Sometimes mixed martial arts can blur the line between sport and spectacle and that’s exactly what fans witnessed Friday night as Kimbo Slice knocked out Ken Shamrock in the main event of Bellator 138.
Neither 51-year-old Shamrock nor 41-year-old Slice, whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, had fought since 2010 but that didn’t hinder curiosity from the MMA community.
Shamrock started strong, taking Slice down several times and nearly locking in a rear-naked choke. Slice, however, didn’t succumb to the submission and once he got back to his feet landed a series of punches that put Shamrock away.
Anticipation for this fight increased over the years because a matchup between Shamrock and Slice was originally supposed to take place on network television at an Elite XC event in 2008, but Shamrock suffered a cut over his eye during pre-fight warmups and wasn’t medically cleared to compete. At the time, Slice was an unbeaten YouTube sensation who gained popularity from starring and competing in a series of street fight videos.
UFC veteran Seth Petruzelli stepped in on short notice for Shamrock back in 2008 and knocked Slice out in 14 seconds and shattered his invincible aura in a fight seen by 6.451 million viewers in the United States. Fittingly, Petruzelli — also a current Bellator fighter — was cageside Friday to watch the bout.
Slice (5-2) hadn’t competed in MMA since a 2010 loss to Matt Mitrione at UFC 113 in Montreal. He did go 7-0 as a pro boxer following his stint with the UFC, which began with an appearance on The Ultimate Fighter 10 in 2009.
Shamrock’s MMA record is now 28-16-2, losing 10 of his last 13 fights dating back to 2002.
The event took place at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
In the co-main event, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire pulled off a dramatic comeback win to defend his featherweight title over Daniel Weichel. Late in the opening round, Weichel rocked Pitbull with a combination of punches and knees but time in the round expired before the referee stepped in. Weichel, who thought he had just won the title, came out aggressive early in the second frame but caught a perfect counter left hook from Pitbull that removed him from his senses.
Also on the main card, Bellator’s former lightweight champion Michael Chandler made quick work of Derek Campos, knocking him down and submitting him in the first round. Former 145-pound champ Daniel Straus submitted Henry Corrales and former WWE star Bobby Lashley picked up a TKO win over Dan Charles.
There were a number of MMA legends on hand including Royce Gracie and Fedor Emelianenko.
