Shine Fights is moving ahead with their May 15th event in Fayetteville, North Carolina between former UFC fighter Din Thomas and former WBA and WBC champion Ricardo Mayorga.

Typically when former boxers attempt to cross over to mixed martial arts there are some kinks (Ray Mercer vs. Tim Sylvia being the rare exception). The Boxing Bulletin raises some doubts surrounding Mayorga's upcoming MMA debut:

To be honest, I was hoping that those handling Mayorga's MMA aspirations would match him with a few really lower level fringe opponents before throwing him in with someone who knows what they're doing. You know... just to see what kind of damage he can do with 4 oz gloves, but I guess they didn't want to risk him losing to someone they can't push.

Still, Thomas seems like a strange opponent. He's a solid fighter who can handle himself standing up, but also has a black belt in jiu-jitsu. Why would you put a potential money maker in with a guy who could potentially embarrass him? This fight could very well be as quick and predictable as I'm sure many MMA fans say it will be. Then again, Mayorga has been anything but predictable throughout his roller coaster of a career.

It does appear that Mayorga's camp is throwing the former champion into the deep end of the grappling pool, which usually means a rear-naked choke at the three minute mark...