Marcus Aurelio vs. Shinya Aoki at Dream 16?
Not so fast.
The announcement came over the weekend that former UFC and Pride lightweight Marcus Aurelio had been contracted to face Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki at Dream 16 on Sept. 25 in Japan. It now appears Aurelio's placement in that fight could be in jeopardy due to his current contract with Shine Fights. The Brazilian is expected to compete in Shine’s lightweight Grand Prix this Friday.
Speaking with MMAWeekly.com on Monday, Shine Fights COO Jason Chambers couldn't elaborate on the specifics, but said at this time Aurelio is still a part of their tournament coming up on Sept. 10, at least for now.
"My official comment is he's still in the tournament," Chambers said. "We're dealing with some situations at the moment. I can't really get into it until we have it iced out. Officially, he's still in our tournament as of right now."
The situation that has arisen is the fact that Aurelio signed an exclusive worldwide contract with Shine Fights, and unless he's given prior permission from the promotion, according to them, he's not allowed to fight in another organization.
Chambers confirmed the contract in place for Aurelio, and the lack of communication when it came time for him to accept a fight with Aoki in Dream.
"I can confirm that we do have an exclusive deal with Marcus Aurelio. I want to be fair with our agreement; I want our fighters to be fair. Our agreements are exclusive, within that there is language that speaks to giving permission to fight in other organizations. So a fighter can fight somewhere else, as long as we give that approval," Chambers said.
"I can confirm that I have not given any approval for Marcus Aurelio to fight in Dream."
The prior lack of approval from Shine Fights doesn't totally rule out that Aurelio could still travel and fight in Japan on Sept. 25, but from the information available at this point, that's going to fall on the shoulders of Aurelio to make the decision.
"There's definitely a possibility Marcus Aurelio fights in Dream," Chambers stated. "If you see him fight Sept. 10 in our pay-per-view, those chances are greatly improved."
From the sound of Chamber's comments, the ongoing situation with Aurelio could also cost him his shot in their Grand Prix taking place in Oklahoma this Friday. Chambers, along with other Shine Fights executives, had planned on speaking with Aurelio and his management on Monday to hopefully iron out the details, but at the time of publication no further information was available.
Sources speaking anonymously to MMAWeekly.com over the weekend stated that Dream officials had been contacted by Shine Fights about Aurelio's involvement in their Sept. 25 show, and were informed that he had never been granted permission to compete outside of their exclusive deal. If the agreement stands and permission is not received, Aurelio's spot against Aoki could be yanked.
Source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/tem ... &zoneid=13