Royce Gracie manager: No problems to UFC return
Royce Gracie is in continuing negotiations with the promotion to appear in a retirement fight at the Brazilian event, which…
Royce Gracie is in continuing negotiations with the promotion to appear in a retirement fight at the Brazilian event, which is expected to take place Aug. 27 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Mike Kogan, Royce’s longtime manager, said he and Gracie are talking directly with UFC president Dana White and UFC executive Lorenzo Fertitta about the prospect of bringing the 44-year-old MMA legend back into the octagon one last time against a specific – but undisclosed – opponent.
“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.”
Kogan said the potential fight could take place at welterweight, middleweight, or a catchweight between the two divisions.