Rolles Gracie Signs With the UFC

A member of the legendary Gracie family will compete in the Octagon for the first time in nearly four years as Rolles Gracie has signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC and will make his debut against British heavyweight Mustapha al Turk at UFC 109 in February.

News of Gracie's signing with the UFC, and his subsequent Octagon debut against Al Turk, was first reported by MMAWeekly.com.

Royce Gracie was the last Gracie to compete in the Octagon, and he was defeated by Matt Hughes at UFC 60: Hughes vs Gracie in May 2006.

Since turning pro in Sept. 2007, Gracie has put together a undefeated 3-0 record, with all of his wins coming by submission. His last two wins have come in the Art of War promotion in China. He most recently defeated K-1 veteran Peter Graham at Art of War 14 on Sept. 26.

Gracie has been splitting his training time at both Renzo Gracie's Academy in New York City as well as Greg Jackson's school in New Mexico.

Rolles Gracie is physically the largest in the history of the Gracie family, standing at 6' 4" and, at times, weighing nearly 250 pounds. He is a second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, also a multi-title-holding champion, not only BJJ, but in judo and submission wrestling as well. He is the grandson of Carlos Gracie Sr., the founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and son of Rolles Gracie.

Al Turk may be looking at his third and final chance at trying to earn a UFC victory. He has lost his first two bouts in the UFC against Cheick Kongo and, most recently, against Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic at UFC 99: The Comeback in June. Prior to entering the UFC, he put together a two-fight winning streak, which included a win over current TUF 10 cast member James McSweeney.

Al Turk has fought the majority of his career for the Cage Rage organization, fighting seven of his 11 career fights with the now-defunct promotion. He has finished all six of his career wins, including four by TKO or KO. He also holds other notable career wins over the likes of Henry Miller and Mark Kerr.

The UFC's yet unannounced Super Bowl event, UFC 109, is expected to take place on Feb. 6, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV.

The only other match up rumored for the event is a middleweight bout between Demian Maia and Dan Miller. Former UFC welterweight champions Matt Serra and Matt Hughes are rumored to be competing at the event.

Source: www.fiveknuckles.com