(“And he couldn’t be more thrilled. Back to you in the studio, Ariel!” Photo via Getty.)
It’s safe to say that time has not been kind to the Gracie family, at least in the UFC. Hell, it’s safe to say that time has been kinder to the Sumatran Tiger than it has to the Gracies, and I see at least fourteen adds asking me to save the former from poachers every goddamn day.
It all started when Rolles Gracie shit the bed in his octagon debut at UFC 109. While you could argue that he might have been called up to the UFC a little prematurely (being that he was only 3-0 at the time), Dana & Co. showed no such consideration or hespect for the Gracie name when they gave him the boot. Next, Renzo Gracie was leg kick TKO’d by Matt Hughes at UFC 112 and that’s all we are willing to say about that. Most recently, Roger Gracie rode a two-fight win streak in Strikeforce over to the UFC, where he was upended by Tim Kennedy in an absolute snoozefest at UFC 162.
Unfortunately, it looks like the most qualified Gracie to…grace the octagon in years will suffer the same fate as the former two. Combate.com is passing along word that the Brazilian’s four fight Strikeforce contract — which transferred/expired following Roger’s uninspiring UFC 162 loss — has not been renewed by the promotion. We know what you’re thinking, and yes, it looks like Rampage vs. Ortiz just became A TRIPLE THREAT CAGE MATCH FOR THE WHATEVERF*CKYOUWEIGHT TITLE!
Despite opening most of our eyes to this great sport in 1993, this most recent setback brings the Gracie’s UFC record to 0-4-1 since, well, 1994. While success in the modern era of MMA can be defined by much, much more than UFC wins, to say that the UFC performances of the Gracies in recent years have been anything less than disheartening would be an understatement that everyone else in the room would silently resent you for making.
We blame the disintegration of the Gracie Train. How about you?
