Grappling champion Roger Gracie in talks with Strikeforce
by Stefan Manojlovic on May 14, 2009 12:47 PM EDT
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Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently confirmed that he’s been in talks with and may be close to signing Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizard Roger Gracie (2-0) according to a report over at Sports Illustrated.
Gracie can boast to having one of the slickest ground games in the world, winning accolades such as the CBJJ World Championships and also the ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships several times.
In his first few mixed martial arts outings, he would fire off some quick impressive submission victories over veterans of the sport.
He made his debut back at Bodog’s ‘USA vs. Russia’ event in December of 2006, forcing Ron Waterman to tap to an armbar. Then he would go on to coax Yuki Kondo into a fight ending rear naked choke back at ‘Sengoku 2’ last May.
The Gracie family member and jiu-jitsu phenom has not competed since then and has been out of action for quite some time with his mixed martial arts career seemingly hitting a roadblock in recent times.
He was set to take on Travis Wiuff at ‘Sengoku 5’ on September 28 of last year until an errant kick during sparring caused what his camp described as "An intermuscular tear to the intercostal muscle between the sixth and seventh left ribs."
World Victory Road officials question whether the injury sustained was genuine or not and even went so far as to accuse him of faking his way out of a fight.
After that hiccup, a scheduled bout with Jeff Monson (30-8) in March at ‘Sengoku 7’ seemed to fall to the wayside when Monson ran into legal troubles for his Anarchist sympathies.
Hopefully that’s the last of any bad luck for him and he can finally get back on track.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was also adamant about not throwing Gracie to the wolves and letting him build on his already exceptional skills.
Here's a snip:
"We're going to see if we can create some awareness with him, see how he does fighting-wise, and take it from there. We're going to give him every opportunity to crossover into MMA. He's going to have plenty of time to see if he really likes to do it."
Hopefully this talented prospect will get back into the thick of it again, and by the looks of things could be heading to a Showtime card real soon.
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must be wierd havin the name Hogeh
by O damn he got caught on May 14, 2009 12:49 PM EDT reply actions
more like HOger. I think this is great for strikeforce. iMO, I think this is great because guys like Maia are starting to turn drunken, blood thirsty fans, who used to boo the ground game, into fans. The more jits wizards transition into American mma, the better because they will make ju jitsu more appealing to the casual fans, which I think would then help mma take steps into becoming more mainstream! This is a great signing. what weight is he going to fight at? Heavyweight?
by john on May 15, 2009 9:37 AM EDT up reply actions
John take a look at this kimura with legs from under side control (videos)!
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum.posts&forum=1&thread=1459328&page=1
by Alpha Male 360 on May 15, 2009 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions
Well on a serious note though, I haven’t seen his fights, so I don’t know but to sub Waterman and Kondo in your first two MMA bouts; this guy sounds like a potential bad @ss to me.
by O damn he got caught on May 14, 2009 1:21 PM EDT reply actions
Roger (or ‘Hogeh) beat Ribeiro, Aoki, and tapped Jacare all in one tournament. Yes, he’s one bad mamajama. :)
by R3b3L iNk on May 14, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions
WOW
i did NOT know that!
Thats impressive to say the least!
Would LOVE to see him fight over here, whether that be for StrikeForce or the UFC.
BTW what weight is he?
by SoCalStunNa on May 14, 2009 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Sherdog has it as only losses to Hansen, Sakurai(x2), and Nakaio (sp).
by SoCalStunNa on May 14, 2009 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions
*i meant Aoki’s losses.
Gracie doesn’t show up as one!
by SoCalStunNa on May 14, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions
It was a grappling tournament (ADCC) not MMA.
by Stefan Manojlovic on May 14, 2009 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Hes talking about an ADCC event, not mma.
by TommyPaine on May 14, 2009 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions
I predict he gets smashed in MMA once they give him a good striker with submission defence.
by Jeremyjackson on May 14, 2009 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
At his level, sub defensive doesn’t mean anything JJ. He’s definitely the best gracie around and probably ever. He cuts up people guards like nothing, it’s ridiculous how technical he is. I wanna see vs Fedor at the upcoming ADCC. Weird thing is that he trains in london without any big names yet can compete at the pinnacle of grappling.
by NameNotRequired on May 14, 2009 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions
I’ll take your word for it, NNR. My experience with the Gracies is that they are arrogant and one-dimensional, but you definitely know your grappling so I’ll defer to your expertise.
by Jeremyjackson on May 14, 2009 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Roger Gracie is clearly a decorated grappler, anybody that can beat Aoki, Werdum, Ribeiro and Jacare in the same ADCC tournament is for real. Someone with his skills on the ground has the potential to be dominant in MMA so it makes me wonder why he hasn’t been able to get his MMA career going. It seems that the guy is difficult to deal with if a promotion goes as far as accusing him of faking an injury in order to pull out of a fight.
I’d love to see a guy with Gracie’s grappling credentials in Strikeforce because he is only 27 so time is on his side, it’s just a case of whether he truly wants to be a mixed martial artist.
On a side note, having a BJJ school in London run by someone of the quality of Roger is huge for the UK grappling and MMA scene. Any British fighters that are serious about MMA have to take advantage of his school because there isn’t any BJJ trainer in this country better than Roger Gracie. Having someone of his quality training fighters in this country should be a massive boost to it’s grappling scene.
by David W-S on May 14, 2009 11:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah BJJ options in the UK are getting better and better. There’s Roger in London obviously. But there’s also Lucio Rodrigues in the North (Manchester, Preston) and Braulio Estima in Birmingham. Both guys are Carlson Gracie Jr. black belts and all out badd asses haha.
by Stefan Manojlovic on May 15, 2009 8:50 AM EDT up reply actions
stefan: r u a brit? YOur knowledge of grappling is very impressive! As a die hard grappling enthusiast, Im impressed!
by john on May 15, 2009 9:39 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah live in the UK and thanks haha. Also Carlos not Carlson, got confused there.
by Stefan Manojlovic on May 15, 2009 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions
He was set to face Monson? What does R. Gracie weigh?
by Nate on May 14, 2009 2:22 PM EDT reply actions
Roughly 220 lbs, he’s been fighting as a Heavyweight but I’m sure he could easily make the cut to Light Heavyweight. He’s held his own so far but probably a smart idea to move down to 205, especially with more and more Heavyweights emerging who have to cut down to 265.
by Stefan Manojlovic on May 14, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
As of 2008, all prospective athletes seeking UFC representation must first participate in either a Summer Slam or Wrestle Mania event.
by Vanilla Gorilla on May 14, 2009 5:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Man hoger is the shit. I cant wait to see him fight in the states.
by TommyPaine on May 14, 2009 3:00 PM EDT reply actions
I train at Roger Gracie, London and gotta say he is the nicest guy in the world. A real gent, brilliant teacher and all round grappling genius.
His most notable achievement to date is winning the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 2005, taking first place in the 88–98kg and Open-weight categories by submitting all eight opponents—a feat that had not previously been achieved.
He has just won the Mundiales in the black super heavy and open weight categories by, (I’ve been told) submitting all by mounted cross choke! Sweet!
He’s 6’5" and weighs around 100 kilos now.
I reckon he’s basically not sure he likes MMA, i think he just prefers traditional Jiu Jitsu and his wife is preggers so he’s got other priorities.
That’s it.
Peace.
by Rogan on Jun 8, 2009 4:42 PM EDT reply actions
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