This Tuesday August 19th at 4PM Tokyo time, Sengoku (World Victory Road) is holding a press conference to announce the signing of Roger Gracie to fight once again under MMA rules. Sengoku 5 is scheduled for September 28th, 2008 at the Yoyogi National First Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan and is slated as the beginning of their Middleweight Grand Prix. Gracie will compete at heavyweight in a single bout against an opponent that is yet to be determined.
Gracie stated for the Japanese press that “They (Sengoku) have given me the greatest opportunity in Japan. I intend to make the most of it for sure! I am now preparing hard for September and hope to show all my fans that I have something special to give them….”
One insider revealed the following “Roger signed a contract for 4 fights, with a time period of eighteen months.” This reveals a strong commitment on Gracie’s part towards MMA. To date, his record is 2-0 with a substantial period of time passing between his debut in December of 2006 and his most recent match last May.
Gracie is also currently the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships Superfight Champion, and he is slated to defend his title in a single ‘Grappling” superfight sometime in 2009. He is slated to battle Robert Drysdale, who earned the shot by winning the extremely difficult Absolute tournament in 2007. Gracie has also continued to compete in the Jiu Jitsu World Championships as well, where in 2007 he swept his weight class and the Absolute division. This year he once again won his division, but lost in the Absolute to Alexandre Ribeiro. It is likely that Gracie will continue with Jiu Jitsu and the ADCC.
Our insider reveals “Ribeiro also recently signed with Sengoku, but it looks like he is looking to compete as a Middleweight, and may actually participate in this Grand Prix. Despite their JJ rivalry, the two men won’t be fighting in Sengoku, though it is possible that next year’s JJ World Championships will see the renewal of the rivalry”.
Look for more details on the opponent for Roger Gracie and the entire Sengoku 5 card right here at ADCC.