Breaking Down Strikeforce Diaz Vs. Cyborg: Prangley Vs Gracie

Added on Jan 26, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

Light Heavyweights
Roger Gracie vs. Trevor Prangley

If you have never taken a look at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling credentials of Roger Gracie, you should probably go and take the time and do some time. Of course, everyone is in the habit of attributing great BJJ to anyone with the Gracie last name, and be right most of the time, but you can’t say that about Roger. He is still a green MMA prospect, but he is one of those fighters where you can tell he will eventually figure out how to adapt his BJJ into a style that works for him. The good news is that while he is doing it, he has been stacking up submission wins against Ron Waterman, Yuki Kondo and former UFC champion Kevin Randleman.

Gracie is a tall 6’4, and is able to use his long limbs to his advantage on floor, and so far he has thrown just enough jabs and combinations to keep his opponents guessing. Which is a great sign for someone at his point in his MMA career. It would make me nervous to see someone like him just rushing in and pulling guard, or butt scooting trying to get into De La Riva guard. Instead, he is standing up and trading with some of these guys, and so far has shown a decent beard.

Trevor Prangley is going to have his hands full with a guy like Gracie, but the seasoned veteran has a tremendous of experience on his side. Prangley is used to the big shows, he is used to fighting in cages and rings, he is used to recovering from damage and still putting up a fight, and he has been used to these things for a full decade. We just passed the ten anniversary of his first sanctioned professional fight.

Prangley is a grinder and has been dancing just on the outside of the contender circle for a while now. He has quite a few solid wins, and since he has left the UFC in 2006 he has gone 12-2-1. He has the savvy in the cage that only real veterans can exploit sometimes, and I think it will pay dividends for him in this fight. I think its important to mention that Prangley had a decision win over Travis Lutter, who also has a legit BJJ pedigree, and it shows he knows how to stay out of danger against guys like Roger.

That’s exactly what I think will happen in this fight. I think Prangley will decide if he is comfortable on his feet with Roger, or if he should take him down. If he wants to take the fight down, I am not even sure Gracie will even defend for the takedown. He may just let Trevor have it, and I am not sure that is a good idea. I think Prangley can stay busy on the floor with a guys like Gracie and survive Roger’s guard. I see Prangley grinding out a win over Gracie, and I think it may be a convincing one.