Roger (photo) showed progress in his MMA game and beat Jardine by judges' decision. Photo: Esther Lin
The black belt Roger gracie rediscovered his winning path in MMA this Saturday (14). After suffering his first defeat as a professional in 2011, the greatest champion in jiu-jitsu history returned to the Strikeforce cage in style.
The Brazilian was not aware of the former UFC fighter. Keith Jardine dominated the American for 15 minutes and won the contest via unanimous decision by the judges. The fight was on the main card of the event held in the city of Houston, in the United States.
In the main fight of the night, valid for the middleweight belt, Luke Rockhold and Tim Kennedy had an electrifying duel with a lot of alternation. At the end of five rounds, victory for Rockhold, who defended the Strikeforce belt for the second time.
Roger debuts with victory at middleweight
The Brazilian Roger gracie entered the cage of Strikeforce with the responsibility of beating Keith Jardine and erasing the knockout suffered against King mo, in his last performance at the event. In his first fight as a middleweight, the Tupiniquim black belt showed progress in his game and didn't give his opponent a chance.
Without taking any chances in striking, Roger soon closed the distance, sought the clinch and took down Jardine. With absolute dominance on the ground, the Brazilian advanced in position, but was unable to find a good moment to attempt the submission. As a result, Gracie, who had arrived in mount, abused the elbows, which opened a huge cut on Keith's forehead.
In the second round, history repeated itself with domination from Roger, who took down the North American right from the start. Gracie got to the back and tried a rear naked choke that was almost blocked. In the final moments, the Brazilian went to mount and tried the hand triangle, but Jardine, who was never submitted, managed to defend himself well.
With an advantage in the first rounds, Roger took risks with his striking in the last round and suffered no risks. Although Jardine always went for it all or nothing, the Brazilian dodged the attacks well and controlled the distance with his greater reach and front stomps to win the fight in a unanimous decision by the judges (30×26, 29×26, 29× 27).
With the victory, Roger has five wins and just one loss in MMA on his record.
Check out the complete Strikeforce results below:
Main card:
Luke Rockhold defeated Tim Kennedy by unanimous decision of the judges;
Nate Marquardt defeated Tyron woodley by technical knockout in R4;
Roger gracie defeated Keith Jardine via unanimous decision;
Lorenz Larkin defeated Robbie Lawler in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Preliminary card:
Jorge masvidal defeated Justin Wilcox via split decision;
Pat Healy defeated Mizuto Hirota via unanimous decision;
Jordan Mein defeated Tyler Stinson via unanimous decision;
Jason High submitted Nate Moore with a guillotine choke at 26s of R1;
Ryan Couture defeated Joe Duarte via split decision.
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