Rolles brings the Gracie name back into the octagon

For the first time since Royce Gracie fought Matt Hughes a member of the famed Gracie family will step into the octagon. At UFC 109 on Saturday, Rolles Gracie, son of the late Rolls Gracie (who was Helio Gracie’s nephew), will face, well, it looks like he’ll face fellow UFC newcomer Joey Beltran in a heavyweight match-up. Rolles was supposed to fight Mustapha Al Turk, who apparently has travel visa problems and can’t make it into the country.

Rolles Gracie is a 3-0 IFL vet while Beltran is 10-3 and is coming off a knockout win over UFC throwaway Houston Alexander at a 5150 Combat League event.

And while this is slated for the preliminary card, I for one hope it makes it onto the pay-per-view broadcast. A Gracie in the cage, especially a new-generation Gracie (and a heavyweight!), is something to pay attention to.