Strikeforce GP Semifinals: Will Roger Gracie Remain Undefeated?

Roger Gracie’s entrance into MMA was surrounded with deserved hype. The man is the best jiu-jitsu player in the world on a competitive level and his arrival in the world’s fastest growing combat sport marked the arrival of an elite athlete with familial lineage to back it up.

So far, his career hasn’t disappointed. Gracie is 4-0 and no opponent has been able to last more than 10 minutes against him. All have been submitted, all with fundamentally tight Gracie jiu-jitsu.

No flying omoplatas or X-guard sweeps into rolling kimuras.

Armbar.

Rear naked choke.

Rear naked choke.

Rear naked choke.

That’s the list of finishes on his resume, almost frightening in its simplicity. Dare one even say Rickson-like?

Gracie hasn’t been in any significant trouble. Kevin Randleman lasted the longest and at his best he never matched Gracie.

On September 10, the biggest test yet will stand across the Strikeforce cage in former champion Muhammad ‘King Mo’ Lawal, a top-level wrestler looking to rebound from a drubbing at the hands of Feijao Cavalcante that cost him his belt.

The fight represents a big jump in competition for Gracie, who is still a relative tadpole in the MMA pond. Not many fighters with a handful of fights are thrown in the with former champions, barring those who show extreme talent or hold a background in elite athletic competition prior to strapping on the 4oz’ers and throwing leather.

For many, it marks the official date on which the world will find out what he’s made of. Is he a grappler, best suited to racking up world championships and gold medals? Or is he a mixed martial artist capable of challenging the best 205 has to offer, be it in Strikeforce or in the UFC?

Historically, the stylistic matchup of high-end wrestler versus jiu-jitsu player favors the wrestler, particularly in North America and particularly under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. If you can shoot a double, get side control and grind elbows on an opponent’s face, you’ll sweep the judge’s scorecards 99 percent of the time.

For this reason, it’s hard not to be intrigued by what Roger Gracie has before him. Sure, Randleman is a wrestler and Roger tapped him out, but Randleman also hasn’t done anything relevant since he beat Cro Cop in 2004. In fact, it could be argued that’s the only relevant thing he’s ever done.

In King Mo, Gracie will stare down a great wrestler in his prime and who has the blueprint for success. Yes, he holds five knockout finishes in his career, but you needn’t look any further than his win over Gegard Mousasi to see how he’ll approach a ground fight with a man who favors submissions: sit in guard, throw punches and elbows, maintain top position, win a decision.

It’s not his fault and he didn’t invent it, it’s just the most logical way to win a fight under the Unified Rules if you’re on the ground with a man who can submit you.

However, Roger Gracie isn’t Mousasi. Roger Gracie isn’t anyone other than Roger Gracie. That should be enough.

All the years of competing at the ADCC championships, working against wrestlers and developing what is by all accounts the jiu-jitsu closest to perfection that this generation has seen, are going to help him.

He’s used to working from the bottom, he’s used to having guys on top of him trying to hold him down and ride out a win. It isn’t likely to bother him. King Mo will be game, but Roger Gracie could be the next big thing at light heavyweight.

A fast-rising, talented grappler with the last name Gracie? In a sport that Gracies are largely credited with bringing to North America? It’s marketing gold and Roger has the substance to go with it.

Look for him to be 5-0 when he walks back to the locker room to watch the Grand Prix semifinals on September 10.