Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie 3 Announced for Bellator Event in February

Bellator is once again reaching into the history books to find its big main events, and it went deep for this one.

During the Bellator 145 broadcast, Scott Coker appeared on stage to announce that its next tentpole show, slated for February 19 in Houston, will be headlined by a threematch between MMA legends Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock.

Shamrock and Gracie defined MMA in the 1990s, becoming the two of the first breakout stars in the sport. Gracie won three of the first four UFC tournaments and held the record for longest UFC winning streak for a long while. Shamrock was a standout player in both the early UFC days as well as carving out a niche as one of the premier fighters in the Japanese Pancrase promotion.

They twice fought in the UFC, the first time at UFC 1 with Shamrock losing in 57 seconds via submission to a rear-naked choke. They later faced off again 18 months later for the UFC Superfight Championship, with the fight ending in a draw after 36 minutes of fighting.

Unfortunately, both men would go on to tarnish their legacy after their time in the UFC's early tournaments.

When Shamrock returned to MMA following a three-year run in the WWF, he was a shell of his former self, amassing a 3-7 record between the UFC and Pride. After dropping back-to-back fights to Tito Ortiz, he had a highly unsuccessful run as a journeyman from 2007 to 2010, a stretch which was defined by a failed drug test and scrapped fights against Bobby Lashley and Kimbo Slice.

Similarly, Gracie would leave the UFC in 1995, but he came back in 2000 with Pride FC. Often fighting in bouts with special rules that favored his grappling-based style of fighting, he amassed a so-so record of 1-1-2. He would later fail a drug test following a 2007 rematch with Kazushi Sakuraba.

Shamrock returned to MMA suddenly in 2015 for a fight in Bellator with Slice, losing by first-round knockout. While the fight was quite controversial, he was quick to suggest he wasn't done in MMA. Gracie, however, has stayed out of MMA competition since that second fight with Sakuraba.

Needless to say, this is an interesting play by Bellator, and it will be a fun throwback for longtime MMA fans. Also announced for the card was a bout between Kimbo Slice and Dada 5000.

Keep an eye out for more news on the card as it becomes available.

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