Shark Fight Promotions announced Tuesday Shark Fights 18 will take place at John Ascuaga’s Nugget Hotel and Casino Resort in Reno, Nev., on Friday, Aug. 19. It wil mark the promotion’s first visit to Nevada.
The main event features UFC vet and B.J. Penn-trained Shane Nelson (13-5) versus former King of the Cage champion Aaron Wetherspoon (8-3, 1 NC).
Between 2008-2009 Nelson went 2-2 inside the UFC Octagon. Since leaving the UFC, the Hawaii native has fought once, scoring a second round submission over Australia’s Jai Bradney back in March.
Outside of a decision loss to Mike Pyle in 2007 in Strikeforce, Wetherspoon fought most of his career for King of the Cage where he became the promotion’s longest reigning welterweight champion.
After a two-year hiatus from competition, Wetherspoon returned in February 2011 with a unanimous decision win over Nick Reale at MEZ Sports’ “Pandemonium 4″ in Riverside, California.
The Shark Fights 18 co-main event features 6’6” BJJ black belt Ricky Shivers (10-5-1) against Kings MMA product Emanuel Newton (15-6-1). Both fighters are on a three fight win streak.
Shivers is coming off a first round armbar submission win over former King of the Cage two-division champ Tony Lopez at Alaska Fighting Championship 83 in May. Shivers has submitted his last three opponents.
Newton is coming off a unanimous decision win over Ilir Latifi at Shark Fights 17 earlier this month.
The Shark Fights 18 fight card will also include BJJ World Champion and Blackhouse Team Nogueira fighter Adriano Camolese (4-1), King of the Cage vet Ruben “Warpath” Villareal (19-21-3), and former Gladiator Challenge heavyweight champ Dave Huckaba (15-4), who has never gone the distance.
Shark Fights 18 will be broadcast via tape delay on Fuel TV beginning September 2. Tickets for Shark Fights 18 are
on sale this Wednesday, July 27, at Ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster retail locations, John Ascuaga’s Nugget, IFC Gym, and Carnal Dammage.
Stay close to ProMMAnow.com (www.prommanow.com) as more fight announcements are released for this event. To quickly check fight card line-ups as they stand, check out Upcoming Events page.