Several promotions turned down the possibility of signing Rousimar Palhares after his controversial win over Mike Pierce at UFC Fight Night 29 in Barueri, Brazil. However, the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo is not one of them.
World Jiu-Jitsu Expo promoter Renzo Gracie told MMAFighting.com on Tuesday that they have signed the submission wizard to be part of their next edition on Nov. 9-10 in Long Beach, Calif., and he’s set to meet UFC veteran and three-time ADCC champion Dean Lister in a 20-minute submission-only no-gi match with no points.
Graciemag first reported the news.
“I already wanted to get ‘Toquinho’ in the event, but wanted even more after everybody started criticizing him and I wouldn’t let that happen,” Gracie told MMAFighting.com. “He’s a great guy, an incredible grappler, and I respect him a lot. He represents jiu-jitsu all the time.”
Lister was offered the fight after he returned from Beijing, China, where he won the silver medal at ADCC 2013, losing to Joao Assis in the final.
Lister has won three ADCC titles over his career, in 2003, 2005 and 2011, with wins over the likes of Jean Jacques Machado, Nate Marquardt, Saulo Ribeiro, Rodolfo Vieira and Joao Assis.
“Dean has done some epic fights at ADCC and took this fight on short notice, but he was already in shape after his fights this weekend,” he said. “He’s a great talent and accepted the challenge as soon as we offered it. They are both great leg lock guys and this fight will be amazing.”
Kron Gracie, who was expected to fight Rodolfo Vieira, is out of the event after his opponent suffered an injury. Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, who won his weight division at ADCC 2013, will also no longer compete at the Jiu-Jitsu Expo.