Ricco Rodriguez Agrees to New Opponent After Shark Fights 17 Weigh-in Debacle

Shark Fights 17: Horwich vs. Rosholt II is finally set for Friday night at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas, but it wasn’t without some last-minute drama following Thursday’s weigh-in.

Main eventers Matt Horwich and Josh Rosholt easily made weight, making their bout official, but things didn’t go as smoothly for former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez.

While Rodriguez weighed in at 227 pounds, his opponent, Karl Knothe, tipped the scales at 253.75 pounds. That would have been fine for a heavyweight bout, but their contract was for a 230-pound catch-weight bout. Rodriguez has been trying to work his way down to the light heavyweight division, and as such, refused to take the bout with such a vast weight discrepancy.

Rodriguez’s bout fills the co-main event slot and Shark Fights and HDNet, who will broadcast the fights on Friday night, didn’t want to let the bout slip away. Putting in an all-out blitz to keep the fight together, Shark Fights on Friday stated that Doug Williams, who was originally set to face Daniel Almeida on the undercard, moved into the co-main event to face Rodriguez.

Shark Fights 17 will be telecast live on HDNet on Friday night at 10 p.m. ET.

Shark Fights 17 Official Weigh-in Results:

Main Bouts (On HDNet):
-Matt Horwich (186) vs Jake Rosholt (185.75)
-Ricco Rodriquez (227.75) vs Doug Williams (230)
-Emanual Newton (204.25) vs. Ilir Latifi (206)
-Erik Perez (146.25) vs Douglas Frey (145.25)
-Alan Jouban (170.25) vs Andrew Goldthwaite (168.25)

Preliminary Bouts:
-Quaint Kempf (146.25) vs Victor Hernandez (148.25)
-Gabe Vasquez (177.25) vs Russell Brewer (178.75)
-Jay Flores (145.75) vs Matt Hober (145.5)