Rolles Gracie Jr.

Rolles Gracie (born July 14, 1978) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, and professional wrestler.[3] As the son of Rolls Gracie, he is a third generation martial arts member of the Gracie family, and a 5th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.[4]

Rolles Gracie
Born (1978-07-14) July 14, 1978[1]
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil[1]
ResidenceNew Jersey
NationalityBrazilian-American
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight249 lb (113 kg; 17 st 11 lb)
DivisionHeavyweight
Reach80 in (203 cm)
StyleBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Gaidojutsu, Wrestling
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofHolmdel, New Jersey, United States
TeamRenzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy
Jackson's Submission Fighting[2]
Rank5th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (under Daniel Gracie and Renzo Gracie)
3rd dan black belt in Judo
Mixed martial arts record
Total12
Wins8
By knockout1
By submission7
Losses4
By knockout4
Notable relativesGracie Family
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Rolles Gracie Jr.
Medal record
Grappling
Representing  Brazil
ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship
Silver medal – second place 2007 New Jersey, USA 99 kg

Mixed martial arts career

Gracie stepped into the International Fight League for his first MMA fight on the undercard of the IFL World Team Championships in 2007. He joined his cousin Renzo Gracie's New York Pitbulls in the IFL. Gracie's younger brothers Igor and Gregor are also mixed martial artists. Gracie was set to fight Ricardo Romero at Ring of Combat 24, April 17, 2009, but he withdrew from the fight a week before due to an injury sustained in practice.[5]

Gracie signed with Art of War Fighting Championship and made his debut on May 23, 2009, where he defeated in a mixed martial match Magomedbag Agaev from Daghestan at 5:09 seconds in Round 1.[1] Rolles, in his second fight for the Art of War FC promotion, defeated K-1 kickboxing veteran, but at the time 0–2 in MMA, Peter Graham early in the first round.[6]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Gracie was expected to make his UFC debut on February 6, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada against Mostapha Al-Turk[7] Due to Mostapha Al Turk having visa troubles, Gracie instead faced Joey Beltran in his UFC debut.[8] Gracie secured a takedown early, and managed to take Beltran's back. However he would quickly become exhausted, and Beltran would defend the rest of his takedowns with ease. In the second round, Gracie attempted another takedown but was denied, and Beltran immediately started landing ground and pound which Gracie was unable to defend, causing referee Herb Dean to stop the fight.[9]

Following the defeat, Renzo Gracie described Rolles' performance as "embarrassing", saying his exhaustion was caused by nerves and the pressure he put on himself.[10] Rolles was released from the UFC after just one fight.[11]

Post-UFC

Gracie was to face Mike Ciesnolevicz at a Shine Fights event on January 8, 2011.[12] The event, however, did not materialize.

Instead, Gracie made his first post-UFC appearance on April 22, 2011 at UCC 4: Supremacy. He defeated Braden Bice via submission in the first round.

ONE Fighting Championship

On December 8, 2011 it was announced that Gracie had signed for Asian promotion ONE Fighting Championship.[13]

He made his debut at ONE FC: Battle of Heroes in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 11, 2012 where he took on Bob Sapp.[14] Gracie won the fight in the first round by submission due to strikes.

Rolles faced Tony Bonello in a Heavyweight bout at ONE FC: Pride of a Nation in Quezon City, Philippines. He won via submission in the third round.

World Series of Fighting

Gracie was set to take on Dave Huckaba at WSOF 3 on June 14, 2013.[15] However Gracie was forced out of the fight due to a wrist injury.[16]

In his promotion debut, Gracie faced Derrick Mehmen on WSOF 5 on September 14, 2013 at World Series of Fighting 5: Arlovski vs. Kyle, where he was knocked out in the second round after outboxing Mehmen in the first.[17]

KSW

After signing with the Polish MMA promotion KSW, Gracie challenged Karol Bedorf for the KSW Heavyweight Championship at KSW 28 on October 4, 2014. He lost the fight by TKO in the first round.[18]

He then faced former Polish strongman and five-time World's Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski at KSW 31 on May 23, 2015. Gracie lost in surprising fashion by KO after Pudzianowski landed a punch just 27 seconds into the first round.[19]

Professional wrestling career

On October 14, 2013, Rolles, along with Daniel Gracie, made an appearance for professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) at the King of Pro-Wrestling pay-per-view, issuing an open challenge for the January 4, 2014, Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome event, which was later answered by Yuji Nagata and Kazushi Sakuraba, the latter known as the "Gracie Hunter" for his MMA bouts with members of the Gracie family.[20][21] The Gracies lost the match via disqualification, after Daniel choked Nagata out with his gi.[22] A rematch between the two teams took place on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka and saw Rolles submit Sakuraba for the win.[23] On April 6 at Invasion Attack 2014, the Gracies defeated Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano in another tag team match.[24] The Gracies' win streak continued on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2014, where they defeated Sakuraba and Shinsuke Nakamura.[25] On May 25 at Back to the Yokohama Arena, Rolles wrestled his first singles match, where he was defeated by Sakuraba.[26]

Personal life

Gracie is the eldest son of Rolls Gracie (1951–1982), and grandson of Carlos Gracie (1902–1994). He is the older brother of Igor Gracie and Gregor Gracie. Gracie lives in New Jersey where he is the main instructor at his cousin Renzo Gracie’s jiu-jitsu school in Middletown, New Jersey. He also owns and operates the Rolles Gracie Academy in Old Bridge, New Jersey and West Long Branch, NJ.[27] He has a son and three daughters.[28][29]

Achievements

Submission Grappling[1]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[1]

  • 1st place, gold medalist(s) No-Gi American National Super Heavyweight Champion (2010)
  • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) No-Gi Pan-American 2nd Place (2008)
  • 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3× Pan-American Champion (1996, 2000, 2006)
  • Ranked #1 North America (2005)
  • 1st place, gold medalist(s) Grapplers Quest Copa Atlantica (2005)
  • Brazilian Teams Champion (2000)
  • 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3rd Place, World Championship (1999)
  • 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2× Brazilian National Champion (1996, 1999)
  • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd Place, World Jiu-Jitsu Championships (1998) (defeated by Carlos "Carlão" Santos)
  • 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3× Rio de Janeiro State Champion (1989, 1991, 1993)

Judo[1]

  • 1st place, gold medalist(s) Sunshine States Games (1998)
  • 1st place, gold medalist(s) Miami Dade Open (1998)

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
12 matches 8 wins 4 losses
By knockout 1 4
By submission 7 0
By decision 0 0
Draws 0
No contests 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 8–4 Mariusz Pudzianowski KO (punch) KSW 31: Materla vs. Drwal May 23, 2015 1 0:27 Gdańsk, Poland
Loss 8–3 Karol Bedorf TKO (body kick and punches) KSW 28: Fighters Den October 4, 2014 1 4:04 Szczecin, Poland For the KSW Heavyweight Championship.
Loss 8–2 Derrick Mehmen KO (punch) WSOF 5 September 14, 2013 2 2:40 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 8–1 Yusuke Kawaguchi Submission (arm-triangle choke) Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2012 December 31, 2012 1 2:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 7–1 Tony Bonello Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE FC: Pride of a Nation August 31, 2012 3 1:33 Quezon City, Philippines
Win 6–1 Bob Sapp TKO (submission to punches) ONE FC: Battle of Heroes February 11, 2012 1 1:18 Jakarta, Indonesia
Win 5–1 Lee Mein Submission (arm-triangle choke) Wreck MMA: Unfinished Business October 28, 2011 1 1:51 Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Win 4–1 Braden Bice Submission (arm-triangle choke) UCC 4: Supremacy April 22, 2011 1 1:05 Morristown, New Jersey, United States
Loss 3–1 Joey Beltran TKO (punches) UFC 109 February 6, 2010 2 1:31 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 3–0 Peter Graham Submission (arm-triangle choke) Art of War 14: Ground Zero September 26, 2009 1 1:43 Macau, China
Win 2–0 Baga Agaev Submission (rear-naked choke) Art of War 12: Invincible May 23, 2009 1 5:09 Beijing, China
Win 1–0 Sam Holloway Submission (rear-naked choke) IFL – 2007 Team Championship Final September 20, 2007 1 1:49 Hollywood, Florida, United States

References
  1. "Rollesgracie.com". Rollesgracie.com. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  2. Alonso, Marcelo (2009-10-13). "The Next Great Gracie?". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  3. "Rolles Gracie MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography". Sherdog.com. 1978-07-14. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  4. "Rolles Gracie Jr. Bio URL accessed on June 5, 2009". Rollesgracie.com. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  5. "Ring of Combat 24 Fight Card". Sherdog.com. 2009-03-14. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  6. "Art of War ® Fighting Championship 14 – Ground Zero – Results | Art of War™ Fighting Championship ::: MMA China". Archived from the original on 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  7. "Rolles Gracie headed to UFC, meets Mostapha Al Turk at UFC 109". MMAjunkie. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  8. "Joey Beltran official as late replacement, faces Rolles Gracie on UFC 109 prelims". MMAjunkie. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  9. Cofield, Steve. "Next-generation Gracie bombs at UFC 109 – Cagewriter – UFC Blog – Yahoo! Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  10. "Renzo Gracie on Rolles' debut: "It was embarrassing... he'll learn and be back."". Archived from the original on 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  11. "Rolles Gracie Seeks Big League Return". www.sherdog.com. 22 Apr 2011. Retrieved 15 Feb 2015.
  12. "Gracie-Ciesnolevicz On Tap for Jan 8. Shine Fights". Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  13. "Singapore's One FC Launches; Gracies, Filipino Champs Aboard". Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  14. "Gracie, Shirai, Belingon Added to Feb. 11 One FC Card in Jakarta". Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  15. "World Series of Fighting 3 Gains Tyrone Spong vs. Angel DeAnda, Moves to Hard Rock".
  16. "Rolles Gracie Forced Off World Series of Fighting 3 Card; Fight Cancelled".
  17. "World Series of Fighting 5 results: Arlovski edges Kyle". mmajunkie.com. September 14, 2013.
  18. "KSW 28: Karol Bedorf defends KSW title against Rolles Gracie". October 3, 2014.
  19. "Mariusz Pudzianowski defeats Rolles Gracie with a brutal knockout Punch 27 seconds into the first round". fightstate.com. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  20. "King of Pro-Wrestling". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  21. Namako, Jason (October 14, 2013). "10/14 NJPW iPPV Results: Tokyo, Japan (Tanahashi/Okada)". WrestleView. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  22. "バディファイトPresents Wrestle Kingdom 8 in 東京ドーム". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  23. "The New Beginning in Osaka". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  24. "Invasion Attack 2014". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  25. レスリングどんたく 2014. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  26. "Back to the Yokohama Arena". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  27. Renzo Gracie Middletown Martial Arts >> Instructor Bios
  28. IGJJF >> Gracie Family Tree Archived June 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  29. "Gracie Family Tree". Charles Gracie. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
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