While there is no UFC PPV this month there are three good cards and a mammoth Bellator show lined up for February 19 featuring three intriguing matchups. Here are the top five fights to watch.
Michael Bisping versus Anderson Silva
This clash of legends is the UFC’s most exciting fight of the month. In the biggest ever Fight Pass main event Britain’s greatest UFC fighter comes up against possibly the best mixed martial artist to who have ever lived.
“The Count” comes in to the February 27 showdown on the back of decision victories over CB Dolloway and Thales Leites. He was unyielding in both decision victories, proving why he has remained at the top of the game for a decade.
Silva will fight for the first time since he was banned for testing positive for anabolic steroids. After carving an unforgettable legacy for himself between 2006 and 2012 “The Spider” has endured the toughest stretch of his career in recent years. He has not won since his final middleweight title defence against Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153.
Silva’s situation coming in to fight night certainly adds extra intrigue. At 40-years-old can he become a genuine contender again or is this, as many believe, his lap of honour?
You can guarantee that Bisping will come in to this fight more motivated than ever. Not only has he had his crosshairs on the Brazilian since he joined the UFC but this will be his first bout on British shores in over five years.
Whatever way it ends, having these two share the octagon is sure to live long in the memory.
Ken Shamrock versus Royce Gracie
The main event of Bellator 149 has Hollywood written all over it – the two men who birthed MMA and announced themselves to the world at UFC 1 will fight again for one last time (I hope) 23 years later. Except that storyline sounds epic and this probably won’t be.
This fight is absolutely insane. Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie are legends of the game and they will go down in history. But not because of this fight.
Many will argue that is is irresponsible to have two men born in the mid 60s fight each other and they be right. But at the end of the day if that is what it takes to move the needle then that is what they shall do.
Since Scott Coker became President of Bellator he has placed a lot of faith in freak show main events and it has paid off. The company has seen a rise in popularity as a result of fights like Kimbo Slice versus Shamrock. So it doesn’t matter that these two have a combined age of 101, that Royce Gracie has not fought since 2007 or that Ken Shamrock has lost 10 of his last 14. This fight will sell.
Despite the fact that everything is so wrong about this fight, I will definitely be watching, and you probably will be too.
Dada 5000 versus Kimbo Slice
Dada 5000 and Kimbo Slice will co-main event Bellator 196 in a fittingly absurd prelude to the fight which comes after.
This fight is a little more fun and a little less sad than the main event. Unlike Shamrock or Gracie neither Kimbo nor Dada are legends in the game and neither will pass through the hall of fame.
The circumstances surrounding the fight, like the main event, are also rather theatrical. As Kimbo Slice started to make it big through his famous backyard brawls on youtube, Dada was working for him as a bodyguard. The tale tells that Dada eventually left and starting causing beef with Kimbo and then created his own amateur fighting league, a story which is told in the documentary Dawgfight.
This is what Kimbo had to say about the beef in an interview with MMAFighting:
“I am going to f— this n—— up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m open to all possibilities in an MMA fight including submissions and anything else that comes up. But the true fight fans appreciate a real fight, and this is two n—— from the same neighbourhood who have a beef to settle. I’m going to knock his ass out and he’s going to wake up and not know what hit him.”
Dada probably doesn’t know a D’Arce choke from an artichoke and Kimbo has never been the most cultured of fighters but they are both scary propositions when locked inside a cage. So whether or not the beef is fabricated or not I am actually pretty excited about this fight.
Someone is getting knocked out.
Linton Vassell versus Emmanuel Newton
Finally a credible fight on the Bellator 196 main card. The two light-heavyweight tournament semi final losers from Dynamite 1 will battle it out to see who can throw themselves back in to title contention.
The two met before in a title fight at Bellator 130. On that occasion Newton managed to shake off early pressure to earn a fifth round submission victory and hand the Brit his first loss with the company.
But since then the former champ has lost two on the bounce and if it becomes three on February 19 then people will start asking serious questions about his future.
The light-heavyweight division is probably the most talent rich throughout Bellator and a loss for either man would set him back a number of fights. With Phil Davis, Tito Ortiz and Muhammed Lawal stalking champion Liam McGeary the significance of this fight cannot be overstated.
Donald Cerrone versus Tim Means
Donald Cerrone will make his welterweight debut against Tim Means on February 21 two months after his devastating title defeat against Rafael Dos Anjos.
“Cowboy” was on an eight fight win streak before his 66 second beatdown by the lightweight champion. It makes sense after such a comprehensive loss to switch a division and make a run against a new set of contenders. Cerrone was always a big lightweight and his style and size should be complimented well in a heavier weight class.
Means is coming off a beautiful knockout of John Howard in December after failing his biggest test to date at UFC 189 against Matt Brown. That was a loss that set him back after previously being on an impressive run. However, a victory over a fighter as well regarded as Cerrone would likely thrust him in to the top 15.
The real intrigue in this fight is seeing how Cerrone looks after his loss and in a new weight class. The talent was clearly there to challenge for the belt at 155lbs and if he can regain the form he found in late 2014 and early 2015 he will be a genuine contender for the 170lb strap.
