Bellator 149: “Shamrock vs. Gracie 3” had a memorable — if somewhat controversial — main event at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, last night (Fri., Feb. 19, 2016) on Spike TV.
In a showdown more than two decades in the making, the Openweight trilogy match wound up lasting just 2:22 inside the confines of the Bellator cage, though that may have been merciful given the drawn out drama of the co-main event.
A triumphant return to the cage for @realroyce! #Bellator149https://t.co/N0FJbjyMc1
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 20, 2016
As the first round progressed, Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie cautiously felt out the range for blows. Gracie showed a propensity to strike with kicks given his hands were not wrapped going into the fight.
Those kicks ultimately led to an errant strike to the groin, courtesy of Gracie’s left knee (see video above). Shamrock did not appear to immediately react to the blow, which caused both the Bellator announcers and referee Jacob Montalvo to miss the fact he was possibly fouled.
Moments later when Gracie landed a knee to the head in clinch, Shamrock fell and grabbed his cup, complaining to Montalvo before and after Gracie earned the technical knockout stoppage.
Gracie picked up his first-ever win via strikes and improved to 15-2-3 in his career. Shamrock fell to defeat in his second Bellator fight and now stands at 28-17-2 at 52 years old.
For full results from Bellator 149, including play-by-play updates and commentary, click here.