After losing to Tim Kennedy in a lackluster affair at UFC 162 back in July of 2013, Roger Gracie went one-and-done inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Octagon.
After not coming to terms with the ZUFFA-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion on a new contract, Gracie decided to step away from the fight game altogether.
A year later, the 10-time jiu-jitsu world champion is ready to attempt a comeback as he recently told Opavo (via Bloody Elbow) that he is currently putting the finishing touches on a new deal with another promotion that will be revealed soon.
Furthermore, Gracie says he chose not to re-sign with UFC because they wanted him to take a pay cut. And since the Las Vegas, Nevada-based promotion is a "monopoly" which pretty much controls MMA, it can dictate fighter pay however it pleases.
He explains:
"I'm with a deal almost closed and in the next few days I'll announce my return to MMA. I should be back still in this year, we got everything settled and soon everybody will know where I'm going to fight. I was retired from MMA and I wasn't sure if I was going to do just a few fights in jiu-jitsu. But I received this good offer and I reconsidered my retirement. I'm older now, I've achieved everything that I wanted. Everything else would be a plus. The UFC has monopolized everything but there are other organizations. The problem is that, once the UFC is the biggest organization, they control how much the fighters earn and they don't pay that good. I have my gym and I don't need the money from MMA to pay my bills. I left the UFC because they didn't want to sign another contract with me after my deal was over. According to them, I was weak compared to other fighters. They didn't want to pay me as much as Strikeforce. I wouldn't accept an offer to earn less money and I didn't want to fight without expectations. It's better for me stay in my gym."
As far as the whole "UFC is a monopoly" claim, the Federal Trade Commission already ruled otherwise.
According to Gracie, he will be competing in the light heavyweight division and says going down to middleweight was a big mistake, as the weight cut affected his performance inside the Octagon. That said, he did manage to go 2-0 in Strikeforce at 185 pounds.
Anyone care to guess where Roger decided to sign?
My guess is Bellator, seeing as how next to UFC, they have the best light heavyweight division in the business. Plus, he can reunite with his old boss, Scott Coker.