Tito Ortiz fought at Bellator 120 where rumors circulated that somebody took a dive (Photo : REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni)
Is Bellator MMA tainting the image of the sport by conducting staged or pre-arranged fights just like it's done in professional wrestling?
UFC commentator Joe Rogan and FOX Sport's Katie Nolan felt that the main event of between Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice Bellator 138 held last June 19, is 'fixed'.
Rogan noted there are a several things that suggest the fight was staged: First, the fighters engaged in an usually long mouth-to-ear clinch.
Furthermore, the 51 year-old Shamrock never hit Slice when bring the latter down.
Rogan exclaims that it doesn't make sense if a fighter has his oponent flattened and he refused to throw punches.
Rogan added that the entrance of the fight was also suspect as Shamrock was "shaking everybody's hand" as if he will conduct a performance and not get into a fight.
A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, Rogan also questioned the manner Shamrock did his grappling's grappling, despite his incredible pedigree in the field.
Rgan noted that Shamrock never went behind the head and choked Slice in a weird way by pressuring the top of the head.
He said it disturbing to me how easy Kimbo shook Ken off his back.
After surviving a rear-naked choke attempt from Shamrock, Slice scored a first-round TKO of the UFC Hall of Famer.
However, Rogan admitted that with the way Kimbo stopped Shamrock, he really did crack him .
This was not the first time Bellator was suspected of staging fake fights.
In May last year at Bellator 120, rumors made the rounds among media members that a "prominent" fighter was set-up to "take a dive".
Then 205-pound Tito Ortiz pulled off what is described as a "curious" victory over Bellator middleweight title-holder Alexander Shlemenko.
Such a thing in MMA is typically unheard of and none of the journalists reported the rumor, opting instead on making teasing tweets.
Meanwhile, the post-fight medical suspension report of Bellator 138 released by the Missouri Office of Athletics gave precautionary suspensions on Shamrock along with three other fighters.
Shamrock received a 30-day suspension along with Dan Charles and Sean Wilson, while Daniel Weichel received a 60-day ban.
Incidentally, the Slice vs. Shamrock main event set Bellator's all-time record with 1.58 million viewers on average for the entire three-hour presentation. The main event attraced 2.1 million over the 15-minute span.
