Royce Looking To Fight In Rio

After taking MMA into a completely different realm, winning the UFC tournament three times, and becoming one of the most well known MMA names in history, Royce Gracie may still not be done with his UFC fighting days. Gracie and his manager Mike Kogan are in continuing negotiations with the UFC to allow the legend a spot on the UFC Rio card, scheduled for August 27the of this summer. The 44-year old has requested to make one final appearance in “the temple” that he helped build (the UFC), and a fight in Rio de Janeiro would be perfectly fitting for the jiu-jitsu black-belt magician. Not only would Gracie get to fight one last time in the octagon but the fight would allow him to do it in front of his home crowd. Kogan explained that he and Gracie are talking directly with UFC president Dana White and UFC executive Lorenzo Fertitta about the possible return in Rio. Although the possibility is one that would undoubtedly bring many PPV sells to the table, many other factors play into the decision, like another legitimate UFC Brazilian fighter not getting a chance to fight on the card. But Gracie has definitely paid his dues and has single-handedly done more for the sport than any other fighter, so I find it hard to believe that White and Fertitta would deny Gracie the opportunity. However, we’ve seen crazier things happen, that’s for sure. As of right now Kogan explained that nothing was finalized and the plans were still very much in the works. Kogan spoke with MMAJunkie.com about the situation and possible deal. Here is what he had to say: "I think we're going to make a deal," Kogan said. "We have plenty of time, so there's really no problems. It's just a matter of getting it nailed down." "As of right now, we don't have a deal in place," he said. "The UFC might yank this fight altogether and be like, 'On second thought, we don't want to do it.' This is not a done deal. We're interested in fighting; we have talked about it a lot. Most of the basic terms are agreed upon. But we haven't signed." According to Kogan Gracie is ready to fight on the August 27th card in Brazil against a specific-but undisclosed-opponent at either welterweight, middleweight, or at a catch-weight between the two divisions. In any case, if the UFC decides to allow Gracie to fight on the August 27th UFC in Rio card there is no doubt in my mind that millions of fans will tune in to see what could be the last time we ever see Royce Gracie fight in a cage. There’s a fitting quote from the old baseball movie, The Sandlot, in which Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez is talking to the ghost of Babe Ruth. Ruth tells Benny, “Heroes get remembered, but Legends never die.” Like Kogan explained, there is nothing finalized yet, but the possibility could make any MMA fan extremely excited. Gracie is one of those legends that will live on forever, and one more fight in the UFC cage would be a treat for any real fan of the sport. However, for now we’ll just have to wait and see how things play out between the two parties and hope a deal can be sparked. Best of luck to both sides of the deal. We’ll surely be keeping a close eye on this one.
By Jake Chastain of BJPENN.COM MMA NEWS