The legendary Gracie last name is returning to the Octagon.Rolles Gracie, the son of Rolls, who was the nephew of the father of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Helio, announced late Tuesday that he has signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC.
Rolles, a 31-year-old heavyweight, is 3-0 in MMA and represents the Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu-Academy and Greg Jackson camps.
Gracie made his MMA debut for the IFL in September 2007 and submitted Sam Holloway with a rear-naked choke. This year he signed with China's Art of War promotion and tapped out judo black belt Baga Agaev and former K-1 kickboxer Peter Graham both in the first round.
The last time a Gracie fought inside the Octagon was when Royce returned to the UFC for a one-shot against Matt Hughes at UFC 60 in May 2006.
"I want to fight wherever they treat me good. That's my priority," Rolles told FanHouse two weeks ago. "Obviously, UFC is the biggest one right now, so you always aim for the biggest show."
According to MMAWeekly.com, Gracie will make his Octagon debut against Mustapha Al-Turk at UFC 109 in February.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I'm waiting for all the UFC nuthuggers to come out of the wood work and praise this as a huge signing even though probably 9 out of 10 of them have never seen Rolles fight or grapple ever.
Why not take a position of your own?
Personally I watched his IFL fight a couple years ago and was reasonably impressed, but lets be honest the guy only has 3 fights against sub-par competition.
See how easy that was ... now you try it!!
hi lanny,
how are you? i'm doing great.
well, i can honestly say that indeed i've never seen him fight.
i will say this, he comes from good pedigree and really, we will see what that actually means.
so as with anybody i don't know anything about, i'll wait to see for myself.
although, i'm not really too impressed with his supposed first opponent al-turk. so even if he wins which he should do easily, what does that really tell us?
so again, we'll just have to wait until he fights someone credible.
how's that for ball-lick!ng logic?
neozoo rules!!
Hey guys. Where did all the animosity come from? I'm gone from this site for a few days and all of sudden there are these malicious comments coming out of the woodworks. A lot of us who are able to watch various MMA organizations not just one. We all have our own preferences and see things differently. Why bash each other because of it?
I couldn't agree more. In fact that was the point I was trying to make ... talk about MMA instead of constant organization, fighter, and Dana bashing.
hey m,
yeah it seems there have been a few posters with obvious and overt hatred for the ufc and dana, lately. and they come across as, if you happen to like the ufc then you are a complete moron and know nothing about real mma to them. meanwhile, it was basically, the ufc that started it all.
it does get a little old.
success breeds contempt.
as i've said in the past, i've been watching since day 1 and have seen the sport grow and i have appreciation for what zuffa has accomplished.
but that doesn't mean i can't think for myself, i mean, i don't have to buy everything zuffa is selling.
alot of the ufc bashers only see the gross numbers of ppv sales and don't realize there are other expenses as well.
i keep an open mind in regards to business and why people do the things they do.
business models.
there is a reason the ufc is number 1 and it has alot more than percieved exploitation of fighters that they continue to stay on top.
there is only one company i don't like and that is m-1 for their unfounded claims of credibility.
but, i've already been through that.
you should really read the allistar vs james thompson thread, you might get a kick out of it.
one of those guys accuses johnnynumber5 as being a ufc ball boy, it is actually funny. his reply is great.
anyways, as always, i look forward to yours and eric's and others thoughts. i usually read all your respective posts.
Oh, I did read it all right. Hence why I wrote this comment. Though I have to admit some posts, especially the one about Johnny5 being pro UFC was pretty damn funny. They obviously don't come to this sight often. Honestly guys, whether you are pro UFC are not it isn't that much of a big deal to me, so as long as you don't insult or demean others for it. Debate not instigate you know?