Royce Gracie on Bellator 149 opponent Ken Shamrock: He talks too much – 'and lies too'

HOUSTON – More than 22 years after their first meeting at UFC 1, why are 49-year-old Royce Gracie and 52-year-old Ken Shamrock fighting once again?

It depends on which one of the UFC Hall of Famers you ask ahead of Friday’s Bellator 149 headliner.

According to Shamrock (28-16-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), Gracie (14-2-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) requested the bout. After Shamrock suffered a knockout loss to Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson at Bellator 138 in June 2015, he said Gracie contacted Bellator President Scott Coker to request the next shot at Shamrock. Gracie, though, seemed surprised by that claim.

“I didn’t ask for the fight,” said Gracie, who submitted Shamrock at UFC 1 before fighting him to a draw a couple years later at UFC 5, during Tuesday’s open workouts. “Ask Scott Coker who asked for the fight.

“So (Shamrock) doesn’t just talk too much, but he lies too.”

Regardless of which vet initiated the matchup, the fighters now meet in a Spike-televised headliner at Houston’s Toyota Center. Both fighters are clearly in the twilight of their careers, and Gracie returns for the first time since 2007, though he’s not too concerned about the layoff.

“I’m at home,” he said. “I’m ready to do it today. I was ready to do it when we signed, when we announced it.”

Check out the video highlights above, or check out the full scrum below.

And for more on Bellator 149, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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