Galesburg mixed martial arts fighter Eric “Showtime” Shelton will be watched around the world tonight.
The area native and 2009 graduate from Galesburg High School is set to appear on “The Ultimate Fighter”–a reality fighting TV show on Fox Sports 1 that is a part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship company.
On the show, “Showtime” is one of 16 champion fighters living in a house that head to the gym for fights leading up to “the ultimate fight” against eight-time UFC flyweight champ Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
Shelton’s record is nothing to scoff at either. Though he’s been tagged as the 15th seed, he’s the “Caged Aggression” flyweight champion–an MMA promotion that he fought in out of Davenport, Iowa.
Shelton’s first UFC fight is tonight and he tells Galesburg’s Morning News on WGIL that he’s humbled, thankful and excited.
“I’ve worked so hard for this every fight,” Shelton says. “My last two fights, it’s been like ‘this is going to be the one that gets me to the UFC.'” “In my mind, I had already envisioned being at that level, so, when I got there it felt like this is where I was supposed to be and that my journey is finally starting to lay itself out.”
Shelton faces Russian fighter Yoni Sherbatov, tonight. The show airs at 9 p.m.
