Roger Gracie vs. Tim Kennedy: Gracie Family Pride On The Line At UFC 162

Anderson Silva vs Chris Weidman may steal the show at UFC 162, however, another hotly anticipated battle will be held on the same card between former Strikeforce fighters Roger Gracie & Tim Kennedy.  Once again, the Gracie family name will be on the line as Roger moves to secure a win in his UFC debut.

Roger is the 4th member of the Gracie family to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Since 1999, Roger has been competing on the jiu jitsu circuits and is an extremely dangerous opponent. This is a very important fight for the Gracie family after Rolles Gracie put on one of the most embarrassing performances at UFC 109 against Joey Beltran, gassing out and laying on the canvas, with a refereed stoppage in round two. Renzo Gracie then suffered a TKO loss in round 3 at UFC 112 against Matt Hughes. Let’s have a look at some of Roger’s stats and tournament wins as he heads for Gracie redemption in Vegas on July 7^th in this epic matchup.

 Roger Gracie Stats:

 Professional record (6-1-0)

Height: 6FT 4 inches

Reach 79 inch

Age: 31 years

Skill set: Brazilian Jiu jitsu Black belt under Cousin Renzo Gracie.

Middleweight Debut: After losing to King Mo, Roger moved to middleweight to fight Keith Jardine at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy on July 14, 2012 winning the fight via uNanimous decision.

MMA Loss-First round KO to Muhammed Lawal.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Grappling record 65–7 (multi-time Gold medallist in ADCC grappling and World Jujitsu Championship.  

 Jiu jitsu Tournament wins  

 2002-Brazilian Teams Championship. Win over Black belt Demian Maia

2002-World Jiu jitsu Championship: Win over Ronaldo Souza

2005-ADCC Submission wrestling world Championship-Win over Shinya Aoki

2005-World Jiu jitsu Championship-Lost to Ronaldo Souza in Final

2005-European Open Championships-Win over Ronaldo Souza-Final

2005-ADCC Submission Wrestling Championship. Win over Fabricio Werdum (quarter final)

 GRACIE FIGHTERS who have fought for the UFC

 1^st Royce Gracie (UFC HALL OF FAMER)

2^nd Rolles Gracie (only fought once in the UFC against Joey Beltran).

3^rd Renzo Gracie (only fought once in the UFC against Matt Hughes)

4^th Roger Gracie (about to make his debut at UFC 162)

 Tim Kennedy Stats

 Professional record: 15-4-0

Height 5 ft 11 inches

Reach: 74 inches

Age: 33

Strengths: Submissions, cardio, strength

Notable wins against – Robbie Lawler, Melvin Manhoef, Zac Cummings

 Tim Kennedy is a tough opponent however he will be giving up a sizable reach and height advantage coming into this fight. He is also facing an extremely dangerous submission expert and may have to rely on his stand-up and cardio to get the job done as the canvas could be a deadly place to land.

Other Middleweight fighters to look out for on the card include: Mark Munoz, who will be facing Tim Boetsch, and also Chris Leben scheduled to face Andrew Craig.  

Let us know whether you see Roger Gracie as a favourite coming into this fight against Tim Kennedy?