Roger Gracie (6w, 2d) returns to MMA in December. Photo by Ray Santana
Roger Gracie is days away from doing something he said earlier this year that he wouldn’t do anymore; fighting MMA.
The 10-time black belt world champion will face Britain’s James McSweeney in the 205lb division of the One FC, next Dec. 5, in Manila, Phillipines.
GRACIEMAG.com talked exclusively with Roger about his return to the cage.
First of all, he revealed who is “guilty” for his change of mind regarding his MMA career: “My cousin Renzo was the one who made me comeback. He convinced me that I had to fight again.”
One of the most common criticism Roger received in his prior MMA fights was that he was fighting in the wrong weight division. He said that now he is where he should have been all the time: “I used to suffer a lot to go down to 185lb. Now, at 205lb, I don’t expect to have problems. I’m feeling great and can’t wait for the moment of the fight.”
Roger’s opponent will be Britain’s James McSweeney. At 34, he has a 14-11 MMA record. Roger told us what he knows about the opponent: “He is very strong and has really good muay thai. Either way, I trained hard and I hope to put my Jiu-Jitsu to work.”
With a 0-1 record in the UFC, Roger is not looking forward to go back to the organization. He says he’s happy to be where he is: “I have no plans to go back to the UFC. I like it a lot to be a One FC athlete and i hope to be here until I retire for good. It is Asia’s biggest event and it has all it needs to be the biggest in the world soon.”
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