/Gracie are going to be talked about a hell of a lot longer than Rosholt/Nelson or OSP/Cavalcante.

Also Slice/Gracie...pretty much a forgone conclusion at this point right?


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## Woodenhead

TheAuger said:


> Seriously, did anyone actually think those two fights were going to be anything other than what they ended up being?


Not me - I just had it on while I was in the kitchen, prepping a batch of my patented "thunder pavilion"* pickled eggs.

I don't think the eggs will stink nearly as much as the co-mains, TBQH.


* thunder pavilion


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## edlavis88

Lolz.


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

John8204 said:


> Wow what bad luck you must have, you seemed to have missed every great fight on the prelims and only watched the one bad prelim fight. Amazing how that worked out.
> 
> Although to be fair Slice/Dada and Shamrock/Gracie are going to be talked about a hell of a lot longer than Rosholt/Nelson or OSP/Cavalcante.
> 
> Also Slice/Gracie...pretty much a forgone conclusion at this point right?


Josef Frtizl will probably be talked about longer than my uncle, doesn't make Frtizl a PR genius.

So okay Mr. Anti UFC, I'm gonna call you out on the bullshit now. Which fight ranks as "great" exactly?

*Ruben Esparsa Vs CJ Hancock* - CJ is probably the third most out of shape fighter I've ever seen in MMA, outside of Dada and Kimbo. He was absolutely gassed 2 minutes into the fight. Esparsa didn't have a clue what to do and kept going for takedowns. Hancock somehow gets a last minute submission on him because Ruben just lay there for him. Cool result, atrocious fight.

*Angel Zamora Vs Mike Trinh* - Two old men with very little MMA experience. Zamora tries his hardest to score a footlock while literally screaming in pain at being footlocked. A pretty simple armbar was locked on because Zamora was gassed in the first round (he had previously defended the same armbar attempt with relative easy). Terrible refereeing meant Zamora took additional damage. Okay fight cause armbars are cool.

*Justin Wren Vs Juan Torres* - Boring as sin, outside of Torres being hilarious from start to finish. Wren just holds him against the cage. A couple of decent striking flurries but as with the theme of the night, Torres was so tired to quickly that he had no power.

*Jason Langllier Vs Anthony Ivy* - Two new comers to the sport, but a nice quick finish for Langllier by D'Arce. He then tries to start a fight with the other guys corner. Nice finish.

*Ryan Hollis Vs Adrian Yanez* - A fight of takedowns and brief grappling with no ground and pound or submission attempts. Not the most fun in the world. Was made interested by Hollis winning the first and Yanez winning the second. I didn't mind this too much as the fight was close but I can imagine to most MMA fans this is a snoozefest.

*Jeremy Mahon Vs Davis Sylvester* - Okay fight. Mahon is the more aggressive and lands a couple of okay shots but it's mostly played out in the grappling. The finish comes when Davis Sylverster for some reason doesn't try to work when Big John tells him to and gets stopped by body punches from half guard. Not a bad fight though.

*Richard Knepp Vs Isaac Villanueva* - Nice rapid TKO. Not much else to say about it.



So there we go. There's at least the televised prelims. Explain to me which of these crossed over to become a "great fight". Knepp and Villanueva had a nice quick stoppage finish, although it was pretty much the only piece of clean striking landed throughout any of the fights. Which of these fights is a 'great fight' for you?


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## Joabbuac

Dada-Kimbo was everything i wanted to be... that truly was an amazing fight, with an awesome finish.


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## Spite

Joabbuac said:


> Dada-Kimbo was everything i wanted to be... that truly was an amazing fight, with an awesome finish.


I see people fall out of pubs like that all time.


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## Ape City

Joabbuac said:


> Dada-Kimbo was everything i wanted to be... that truly was an amazing fight, with an awesome finish.


We got to see a new contender in the fight as well. The warm breeze that ended up knocking Dada out.


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## Joabbuac

Ape City said:


> We got to see a new contender in the fight as well. The warm breeze that ended up knocking Dada out.


Yeah, Mr Warm Breeze nearly took two guys out at the same time, legend.


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## Trix

update -











edit -


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## TheAuger

Bellator's need to put on freak shows nearly got a man killed.

Let that sink in.


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## Joabbuac

TheAuger said:


> Bellator's need to put on freak shows nearly got a man killed.
> 
> Let that sink in.


And it wasn't even the one involving 50 yr olds. 

I make fun, but i really do hope Dhafir Harris is ok...


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## No_Mercy

Depending on how you looked at it one could say they saw a solid fight between two street brawlers who actually integrated MMA aspects into the bout. One could also say it was two "pro" fighters who showcased very rudimentary aspects of mma reminiscent of early days of MMA. I preferred to look at it from the former so in that regards I thought it was somewhat entertaining. 

Shamrock vs Gracie was like watching a cool movie from the past that simply doesn't hold up today in terms of special effects. Poor Ken's always complaining. I thought he'd press the action. Not a quality card imo for Bellator.


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## RangerClydeTheBlue

^Bellator should hire you NOW.


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## Trix

Still wondering if the disability tag in Dada's van leading into the fight wasn't a warning sign.










Clips of Dada's training might have been another warning sign.

It looked like neither Dada, his corner or anyone training him know anything about cutting weight or nutrition. They tried to cut weight despite not knowing anything about it.


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## John8204

TheAuger said:


> Bellator's need to put on freak shows nearly got a man killed.
> 
> Let that sink in.


To be fair I'm not sure climbing a flight of stairs wouldn't nearly kill Dada.


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## Warning

Had this event on at the bar. For some reason people where loving Kimbo Vs Dada. It got the most positive reaction of all the fights. Almost every guy there where on their feet.


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## Life B Ez

Warning said:


> Had this event on at the bar. For some reason people where loving Kimbo Vs Dada. It got the most positive reaction of all the fights. Almost every guy there where on their feet.


That's interesting because everyone in the building was booing the whole fight. It's just bum fight mentality as to why people in the bar love it.


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## DonRifle

Dada 5000's heart stopped in the hospital after the fight. Apparently got to do with the huge weight cut. He got resusitated though

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/blogs/...lowing-loss-to-kimbo-slice-223108957-mma.html


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