Emanuel Newton-Linton Vassell Rematch Rounds Out Main Card for Bellator 149

Bellator MMA has completed the main card of its Bellator 149 event, which is scheduled to take place on Feb. 19 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

The California-based promotion on Tuesday announced the addition of a light heavyweight rematch between Emanuel Newton and Linton Vassell to the event.

Newton and Vassell previously locked horns at Bellator 130, where Newton secured a fifth-round rear-naked choke to submit his rival. Vassell looked to exact revenge when the two 205-pounders were placed in a four-man tournament last September, but the paths of the two did not cross that night in San Jose, Calif.

Vassell, who has lost two of his last three after winning nine straight, is vying to be a combatant on Bellator’s debut show in London later this year. In order to secure his place on the bill of his hometown’s show, he needs to get past “The Hardcore Kid,” who has also dropped his last two battles.

Bellator 149 features a dual main event featuring some of the biggest names in the sport’s history. Inaugural UFC champion and jiu-jitsu legend Royce Gracie will renew his old rivalry with Ken Shamrock in one of the main battles, while the other featured bout is the old-fashioned grudge match between former backyard brawlers Kimbo Slice and Dhafir Harris, better known as “Dada 5000.”

Rounding out the main card is a featherweight brawl between Emmanuel Sanchez and Daniel Pineda, and a 155-pound slugfest pitting Melvin Guillard against Mike Bronzoulis.