Roger Gracie has officially come out of his MMA retirement.
The ten-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion has signed a deal with One FC to fight in the light-heavyweight division (205lb).
Roger talked to MMA Fighting about the contract: “I plan to do two or three (MMA) fights a year,” he said. “I will be 33 years old in a couple months, so realistically speaking I don’t have too many years as an athlete. Only a few extraordinary athletes can keep doing this until they are 40, but I don’t see myself fighting at 40 years old. I think I will retire by 36 or 38.”
The comeback to MMA, however does not mean Roger is done with competing in Jiu-Jitsu: “I’m coming back to MMA now, but I will also do Jiu-Jitsu,” he said. “If I can’t enter tournaments like the IBJJF World Championship, I can do superfights. There are a lot of great talents out there that I would like to compete with.”
Roger competed in the gentle art for the last time in 2012, at Metamoris I, when he tied a 20-minute match against Marcus Buchecha.
In a video interview with GRACIEMAG.com earlier this year, Roger talked about the current BJJ fighters that he admire.
Roger last MMA match was against Tim Kennedy, at UFC 162, on July 2013, when he lost by unanimous decision.
