MMAWeekly
Roger Gracie will make his middleweight debut this summer against former UFC fighter Keith Jardine at a Strikeforce event scheduled for July.
Sources close to the situation confirmed the bout to MMAWeekly.com on late Sunday evening. MMAFighting.com first reported the match-up.
Following a stint at both heavyweight and light heavyweight, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Roger Gracie will make the move down to 185lbs.
A master on the ground, Gracie suffered his first loss when he stepped way up in competition for his last fight when he took on former Strikeforce champion Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal. The fight ended with Gracie being TKO’d, but it also served as a wake up call to make the move down to middleweight where he won’t be giving up nearly as much size and power.
Welcoming Gracie to the middleweight division will be former Ultimate Fighter competitor Keith Jardine, who will make only his second trip to 185lbs as well.
Jardine stepped up on short notice to face Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in January, and was shut down in the first round.
Prior to that fight, Jardine had gone 2-0-1 with the draw coming in a fight he took on less than two weeks notice against former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi.
Now he faces one of the most dangerous fighters in all of MMA on the ground as he meets Roger Gracie in July.
The July Strikeforce event has yet to receive a date or location yet, but it will take place in the summer month where several other big fights are expected to land as well.
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