Joey Beltran vs. Rolles "The Adopted Son" Gracie

Coming from his legendary family, Rolles Gracie has a lot of pressure to deal with. Henzo Gracie (who was in his corner) was not too pleased at how Rolles lived up to the family name.

Rolles did get his opponent to the ground. Once there, we all assumed he would quickly get a submission. After all, he’s a Gracie! Yes, well…not all Gracies are created equal. After Rolles failed to capitalize on that opportunity, things really fell apart for him.

Joey Beltran took this fight on short notice. He didn’t look like a very imposing heavyweight. However compared to Rolles, Joey looked like a super-athlete. Joey was being very aggressive too. That “lay it all on the line” attitude is perfect for someone getting a call-up from the UFC. You’ve got nothing to lose (and you’re on the prelims) so you might as well try to build a highlight reel moment.

Sadly, the finish was sad to watch. Rolles was stumbling into his takedowns, if you want to call them that. Beltran had little trouble with pounding him out. They were barely Roy Nelson-level punches. A moment earlier, Herb Dean said something like that “Uh, Rolles? Do you still want to fight?” and there wasn’t even any action going on.

Joey will need one more fight before proving what he’s really capable of. That’s more than Rolles got, as the would-be Gracie fighter has already received his walking papers.

At least Mark Coleman got to have an entire career of delivering beat downs before losing his gas tank. Rolles is only 31 years old! Where did he think he was going to be ten years from now?

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