Ken Shamrock files complaint with Texas, seeks overturning of Royce Gracie loss at Bellator 149 due to low blow

By Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Ken Shamrock’s team are appealing his loss to Royce Gracie from Friday’s Bellator 149 event, releasing a statement on Sunday revealing that they’ve filed a complaint regarding the missed low blow that directly led to the TKO stoppage in the main event in Houston.

Here’s their statement, via Shamrock’s official website:

“On Sunday, February 21, 2016, Team Shamrock has officially filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) disputing the foul missed by the ref for Bellator 149 on February 19, 2016. The contest was stopped erroneously due to Ken Shamrock’s inability to fight back or protect himself after the illegal knee to the groin. The replay of the low blow was shown several times to the fans at the Toyota Center where the contest was held. Each time it was played, the fans gasped and booed relentlessly when they witnessed the groin being kneed.

Fans from around the world have been calling for an immediate rematch between Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie. There should be no delay scheduling this redo as the fans had expected to watch this historic bout. Instead, the fans who watched in record numbers were robbed from seeing what they were expecting to see. They expected to witness a rivalry 23 years in the making come to a close. However, the fans are left disenfranchised. The fans lost out on a missed call on an obvious illegal foul. Shamrock and Gracie fought in UFC 1 and 3, and most recently in Bellator 149, which was supposed to be the bout to finally settle things once and for all. That did NOT happen, but it should and soon.

Furthermore, the next bout, if it is to happen, should NOT be ‘Shamrock vs Gracie 4.’ Rather, it should be a redo of ‘Shamrock vs Gracie 3.’ The Shamrock vs Gracie 3 fight is expected to be rendered a no-contest by the TDLR, which in essence would nullify the previous fight. Therefore, the next fight should be considered a restart of the original trilogy. The missed call warrants a full redo, and a complete rematch is essential to help preserve the rich history that these two fighters have created.

A required rematch has seldom been as warranted as the recent Shamrock versus Gracie fight.

A fight of such magnitude must NOT end on a missed call. This legendary fight disserves to happen the correct way — for the fans.”

Penick’s Analysis: On replay the foul was clear, but given Shamrock’s delayed reaction it’s also easy to see why there appeared to be no foul in the moment. Gracie threw a few knees in that exchange, and though the first one landed low, Shamrock reacted after Gracie whiffed on another. Regardless, the fight ended because of a foul that was missed by the referee, so there’s at least some standing for Shamrock’s appeal. However, he’s trying to get this handled fairly in Texas, with a commission that has proven to be woefully incompetent on a number of occasions, so it’s hard to expect we’ll see him get much traction here. Regardless, I wouldn’t put it past Bellator to put the fight on again, so he may get his wish on that front.

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