View Full Version : Roger Gracie to make his MMA debut
Tokyudo
14th August 2006, 09:40 PM
Roger Gracie to make his MMA debut
http://news.adcombat.com/images/articles/11660/Roger21.jpg
Following his family tradition, multiple times World BJJ Champion and current World ADCC Absolute Champion Roger Gracie has just signed a contract to fight in MMA.
Roger will make his MMA debut on the MFC on NOV 4th, on an event scheduled to be aired on PPV. His opponent is rumored to be none other than Don Frye, It is the headliner SUPERFIGHT of a Russia v USA undercard. A very excited Roger stated: 'I am very happy to be debuting in MMA, especially if the opponent is Don Frye. He was beating everyone in MMA when I was a Blue Belt.
Read more HERE (http://news.adcombat.com/article.html?id=11660).
RedHawk
14th August 2006, 10:12 PM
Roger Gracie vs Don Frye.
Fyre has a couple of wins lately. But I dont see him beating Roger. Frye wont tap for an armbar or even a heel hook. Gracie will have to choke him out to win. Which I believe he would.
Grant Ellis
15th August 2006, 12:29 AM
If Gracie doesn't get the takedown I hope he has a chin, because I'd hate to see him lose his first fight.
(But I hate seeing Don Frye lose fights too)
mata-leao
15th August 2006, 04:42 AM
AWESOME news! i hope he implements a more aggressive BJJ game for MMA. a lot of the gracies play a defensive game which with today's talent usually backfires. i really think Roger will do well though, he's a smart fighter so i think he'll pick up pretty quickly.
i still think Jacare will be more successful...in my opinon, Jacare has the best BJJ game to be successful in MMA. great wrestling, great takedowns, explosive guard passes, aggressive sub attempts etc.
Grant Ellis
15th August 2006, 05:16 AM
Aggressive sub attempts lead to getting hit in the face though. :X
derUbermensch
15th August 2006, 05:20 AM
Here's hoping he doesn't get Saulo Ribeiro'd
migo
15th August 2006, 07:47 AM
Considering how well Yoshida did against Frye, I think he'd be a good debut match for Roger.
majorcunningham
15th August 2006, 11:50 AM
Considering how well Yoshida did against Frye, I think he'd be a good debut match for Roger.
ha, i remember a time when a lot of people were screaming 'work' about that one! cant wait to see roger fight, the gracie name needs a boost after the recent losses they've had. he could have picked a much easier fight to start out with than don frye though
Oneiros
15th August 2006, 04:55 PM
My only worry is that it might be too soon for him. As far as I know, he's been focused solely on jiu-jitsu and will only have started training for MMA. I've no doubt that his jiu-jitsu game is suited to MMA, but he may not have enough time to put everthing together effectively.
migo
15th August 2006, 06:31 PM
ha, i remember a time when a lot of people were screaming 'work' about that one! cant wait to see roger fight, the gracie name needs a boost after the recent losses they've had. he could have picked a much easier fight to start out with than don frye though
Yeah, but who the hell gets their arm broken in a work?
majorcunningham
15th August 2006, 06:57 PM
Yeah, but who the hell gets their arm broken in a work?
lol, that always puzzled me...
RedHawk
16th August 2006, 01:34 AM
Don Frye wont tap. He lasted out Yoshida's armbar and Shammy's heelhook.
Herbo
16th August 2006, 02:33 PM
Any idea who Roger will train with for this fight? I have trained with him in London so I would be interested to know.
RedHawk
17th August 2006, 07:11 PM
AWESOME news! i hope he implements a more aggressive BJJ game for MMA. a lot of the gracies play a defensive game which with today's talent usually backfires. i really think Roger will do well though, he's a smart fighter so i think he'll pick up pretty quickly.
i still think Jacare will be more successful...in my opinon, Jacare has the best BJJ game to be successful in MMA. great wrestling, great takedowns, explosive guard passes, aggressive sub attempts etc.
Wasn't it Roger that broke Jacare's arm?
I recently saw a clip of Jacare and have to agree with you.
derUbermensch
17th August 2006, 08:25 PM
Don Frye wont tap. He lasted out Yoshida's armbar and Shammy's heelhook.
Didn't Roger sub a lot of people who usually don' tap in ADCC? Not that that answers your point
Grant Ellis
18th August 2006, 12:40 AM
Didn't Roger sub a lot of people who usually don' tap in ADCC? Not that that answers your point
He has subbed and outpointed many excellent grapplers, but the jiu-jitsu techniques you will use in MMA and sports grappling vary. It is much harder to go for a leglock when you can get hit in the face.
What Roger's ADCC submission victories show is a very high level of technical grappling ability, which Roger most definitly has, and now we get to see how he will translate that into an MMA game.
You mentioned Saulo Ribeiro, and there is a good reason to do that.
Saulo Ribeiro, JJ Machado, Amaury Bitetti, Wallid Ismael, and now even Pe De Pano have shown that while you might rule the submission grappling world, you are going to run into a whole new set of obstacles when fighting in MMA.
With al lthat said, Roger by submission in round 1.
Grant Ellis
18th August 2006, 04:58 AM
Actually, the thought just came to me:
Pawel Nastula.
Pawel Nastula, a world renowned judo champion did EXTREMELY well in his first MMA fight against Rodrigo Nogueira, almost submitted the behemoth Aleksandre Emelianenko, and went on to completely dominate and school the much hyped Brazilian Top Team standout Edson Drago.
Roger Gracie might adapt, as Pawel Nastula did, and have a highly effective grappling game for the mixed martial arts.
Only time will tell.
Don Frye is a good first opponent for Roger Gracie to test the MMA waters.
migo
18th August 2006, 10:31 AM
Yeah, he is, he's a good fighter but not so good that Roger has no chance.