Roger Gracie Is Coming to the U.S., Strikeforce

Some of you may remember that Roger Gracie made my list of 10 non-headliner fighters I couldn't wait to see in 2009. It turns out my wish will be granted, as Gracie has become part of an August Strikeforce card.

Roger Gracie is the instructor of the London branch of Gracie-Barra Jiu Jitsu, and is an eight-time World Jiu Jitsu Champion; six of those came in weight class and two of them in open weight.

It has been reported by FiveOuncesofPain.com that Roger Gracie will appear on Strikefore Carano vs. Cyborg card on Aug. 15.

The 27-year-old holds a 2-0 record in professional MMA, his fights coming in the Bodog and Sengoku fight promotions. Both his victories come in true Gracie fashion—submission in the first round.

At 6'4" and 220 pounds, Roger makes for an imposing heavyweight and has the skills of a true ground ace. He is incredibly quick and elusive on the ground, able to slip out of seemingly any poor position.

Roger's submission skills put him in an elite class, likely supplanting names like Mir, Nogueira, and Fedor as the best submission game.

While his limited experience in MMA may cause some to raise eyebrows at this suggestion, a look at who he has dispatched in his Jiu Jitsu career and it becomes clear that this kid is on another level of ground fighting.

Victories over Shinya Aoki, Frabricio Werdum, and Ronaldo Souza, and a perfect 3-0 record against Robert Drysdale suggest his skills will transfer very well to MMA. The one question that hovers over any fighter like Gracie, is how will he deal with a striking fighter?

Roger Gracie's last match took place almost a year ago and I think it is a safe assumption that much of that time has been devoted to preparing him for an MMA career.

The Strikeforce heavyweight division lacks dynamic ground fighters and Roger should be able to drag almost any of them to the ground and submit them.

Roger Gracie could make a Demian Maia-like run through the heavyweight division in MMA and quickly become one of the elite fighters, at his weight, in the world.