It was announced yesterday that Bellator will be heading to St. Louis on June 20 for an event on Spike TV and the event will be headlined by a heavyweight bout as Kimbo Slice meets Ken Shamrock.
The two fighters were initially scheduled to meet back in 2008 at Elite XC: Heat, but a cut forced Shamrock out of the fight and they will be able to settle their “Unfinished Business” later this year.
Following the announcement of the fight booking, The MMA Report reached out to Missouri Office of Athletics Director Tim Lueckenhoff, who stated the fight had not been proposed by Bellator to the commission.
“Has not even been proposed by promoter, no date secured,” Lueckenhoff told The MMA Report yesterday.
During a press conference on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena prior to Bellator 134, Bellator President Scott Coker clarified the situation to The MMA Report. According to Coker, they were in communication with Lueckenhoff earlier this week about their intentions to come to St. Louis in June.
“Let me talk about that for a second because there seems to be some misunderstandings,” Coker said. “We had a conversation with Tim Lueckenhoff two days ago. The day before we announced the fight and we told him we would like to come. He said ok. Of course we have to send in our reservation permit form. The fighters have to go through licensing process with medicals. Those are the next steps but this is the natural process for a fight promotion.”
“We do not license our fighters two months — three months before the fight. We get the date, which we did. Scottrade Center. June 20 and now we will begin the process of getting the fighters licensed and getting everything to the commission. He [Lueckenhoff] is aware of it. He is supporting it pending the medical approval.”
According to a report by MMA Junkie yesterday, Lueckenhoff stated that he will require additional medical testing to make sure the fighters are “physically fit and there are no preexisting condition.” If they pass those test, the fighters will be granted a license for the fight on June 20 at the Scottrade Center.