Royce Gracie bests Ken Shamrock to win the main event Friday night at Toyota Center.
Ex-training partner of UFC champ, wrestler picks up win in undercard
Veteran Houston-area fighter Daniel Pineda was beaten in his return to the Bellator MMA promotion on Friday night at the Toyota Center.
Pineda, 30, lost by split decision to Emmanuel Sanchez, a training partner of former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and the ex-WWE wrestler C.M. Punk. The bout was a closely-contested one that kicked off Bellator’s debut in the Houston market.
Pineda grew drastically as a mixed martial artist while fighting for Houston’s Legacy Fighting Championship promotion under the stewardship of owner and promoter Mick Maynard. He was eventually signed to the UFC in 2011 and went 3-4 in the promotion while generally being known as a reliable, exciting fighter.
That reputation was on display Friday night, as Pineda and Sanchez waged a back-and-forth war that saw Pineda nearly secure multiple fight-ending submissions. Sanchez was able to escape each time, however, and used more effective striking to counter Pineda’s wild and risky style.
The loss drops Pineda’s record to 21-12. Sanchez, one of Bellator’s more notable prospects in a sea of aging and ragged UFC veterans, ran his to 13-2.
The card was scheduled to be headlined by a bout between MMA legends Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie , whose rivalry dates back to the days of the first-ever UFC event in 1993. At 52 and 49 years old, respectively, Shamrock and Gracie are the kind of fighters Bellator has come to rely on as they attempt to differentiate themselves from the juggernaut UFC. Instead of focusing on pure athletes and attempting to sign the best fighters in the world, Bellator president Scott Coker headlines his events by using famous names from the past such as Shamrock, Gracie, Kimbo Slice, Tito Ortiz and others.
The strategy has largely been a success, with Bellator events doing increasing record television ratings and pulling in millions of viewers on the Viacomowned Spike TV cable network. Viacom executives were confident of another smash ratings success for Friday’s event in Houston.
Infamous street fighter Slice was also slated to take on former friend Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris in the co-main event.