World class grappler and mixed martial arts enigma Roger Gracie will finally make his Strikeforce debut when he tangles with free-falling light heavyweight Kevin Randleman at the upcoming Showtime event planned for May 15 in St. Louis, MO.
Gracie confirmed the pending match up to Graciemag.com earlier today.
The celebrated ADCC and CBJJ jiu-jitsu champion made his fighting debut back at Bodog’s ‘USA vs. Russia’ event way back in December of 2006, forcing muscular mauler Ron "H20" Waterman say uncle courtesy of a textbook armbar.
Despite showing much promise, Gracie has only competed once since then -- a 2008 submission win over fading Japanese star Yuki Kondo at Sengoku 2 in May of 2008.
He was expected to appear on separate occasions under the Sengoku banner but pulled out of a fight against Travis Wiuff after suffering a rib injury and was then denied a second time when his next opponent, Jeff Monson, fought the law (and the law won).
Despite the layoff, he matches up well against the ice-cold Randleman. While he's a tremendous wrestler bearing a resume littered with the world's top fighters across multiple weight classes, "The Monster" has dropped a staggering 9 of his last 12, including a cardio-deprived decision loss to Mike Whitehead in his Strikeforce debut last June.
And it certainly doesn't help that close to half his losses have come by way of submission.
The Strikeforce card for its rumored return to St. Louis already boasts an impressive unofficial line-up of heavyweight attractions including Brett Rogers vs. Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio Silva and perhaps even Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for future updates to this still-developing fight card.
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