THE TORCH: THE #1 WORLDWIDE BRAND IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE - OVER 250 MILLION VIEWS & LISTENS PER YEAR REREACHING MORE FANS EVERY WEEK THAN ANY OTHER INDEPENDENT SOURCE • VIA THE WEB, MOBILE, PRINT NEWSLETTER, AND ITUNES
Jun 28, 2009 - 11:05:01 AM By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief 2-0 Heavyweight prospect Roger Gracie will be making his debut in America on Strikeforce's August 15th event, according to a report from GracieMag.com. No opponent has been named for this first bout, and it has not yet been officially announced by Strikeforce.
Gracie defeated Ron Waterman in his debut fight with BodogFIGHT back in 2006 and then in May of last year he defeated Yuki Kondo at a Sengoku event. Both fights ended in submissions by the Jiu Jitsu black belt.
He most recently competed and won a second "absolute black belt" in the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship.
Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg airs live on Showtime on August 15th, headlined by the Strikeforce Women's 145 lb. Championship bout between Gina Carano and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, and also featuring Heavyweight Champ Alistair Overeem in action as well as a Lightweight Title bout between Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez.
Penick's Analysis: Gracie's only got two professional fights but he's got a lifetime of jiu-jitsu experience that will make him a very dangerous heavyweight no matter who he's facing. The name alone says enough, but he should be an exciting addition to this August 15th card.
ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.
"There's still a large contingent of people, that they just want to see these guys almost die, or the other guy almost die and come back, and sometimes fights are like that. Certainly they are. But sometimes you get technical masterpieces too, and to hate a beautiful, technical fight - you're not really a fight fan...
Diaz has a granite chin, possesses perhaps the best recovery in the sport, his pace and conditioning are second to none and he sets records with the volume of his punches almost every time he steps into the cage. Nick Diaz is simply designed to fight the way he fights, and not many other fighters are...
"There was a lot of poison going on around there and I'm really disappointed because we had a good thing going. It was a good thing and I think people's egos got in the way. Well, not people just Javier, his ego got in the way, and too many cameras in the gym and him trying to build himself up and his brand, his AKA brand...
PART OF THE USA TODAY UFC GROUP