As cliché as it may sound, for Royce Gracie, age still ain’t nothing but a number.
Bellator’s recent announcement that the 48-year-old Gracie would face 51-year-old Ken Shamrock for a third time at the promotion’s next tent-pole event on Feb. 19 was met with a collective sigh from much of the mixed martial arts community.
After all, Gracie hasn’t competed in more than eight years, and Shamrock looked to be a bit on the creaky side when he allowed Kimbo Slice to escape a rear-naked choke and knock him out in the first round of their bout this past June.