MMA News Forums » MMA Forums » General MMA Forum

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Braulio Estima vs. Rick Hawn official for "Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas" by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Mar 24, 2010 at 12:30 pm ET

The long rumored contest between Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Braulio Estima (0-0), the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club 88-kilogram and Absolute division champion, and Judo practitioner Rick Hawn (4-0) is now official.

Shine Fight Promotions officials today announced that Estima and Hawn will meet in a 175-pound catchweight contest on May 15 in Fayetteville, N.C., at "Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas."

The pay-per-view event, Shine Fight's third-ever fight card, is headlined by UFC veteran Din Thomas and former boxing champion Ricardo Mayorga.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Estima decided to make his jump into MMA following his ADCC win. Previous champions are only allowed to compete in the submission tournament's superfights, which gave him the time to train for a fight.

Estima currently runs the Gracie Barra Academy in Birmingham, England, and has been making his way across the U.S. and Canada on a seminar tour.

Hawn, a ninth-place finisher in judo in the 2004 Olympics, made his move to MMA in 2009 after a highly decorated run in the grappling art that included three national titles.

Despite his grappling credentials, the Eugene, Ore., native has finished three of his four professional mixed martial arts fights by knockout or TKO.

"Braulio and Rick bring ground credentials to the cage that few can match," Shine Fight matchmaker Ron Foster stated. "I expect this to be an amazing fight, and I think it's going to surprise many fight fans.

"'Worlds Collide' just got even more interesting."

MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) has also learned that Brazilian Luiz "Buscape" Firmino (13-5), who was expected to fight Luiz Azevedo on the card, will no longer be fighting at "Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas." Firmino was injured in an upset loss to Francisco Drinaldo at Bitetti Combat VI, and will not be ready in time for the May 15 event.

For now, the full Shine Fight III card includes:

•Ricardo Mayorga vs. Din Thomas
•Murilo "Ninja" Rua vs. Falaniko Vitale*
•Eduardo Pamplona vs. Nick Thompson*
•Braulio Estima vs. Rick Hawn
•Alexandre "Cacareco" Ferreira vs. Jamal Patterson*
•Luiz Azeredo vs. TBA*
•Luciano Azevedo vs. TBA*
•Tim Boetsch vs. TBA*•Danillo Villefort vs. TBA*

Braulio Estima vs. Rick Hawn official for "Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas" | MMAjunkie.com

Needless to say, Estima is a fighter who should be on our "keep an eye on" list, because with his amazing grappling pedigree, this guy could be something really special.

[Repenter]

i'm excited to see what estima can do in an mma fight. he's arguably the best grappler in the world right now, and some of his peers (most notably jacare), have made great bounds forward in terms of striking skill and standing in the mma world.