Roger Gracie
World submission champion Roger Gracie (4-1) will reportedly make his middleweight debut this summer at an upcoming Strikeforce event against another fighter who recently dropped down to 185-lbs, ‘The Dean of Mean’ Keith Jardine (17-10-2).
News of the matchup was announced by MMAFighting.com, who confirmed the bout with several sources.
The two are expected to meet this July in a Strikeforce event that has yet to be announced by the promotion. The show may go down in Portland, Oregon.
Gracie moves down yet another division, after starting his career at heavyweight and then competing at light heavyweight. His last bout took place in September of last year at 205-lbs, ending in a knockout loss for Gracie at the hands of Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal. The defeat was the first of his career in MMA and his third straight fight under the Strikeforce banner.
Jardine also recently dropped down to middleweight, debuting at 185-lbs in his last fight in a title fight versus Strikeforce champ Luke Rockhold last January. Rockhold would end things late in the first round, finishing ‘The Dean of Mean’ at 4:26 of the first round. The loss ended a three fight undefeated streak for Jardine, who had suffered five straight defeats previously to that run, four of which happened in the Octagon.