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BATISTA'S NEW OPPONENT FOR THIS SATURDAY'S MMA DEBUT IS...

By Mike Johnson on 2012-10-02 09:11:44
Dave Bautista's new MMA opponent for this Saturday has been revealed. He'll be facing Vince Lucero, who signed on for the fight just yesterday. The official press release was issued late last night:

Six-time WWE champ Bautista set to face new foe in next weekend’s MMA debut

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Oct. 1, 2012) – Upon learning his original opponent is unable to fight, six-time World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) champion David Bautista will now face Arizona veteran Vince Lucero next weekend in his long-awaited mixed martial arts debut Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012 at The Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

Bautista was originally scheduled to face Newburgh, N.Y., newcomer Rashid Evans. Instead, he will fight the 6-foot-2 Lucera (20-22, 11 KOs), a veteran of 42 professional fights with 11 knockouts and a stacked resume that includes bouts against former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, former UFC heavyweight contenders Justin Eilers, Homer Moore and Christian Wellisch, Strikeforce veteran Ruben Villareal and former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) contender Jimmy Ambriz in addition to a bout with the Bellator Fighting Championships in 2011.

The show, titled “Real Pain,” is presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports in association with June Entertainment and 4zero1 Entertainment Group. Tickets are priced at $20.00, $35.00, $55.00, $75.00, $125.00 and $250.00 and can be purchased at www.cesmma.com or www.ticketmaster.com. The show will also air live on DirecTV Pay Per View for $29.95 ($39.95 in high definition) – available now – beginning at 8 p.m., or through Livestream via www.bautistamma.com in high definition.

Bautista, 43, is also the star of the motion picture The Man With The Iron Fists, which will be released in theaters worldwide on Nov. 2, and is currently training at his Gracie Fighter Jiu-Jitsu facility in Tampa, which he opened to the public in 2011, with Matheus Andre, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and Josh Rafferty, a contestant on the debut season of The Ultimate Fighter reality series. “Real Pain” features 14 bouts, including four former Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) contenders – John “Doomsday” Howard of Boston; Marc Stevens of Lorraine, N.Y.; Chad Reiner of Omaha, Neb.; and Montreal native David Loiseau, who fought for the UFC middleweight title in 2006.

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