Strikeforce recently bolstered its lightweight division with the signing of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel (12-5), according to ProMMA.info. Terms of the contract were undisclosed at this time, but he hopes to make his debut with the promotion sometime in early 2009.
The former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) was released from the UFC following a close decision loss to Aaron Riley two weeks ago at UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar,” which was awarded “Fight of the Night” accolades for the performance. In fact, Gurgel also earned similar honors with his win over Diego Saraiva at UFC 73 last July.
With Elite XC falling off the map, Strikeforce has pretty much moved into its place as one of the second tier organizations behind the UFC. Signing an exciting and well-known fighter such as Gurgel can only help the promotion tcontinue to establish itself.
Gurgel had this to say about the news:
“I am very very excited to part of Strikeforce and given a chance to fight new blood and capture a belt. UFC has been my family for a few years now but I am ready for the next chapter. There are some amazing contenders in my weight class including Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez. I will do whatever it takes to climb to the top of this league.”
The adopted Cincinnati, Ohio, native competed seven times in the UFC following his time as a contestant on the second season of TUF. He compiled a record of (3-4) in the Octagon with wins over Danny Abbadi, Diego Saraiva and John Halverson, as well as losses to Riley, Cole Miller, Alvin Robinson and Mark Hominick.
Also the long-time jiu-jitsu coach and training partner for Rich Franklin, Gurgel is highly respected as an instructor, teammate and jiu-jitsu practitioner. Mostly considered a ground specialist, he’s been working with Mark Dellagrotte recently in hopes of establishing a more complete striking game to go along with his already solid mat work.
He’s a talented guy, but was often over matched by the competition provided in the UFC’s tough 155-pound division. By his own admission, Gurgel often fails to execute his gameplans and gets caught up in brawls rather than leveraging his strong ground skils.
Perhaps a fresh start in Strikeforce against some new faces could prove to be a great move for the Brazilian, especially if he keeps improving his all around game with Dellagrotte.
Time will tell.
65 Comments »
This is long overdue. Gurgel is garbage.
I wouldn’t go as far to say he is garbage but it pisses me off so much watching trying to stand up when his ground game is clearly his strength.
He deserves this and if he carries on like this he will lose consistently to C-level fighters never mind people like Josh Thomson and Melendez as they would knock his block off with or without the ground game!
Ca$z — I agree 100%. If he ever decides to use his bread and butter (jits), he can start cleaning up. Why this guy insists on standing and trading is beyond me. Andy Wang was an even worse example. He’s a black belt, but somehow he thought it was more prestigious and honorable to become an amazing striker. (And he pretty much stunk at striking, at least compared to the competition he faced.) It just doesn’t make sense, except obviously inside their heads.
how do you know his ground game is his strength?
who has he submitted or even beat for that matter?
When has ever even tried to pull off a submission in a fight?
His supossed black belt level jui jitzsu is a farce.
He is McLovin’s coach and I dont think anyone can deny his jitz is nasty.
Nah, I have trained with Jorge he is definitely a blackbelt level in jiu-jitsu. The GI seminars he puts on are incredible and I am a white belt have tapped a bluebelt with one of his moves. I am as frustrated as the next fan seeing my boy lose to mid-tier fighters cuz he wanted to stand and trade blows. Jorge is one of those crazy “hit me again!” type macho guys and I think his pride kinda gets in the way when he fights.
that dude would put you to sleep, he isn’t garbage.
i hope the best for georgey boy and i hope he gets a belt cause he puts it on the line everytime he goes out there.
the ufc just was a little more comp then he hoped for
franca is next
he’s not garbage, but come on man, use your jits.
first thing that came to my mind is when Dana said it’s not wins and losses but how a fighter fights that determines their status in the UFC. Gurgel lost, but got fight of the night! Just another example of Dana talking too much! I know, this is coming from the biggest DW supporter too, huh introvert! lol
He is a very talented fighter, that is too stuborn to use his own strengths…. It must be weird training to fight a bad ass jits dude and not have to train submission defense…..
Mentally he just doesnt have it! He doesnt value winning. Talent wise he is there, but he chooses not to fight to his strengths.
On the flip side, he is an extremely entertaining fighter. I dont think I have ever witnessed a boring Jorge Gurgel fight. THen guy is a warrior with a big heart…to bad he is lacking in the brain department. I would however keep Gurgel in the UFC as a gatekeeper to test guys coming out of the TUF show.
Exactly John. Every one of his fights is entertaining, but dude just loses his mind in the octagon. I think this is a good move for him. He might actually stand a chance w/ his stand up in strikeforce.
I think BJ’s description of andy wang fits perfectly here. He thinks standing and banging makes him a warrior and special fighter until he loses and everyone is cheering for the other guy.
great post namenotrequired~ totally Agree!
***BREAKING NEWS***
Barnett will be fighting Aleksander emelienenko instead of Grim Rogers at Affliction 2 on January 24th. Bout agreements are in place already!
http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/n … hp?id=1447
There have been tons of rumors sorrounding why Aleks wasnt allowed to fight at Affliction 1. Barnett accepting a fight with Aleks leads me to believe that Aleks will be allowed to fight. Barnett is probably Affliction’s 2nd biggest attraction, and they wouldnt book him in a fight if there was a chance that his opponent would not be allowed to fight on Fight night!
This is GREAT news! Aleks is one of my favorite HW’s and I think this will be an amazing match up that can go both ways! Even better news is the FACT that Aleks does not have any diseases that will keep him from fighting in America.
I am really looking forward to this fight!
It’s one thing to be an entertaining fighter and I can appreciate that he wants to appease the fans but standing and trading just is not his forte. He’s a BJJ black belt…why is he not trying to be an exciting ground fighter is beyond me. He simply refuses to play to his own strengths and that has always been his downfall. Everyone loves a fighter that likes to stand and bang but no one likes a loser…especially a dillusional one.
What about Marcus Aurelio? He hasn’t lived up to his reputation at all. Think there was a rumour floating around that he was getting cut. I’m not sure though. Can anyone clarify this one? I’m feeling awful lazy at the moment.
Aurelio has been cut he was 2 and 3 in the UFC.
Thanks. I haven’t been keeping up to date with all the latest goings on. Cheers for that.
Rich’s ‘Cabana Boy’ GONE, GREAT! I hate a fighter that doesn’t use his strengths or fight with 1/2 a brain.
hahah “Cabanna Boy”! Happy to see that the name I anointed Gurgel with is sticking!
It’s perfect! How could it not? : )
lmao…so right!
finaly
Apparently im not the first to think this… it’s about time!
if there was a belt for getting ur face smashed up he wud win every time haha
did you really just type “wud”?
is your name really “Dayvet”
this guy p’d me off!!!!
never played to his skills
bit like chuck
There is a hell of alot more deserving talent out there to take his slot in the roster
Never did understand how he was awared 1/2 of “fight of the night” in UFC 91. Gurgel may be a good ju-jitsu instructor, but his face is nothing but a punching bag once he steps into the ring.
awarded
Fight of the night is always given to both combatants…. it takes two to make it “fight of the night”
As a Cincinnati Guy and a JG supporter, I stil lwant to know why it took the UFC this long to release him. But now with him moving to strikeforce in which most of the top lightweights are Wrestlers, we might be able to see JG get taken down and him to finally use his BJJ. But I could be dreaming.
You make a good point most don’t that Gurgel failed to use his jui-jitsu because most of the time his opponents wanted no part of a ground fight besides Alvin Robinson and Gurgel’s wrestling isn’t great to take a guy down so he was in a lot of stand up fights.That being said his record in the UFC wasn’t horrible I mean he was 3 and 4.
yeah, but you have to look at who he was 3 and 4 against. he wasn’t losing to sean sherks and kenny florians.
Just a matter of time.
When is this guy going to realize that he is sub-par at striking? He’s got a hell of a chin, and is as ballsy as they come, but the guy is throwing his career away to prove he has balls….why? We already know you can take a punch Georgie, now take a fight to the ground and make people tap….your ground game is the only reason anyone even knows your name.
i doubt he will win a belt in strikeforce but this is way long over due
I know a guy that used to train with Jorge and I’ve met him twice. He’s a good guy, but the release doesn’t surprise me. Its not like he was anywhere near the cream of the crop in his division.
This guy is so frustrating to watch. He should worry less about having an “entertaining stand up war” and more about finishing fights and winning. He had dellograte in his corner last time and still couldn’t work through a game plan. He sucks.
“…I will do whatever it takes to climb to the top of this league.”
Does that include taking a fight to the ground and actually winning?
lol nice.
Well, it makes me wonder how much pull ‘ol Rich Franklin has in the UFC now? J/K but it is about time. The guy just can’t get it thru his head that he knows BJJ and should, maybe, once in a while, TRY TO USE IT!!
wow, he is well respected and hard working, to call the guy garbage is a punk ass statement by somebody who is tough on the key board and probably leaves really scary voice messages,hey DB i think your GARBAGE,
“I still want to know why it took the UFC this long to release him.” — Two words: Rich Franklin.
LOL…I think they are the right 2 words
If he used his ground game more he would be more than just a card filler.
hard to say. i’ve personally never seen this stellar ground game of his. everyone talks about it but how do we know it even exists?
it was frustrating to watch Dustin Hazelet praise and thank Gurgel for training him in jujitsu – even winning submission of the night – and then when the “master” gets into the octago we see none of it
just his face getting pounded in. the whole fight i was begging him to pull guard and work his magic
His ass should have gone into boxing or K-1. I like how he was talkin all that ish on TUF then he gets his ass whooped every fight. Not a very smart fighter because in the long run hes gonna have brain damage for all the abuse he takes.
I don’t see how fighters like Werdum or even Cro Cop were released before Gurgel. This is looooong overdue.
cro-cop left on his own. he asked to be cut.
Good call, I stand corrected
Finally, it’s about time!! I was beginning to think he was giving Dana head or something.
Great fight you get a bonus! Oh by the way your cut……. just more of the same old douchebaggery that is the ufc.
Not to mention he hurt his shoulder in that fight and might not be able to fight again until the Spring.
do you still watch the UFC? if you hate something so much then show them whos boss and boycott them.
He is not garbage and has pretty damn good jitz!
look at the skills of the people HES TRAINED(ie Dustin Hazlett)
For some reason, I HAVE NO IDEA WHY, the man won’t use his superior (to many) BJJ skills in the cage!??
i expected him to get released soon, HOWEVER i did not expect now right after a FIGHT OF THE NIGHT award!?
Ya, the “fight of the night”, then “you’re fired” approach does seem a little strange.
The guy is good and will give anyone a tough fight. Wouldnt mind seeing Thompson or Gilbert whoop his ass though.
he wants to capture a belt in another organization? as far as i’m concerned, winning a belt in another organization is like winning a medal in the special olympics.
Maybe some time with strikeforce might be good for him,maybe he will take this as a sign,to take his fights to the mat,he has so much potential,just want use it.I have never been frustrated by the way a fighter fights like Gurgel,all you hear is how great his BJJ is yet you never get to see it,I hope he makes a comeback
vvvvvvvvvvvvvv
He’s an egomaniacal ass-clown.
See ya later, George.
Good beat it Gurgel. Isnt gurgel the sound a girl makes when a dick is to far down her throat. Im glad he lost his last fight, what an idiot….BJJ Black Belt but cant take the guy down and submit him. Would rather stand up and throw to make it more exciting…….good choice dumass now your gone. I see your plan worked well. I could not stand this guy on TUF and cant stand him now BEAT IT CLOWN!!!!
bolstering the strike force roster is an overstatement.
for him to call out a guy like J thompson is a a complete insult
Gurgel is also a known peter puffer.