Will Roger Gracie’s Jiu Jitsu fighting style inhibit his MMA career?

So have you heard that Roger Gracie is looking to change up his competition game? Quoted by Gracie Magazine at the 2012 European Championship in Lisbon, Portugal, “I’m changing my game. For my whole career as a black belt I got used to starting out slow and calm in my matches. I never felt the need to go all out against my opponents during the first two minutes, since a match lasts ten. I always started out slow and brought up the rhythm progressively, hitting max intensity towards the end. However, ever since losing in MMA [to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal by knockout at Strikeforce in September 2011] it dawned on me; if I don’t change my way of fighting, I’ll lose again.”

It seems obvious to agree with this Gracie prodigy, that being a very calm Jiu Jitsu fighter is counterproductive to the style needed for MMA fights. Roger will now put more focus on his MMA career, where despite his recent lose, will offer him more competition. In the end, Roger Gracie had said he did not sign up for the European Open because he is looking to compete in only one Jiu Jitsu tournament this year, which will most likely be the Worlds in California