Gracie (roycegracie.proelite.com), considered the godfather of modern-day mixed martial arts, will face the imposing Sakuraba (sakuraba.proelite.com), nicknamed “The Gracie Hunter” for his well-documented victories over four members of the Gracie family, including the dramatic victory over Royce in 2000. 

The rematch will be part of an extraordinary main fight card that includes 7-foot-2 South Korean Hong Man Choi, former WWE champ Brock Lesnar, NFL star Johnnie Morton, Ray Sefo (New Zealand), Antonio Silva (Brazil) and J.Z. Calvan (Brazil).  The complete fight card is as follows:

Showtime PPV (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT)

        Brock Lesnar    VS      Hong Man Choi

        Royce Gracie    VS      Kazushi Sakuraba

         Mighty Mo       VS      Mu Bae Choi

         Melvin Manhoef  VS      Dong Sik Yoon

         

Live on Showtime (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT)

        Jake Shields    VS      Ido Pariente

       Gina Carano     VS      Jan Finney

   Live Stadium Only (5 p.m. PT)

        Javier Vasquez  VS      Katsuhiko Nagata

        Brad Pickett    VS      Hideo Tokoro

The Gracie-Sakuraba story is rich in history, as the Gracie family, represented by Royce, Ryan, Renzo and Royler have come after Sakuraba four times and all four times have fallen short of victory. The final and longest of those matches took place on May 1, 2000, in the second round of the Pride Grand Prix Open Weight Tournament, when Royce faced Sakuraba for the first time.  The fight, a no-time-limit match, was scheduled for 15 minute rounds until a winner was declared.  The match lasted for 90 minutes (7 rounds at 15 minutes each), and both fighters demonstrated remarkable heart and determination, especially because the winner was expected to face his next opponent on the same night.  In the 4th round, Gracie injured his leg due to repeated kicks from Sakuraba and remained hobbled for another 45 minutes, until the beginning of the 8th round, when his corner threw in the towel, stopping the fight. 

“I’ve been waiting for this fight for close to a decade, it’s been something that I’ve struggled to live with for some time,” said Gracie.  “We both have mutual respect for each other, but June 2 is circled on my calendar as the date I plan to avenge my family’s legacy from Sakruraba.”

Tickets for Dynamite!! USA are on sale via Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com and the LA Coliseum box office. Seats will be available on the field and throughout the majority of the stadium bowl, with the exception of limited blocked sections on each end for restricted viewing.  

The other co-main event on the Dynamite!! USA fight card will face 7-foot-2 South Korean giant Hong Man Choi, aka “Techno Goliath,” against former NCAA and WWE wrestling champion Brock Lesnar.  Johnnie Morton, a former USC Trojan wide receiver and NFL star, will return to the Coliseum for his MMA debut.

Dynamite!! USA will begin at 5:00 p.m., PT with doors opening at 3:30 PM, with a fight undercard that includes Hideo Tokoro, J.Z Calvin, Brad Picket as well as EliteXC fighters Jake Shields, Antonio Silva and Gina Carano.  The Showtime PPV fight card will begin  at 7 p.m. PT, 10 p.m. ET.

Dynamite!! USA marks the first FEG event on U.S. soil and the inaugural MMA contest in the LA Coliseum’s 74-year history.  FEG’s Heroes MMA events in Japan and Korea have routinely sold out major arenas and stadiums, including the 74,000-seat Tokyo Dome. The inaugural Dynamite in August of 2002, held at Tokyo National Stadium, drew a record crowd of 92,000 fans.

The Showtime PPV fight card will feature up to six fights, with co-main events. Prior to the pay-per-view, Showtime will televise the three undercard bouts, free to Showtime subscribers from 9-10 p.m. ET/6-7 p.m. PT.  For pay-per-view pricing and ordering information, viewers should contact their local cable or satellite provider.