Mixed Martial Arts Career
On March 10, 2006, Gracie made his mixed martial arts debut, taking on former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Frank Shamrock in the main event of the Strikeforce: "Shamrock vs. Gracie" pay-per-view event. Shamrock knocked out Gracie just 20 seconds into the first round.
In an interview with ESPN Magazine weeks before the fight, Rickson Gracie stated that Cesar is a Gracie only on the woman's side of the family. "Strange to me that he don't represent his own father's name when fighting a great former champion like Frank Juarez Shamrock."
When asked if there was any way that Cesar could pull out a win against Shamrock, Rickson said, "there is no way, my friend...you can give a duck bread year after year and the duck will feed on it as if he were human. But once you stop giving the bread to the duck, can it still fish and fend for itself? Well, it is time for Cesar to fend for himself."
Read more about this topic: Cesar Gracie
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