MMA News: Royce Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba Rematch

Royce Gracie will get a shot at revenge against Kazushi Sakuraba. (Bodog Nation File Photo)

Mixed martial arts pioneer Royce Gracie (13-3-3) will face his family’s arch-nemesis for a second time.

The man whose name is synonymous with the sport of MMA, will step into the ring with Japanese fighting sensation Kazushi Sakuraba, (21-9-1) once again on Saturday, June 2, 2007 in Los Angeles as K-1 presents Dynamite USA.

Gracie and Sakuraba first fought on May 1, 2000. Gracie had returned from a 5-year absence and defeated Sakuraba’s team mate Nobuhiko Takada (2-6-2). Six months earlier, Sakuraba had beaten Royce’s brother Royler Gracie (5-4-1).

Gracie had requested special rules, including unlimited 15-minute rounds. Sakuraba was happy to oblige, and the fight went on for 90 minutes. Throughout the match, Sakuraba chopped away at Gracie’s leg with hard kicks. At one point in the fight, Gracie seemed to have a guillotine choke, but the crafty Japanese fighter escaped and continued to press the pace. Finally, at the end of the sixth round, Gracie could take no more and his corner was forced to throw in the towel. 

Amazingly, Sakuraba fought again that same night and lost by TKO to Igor Vovchanchyn (45-9-1). Since then, Sakuraba has defeated both Renzo Gracie (13-6-1) and Ryan Gracie (5-2-0) earning himself the nickname “The Gracie Hunter”.

The Gracie vs. Sakuraba rematch is the co-main event on the card, sharing the top billing with a match between 7-foot-2 South Korean Hong Man Choi (1-0-0) and former WWE champ Brock Lesnar (0-0-0).

Full card for K-1 Dynamite USA:

• Brock Lesnar vs. Hong Man Choi
• Royce Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
• Mighty Mo vs. Mu Bae Choi
• Melvin Manhoef vs. Dong Sik Yoon
• Jake Shields vs.Ido Pariente
• Gina Carano vs. Jan Finney
• Javier Vasquez vs.Katsuhiko Nagata
• Brad Pickett vs. Hideo Tokoro

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