It was a rough night for Khonry Gracie, the son of MMA legend Royce Gracie and nephew of Royler Gracie — both of whom were in the young Gracie’s corner for his debut.
Gracie took on Devon Brock, who was also making his professional MMA debut.
The legacy continues. @KhonryGracie about to make his pro debut LIVE & FREE WORLDWIDE on the Bellator app!
Watch here 👉 https://t.co/oztI0JJrMJ pic.twitter.com/U5cn7v35Kd— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) January 21, 2018
Khonry opened up with a leg kick and then hit a nice head kick afterwards. Anyone who thought Gracie couldn’t stand and fight was clearly mistaken. Khonry didn’t want to stand in the pocket with Brock, though, and he spent most of the round keeping his distance from his opponent.
A little more than halfway through the round, Khonry went in for a double leg, but couldn’t get Brock down. Devon held on illegally by the shorts, but the referee didn’t see it.
The fight went down to the ground shortly after, though. Gracie had Brock in his guard and worked for a triangle, but couldn’t get his legs together. Gracie then worked for an armbar, but Brocked slipped out and landed some hard shots on the downed Gracie before the round came to a close.
Round 2 and Gracie looked like he was waiting for a touch of the gloves, but Devon didn’t want to give him one. Devon held the center of the cage and landed a leg kick. Khonry later returned one, but a minute and half passed and there wasn’t much action.
Brock landed a nice jab, then threw in a couple of leg kicks and continued to dictate the pace.
Devon charged in with some jabs and Gracie tried to counter with a double, but Brock stayed up. Khonry attempted an uppercut, but wasn’t even close to landing anything.
Brock ended the primarily eventless round with a huge takedown on Gracie.
Third and final round. Again Devon Brock set the pace for what was looking like another eventless round. The crowd was not pleased, and began to boo the fighters. They weren’t going to tolerate a boring fight simply because a legend’s son was in the cage.
About a minute and half in, Gracie shot in for a double leg, but again failed to get Brock down.
The referee warned them about their inaction.
At about the midway point, the pace started to pick up with a furious back and forth between the two fighters. Apparently, the referee’s warning got through their heads. However, it ended almost as quickly as it started, and the two went back to playing it safe.
Again, the referee reminded them that he wanted to see some action.
A couple of leg kicks here and there by the fighters, but no real sense of urgency by either athlete.
In the last ten seconds of the fight, Khonry shot in for a desperate takedown, but again he failed.
The same couldn’t be said for Brock, who again ended the round with a massive double leg takedown.
Dictating the pace and landed some solid shots and takedowns almost certainly helped propel Devon Brock to a unamimous decision victory of the son of one of MMA’s legends.
