This Saturday at Strikeforce 36, Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Roger Gracie will take a big step forward in his mixed martial arts career when he tangles with former light heavyweight champion Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal.
A second-degree BJJ black belt and 10-time jiu-jitsu world titlist, the 29-year-old Gracie is 4-0 in the MMA arena with all four wins, not surprisingly, coming by way of submission.
He is the most promising of the legendary Gracie family who is currently active in MMA. Those before him have not fared well in recent years with some observers claiming that the ever-evolving world of MMA has passed the Gracies by. For all their jiu-jitsu expertise, the Gracies do not have the well-rounded fighting games necessary to succeed today.
Rolles Gracie is 4-1, but lost his only UFC fight to Joey Beltran. Igor Gracie is 3-2. Gregor Gracie is 6-1 and currently competing in various minor league promotions around the world. Renzo, Ralph, Crosley, Rodrigo and Charles Gracie have all not fought in MMA for years. Kyra Gracie is a women’s BJJ world champion and appears poised to tackle the world of MMA, but to date has not yet signed with any MMA promotions.
That leaves Roger. So the question is, can he bring the Gracie name out of the MMA history books and back into living, breathing relevance?
To his credit, Roger seems to know that his black belt and his surname are not enough to succeed in MMA in 2011. That’s why he has been working heavily on his striking with some of the biggest names in the business, including Georges St-Pierre’s coach Firas Zahabi.
He’ll need that help against Lawal, a former college wrestler who is hard to take down and loves to throw heavy shots. If Gracie doesn’t have the all-around chops to make it in MMA, Lawal will expose that in short order.
My guess, however, is that Gracie will win the day. Though recapturing the titanic Gracie glory of yesteryear is a tall order, Gracie 2.0, in the form of Roger, will serve notice that MMA’s first family can still compete in modern times.
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