After Strikeforce Losses, Roger Gracie and Jacare Souza Make Different Choices for ADCC
by Nate Wilcox on Sep 15, 2011 10:01 AM EDT
in Strikeforce News
Email
Print
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legends Roger Gracie and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza both suffered tough losses at last Saturday's Strikeforce Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov. Souza lost his Strikeforce middleweight title to Luke Rockhold and Gracie lost consciousness and his undefeated record to Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal.
Post-fight they're taking very different paths.
Gracie talked to Tatame about the loss and his change of plans for the world's #1 submission grappling event, the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling Championships (ADCC):
"I won't fight the ADCC. I had in mind maybe I wasn't fighting it, because every time I fought World before fighting MMA I didn't feel good, I didn't feel like my body and mind were 100%. It's too close to risk it. I'm upset about it, but my priority has changed, I'm closer to MMA and leaving Jiu-Jitsu aside a little. In my mind I still want to fight the World, but it's once a year, and I don't mind the rest that much.
"I couldn't do what I have trained to do back then. I believed in my jab and he (King Mo) wasn't bringing much danger," he said. "When I heard Renzo (Gracie) saying there was a minute and a half left for the end of the first round, I relaxed. I didn't have enough time to submit him nor take him down, he wasn't punching me, so I thought I would keep it that way until the second round. That was the first mistake. The second was that he accidentally hit his head against mine, and I got dizzy. I moved backwards, he punched me and I felt. That head was practically an accidental knockout. When I tried to grab him, clinch, his head hit my face and I backed off.
"I was supposed to work on the clinch, because I wouldn't risk trying to grab his legs and take him down because it wasn't the beginning of the fight, so I wasn't using much energy with no purpose. I was supposed to work on the clinch and take him down. And during the first round I didn't try to do that, and suddenly I realized the danger he was putting me in. Losing is terrible. Nobody likes losing, especially being knocked out. But what can I do? I'll train so it won't happen again".
For his part, Jacare plans on competing at ADCC despite his MMA loss, per Tatame:
Former Strikeforce middleweight champion, Ronaldo Jacare will be in Nottingham, England, on September 24 and 25 to compete at ADCC's super fight, against Abu Dhabi champion Braulio Estima.
The BJJ ace lost his Strikeforce middleweight title last weekend after a 25 minute war against Luke Rockhold, but guaranteed the fans he'll still fight at ADCC. "Let's move on, let's keep our head up. Now it's submission time, get ready for me Braulio", Jacare said on his Twitter.
SBN coverage of Strikeforce Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov
36 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I saw the headbutt Roger is talking about
glad to have my suspicion confirmed.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
I'm glad that he's saying it was accidental.
Meet me on Monsta Island. Where the girls look good and the MC's be Wildin'.
Also, follow me on Twitter @DeoWade
You should listen
to Bloody Elbow Radio. I made sure to cover it, even with drunk Roth refusing to believe it happened.
1. Anderson Silva is waiting for you to punch him.
2. That guy is Anderson Silva.
3. Don't fucking punch that guy.
by Chris Barton on Sep 15, 2011 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions
He must have been hanging out with Big Foot before the fight because both guys got this mysterious DIZZY spell and blame their losses on it
dengue fever maybe?!
Sometimes, these things happen in MMA
by NNR (formerly NameNotRequired) on Sep 15, 2011 10:20 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
It's not a mystery.
He got headbutted. Look at the gif.
If you want beef then bring the ruckus.
by lowellthehammer on Sep 15, 2011 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions
I didn't see it when I watched the fight live.
But if you look at the GIF, it’s pretty obvious.
"So even though it’s the gayest sport ever, MMA is still the best sport ever. I love my gay sport." - Wrestling Uber Alles
"If your [BJJ] training involves any part of you or training equipment inside any of your partner’s orifices, you’re doing it wrong." - gzl5000
by alicks on Sep 15, 2011 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
What could have possibly caused him to lurch back like that before getting knocked down?
The mystery lives on!
If you want beef then bring the ruckus.
by lowellthehammer on Sep 15, 2011 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Damn, that gif shows it pretty clear. I watched the fight and didn’t notice it at the time. Mo’s momentum was into it and it hit him right behind the ear, then he immediately lands a bomb in the same spot and finishes on the ground with a nice back of the head shot.
If that doesn’t make you dizzy, you have a head of f-ing steal.
"This is the best BJ we have seen in a long time" - Joe Rogan
mo lauches that headbutt follow up from CHINA.
That dude can drop bombs.
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Sep 15, 2011 10:43 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
i hope you catch the same
Ailment from someone today. :-p
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Sep 15, 2011 10:41 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
WTF are you talking about?
Silva very clearly stated that Cormier clocked him HARD. There’s no mystery. He wasn’t right after that, and it was obvious.
I suppose you just want the loser to be completely silent after a loss? If a football player says, “We lost because they scored a touchdown and we couldn’t get one back”, that’s a mysterious excuse that they’re blaming the loss on?
by paythefighters on Sep 15, 2011 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I like that Roger sounds like he's going to focus on MMA more now. Good for him.
Jacare…I dunno. I feel like either his MMA game has either plateaued or dare I say regressed at this point. His takedowns are almost a non-issue, he hits hard but doesn’t have the cardio to really go after his opponent on the feet, and his vaunted BJJ game isn’t quite the ace in the hole that one would expect it to be given his credentials.
If you want beef then bring the ruckus.
by lowellthehammer on Sep 15, 2011 10:24 AM EDT reply actions
i agree ... kinda.
I feel like his fight iq and cardio are issues.
He has all the tools and just needs to integrate them better. I wish he would go the human super glue route like shields, and strike to close the distance. I actually gave him that fight. It was razor close and understand why rockhold won; more volume. But I feel he was the more effective fighter.
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Sep 15, 2011 10:38 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He was, Rockhold was just spinning around and missing or getting blocked often.
Jacare just wasn’t doing a whole hell of a lot. Which goes back to the cardio issue.
If you want beef then bring the ruckus.
by lowellthehammer on Sep 15, 2011 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
If I ran his camp I would focus completely on wrestling + strength and conditioning.
I want to see him walk in with Mo’s traps to the next fight and hit some takedowns. His striking is good enough (strength training could improve his chin), it’s time to figure out how to put fights into his world with top notch takedowns.
@rask4p on Twitter
Good for Roger
I was a bit concerned that his interest in MMA was going to wane after this loss.
"You think I am old and feeble, do you? Well, face my Flying Windmill Kick, asshole!" - Old Master
@anonymousbungi
shocked to hear
That Gracie is going to be favoring mma over bjj. Honestly he looked like he hates being hit, and just didn’t look to comfortable in the cage.
Hopefully he sticks with it bexcause his grappling gives him an edge over anyone on the ground, especially in the bjj shallow LHW division
K-1 Level Predictions Team
by Fedorable on Sep 15, 2011 10:50 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Thinking the same
He just doesnt like getting hit. Thats going to take quite a lot of gym sparring time and mental change to overcome.
wow didnt expect this
thought roger was gonna retire from mma but now he wants to focus more time on mma?
i dont care what people say, with that attitude and that level of bjj, he still has all kinds of potential to be one of the greatest mma artists ever.
Matt "The Terror" Serra!!!!
At LHW that may be a problem for him.
There’s a lot of strikers with good to great TDD at LHW, or wrestlers who would have the edge on Roger on the feet. His long term potential would be better if he had all of his same attributes at WW, where there are plenty of guys with lackluster/so-so striking that rely on top control decisions to get the win.
If you want beef then bring the ruckus.
by lowellthehammer on Sep 15, 2011 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions
he just got clipped after a head butt
He.wasn’t losing that fight. he was out striking mo. I don’t think its time declare Rogers death in mma.
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Sep 15, 2011 11:42 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
That's not what I'm doing.
I’m saying that, given the skillsets of the elite at LHW versus what Roger brings to the table, his potential isn’t as great as it could be at a different weight. Having a good jab and otherworldly BJJ still wouldn’t be enough to beat Machida, Rashad, Rampage, or Shogun, much less Jones.
If you want beef then bring the ruckus.
by lowellthehammer on Sep 15, 2011 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions
I think it could be if he forces his game like a Jake shields style attack.
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Sep 15, 2011 12:21 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Good to hear from Gracie
Dude needs to find a decent striking coach, he has a lanky frame and if he could learn to throw a confident jab and keep dude from rushing at him.
Jacare is puzzling, he has world class grappling that he seldom uses in favor of his striking that has never really been that lethal, sure he can win rounds but he isn’t ending fights left and right due to his striking prowess. That and he still continues to have suspect cardio. He may not gas completely but his offensive output either drops drastically or just gets sloppy as all hell.
People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.
- Helen Keller
MMA is stepping on other people's dreams to reach your own.
- Roxanne Modafferi
he's been training with some of Britain's best boxers
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Nate Wilcox on Sep 15, 2011 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Wasn't there an 11" reach difference between them?
Roger should have been able to keep Mo at bay with a solid jab and basic foot movement. That Mo clipped him with a strike shows he hasn’t learned how to use his reach and distance correctly yet.
no a 1" reach difference
Roger is taller but has short arms for his height.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
he used his height well early on
should have been pumping the jab a LOT more and throwing kicks but he said himself he zoned out with 1 minute left. rookie mistake
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
That’s a shame Roger Gracie was one of the people that I was looking forward to seeing at Nottingham. However, I can perfectly understand his reasons for pulling out and I hope he continues to improve in MMA.
Still looking forward to the Jacaré superfight, despite his loss against Rockhold. I honestly thought that Jacaré was going to retain his title with ease and then maybe move to the UFC. He’ll probably still move to the UFC eventually, but I question whether he’d ever be considered a major threat to whoever holds the MW belt at that point.
-----------------------------------------
David Morris BSc. (Hons), MBCS
http://www.lifedownloaded.com
Happy for Gracie
I didn’t think the dude would keep an interest in mma after a loss, but it’s great seeing him want to stick with the sport
Dear audio diary: Today I may have accidentally registered myself as a sex offender! WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY LIFE
- T-Rex
by sitnam90 on Sep 15, 2011 12:14 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bloody Elbow
Related FanShots on Bloody Elbow
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
