Ralek Gracie will make his much awaited Bellator debut on Jan. 21 against French/Japanese fighter Hisaki Kato at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Ralek is mostly famous for founding Metamoris which initially provided a string of high profile sub only matches with high production value. However the promotion quickly fell into a financial hole and lost backers. His debts (and the horrible rap video he released) make him one of the Most Hated persons in jiu-jitsu today.
Gracie had already anounced tat he would fight MMA in order to pay his debts:
Gracie anounced the news on his Instagram account.
Ralek has a 3-0 MMA record. He retired after a unanimous decision win against Kazushi Sakuraba in 2011.
Kato has a 7-2 MMA record with 3-1 Bellator record.
Kato faced Joe Schilling in his promotional and United States debut at Bellator 139 on June 26, 2015. Despite being a sizable underdog, Kato won the bout in highlight-reel fashion, knocking out the seasoned kickboxer with a superman punch early in the second round.
In August 2015, Kato signed an exclusive, multi-fight contract with the promotion.
Kato faced another experienced kickboxer, Melvin Manhoef, at Bellator 146 on November 20, 2015 in the main event. Kato lost the fight via knockout due to a left hook from Manhoef in the first round.
Kato returned to Bellator in a mixed martial arts bout against A.J. Matthews on October 21, 2016 at Bellator 162. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.
