Confirmed – Roan “Jucao” Carneiro Enters One-Night, Eight-Man BattleGrounds MMA Tournament

Earlier this week, BJPENN.COM was first to report on, ATT’s, Roan Jucao Carneiro’s participation in the upcoming Battleground MMA welterweight tournament.

Now we’ve been validated.

Through a press-release, Battleground MMA confirmed the Brazilians participation, making him the seventh signed fighter to compete in the June 27 event.

Check it:

TULSA, OK (May 7, 2014) – BattleGrounds MMA (www.battlegroundsone.com) announced today that it has signed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and seasoned contender Roan “Jucao” Carneiro (16-9) of Atlanta, Ga. to compete in O.N.E., the promotion’s highly-anticipated, one-night, eight-man tournament that will award it’s winner a $50,000 grand prize at the first-ever Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. on Friday, June 27.

The addition of Carneiro brings the total number of confirmed tournament fighters to seven. Carneiro joins in the tournament field, submission aces Dennis “Superman” Hallman (53-14-2, 1 NC) of Yelm, Wash. and  Cody “AK Kid” McKenzie (15-4) of Spokane, Wash.; undefeated upstart and former NCAA National Wrestling Championship runner-up Chris Honeycutt (4-0) of Fresno, Calif.; Luigi “The Italian Tank” Fioravanti (24-11) of St. Louis, Mo.; Urijah Faber protégé David “Bulletproof” Mitchell (14-4) of Lower Lake, Calif. and Josh “The Beast” Bryant (14-4) of Broken Arrow, Okla.

“We are excited to welcome Roan Carneiro to our roster of highly-accomplished and well-versed mixed martial artists,” said BattleGrounds MMA President and Olympic wrestling gold medalist KennyMonday.  “Roan has been fighting all over the world, at the highest level of the sport, so we felt he was a perfect fit for BattleGrounds MMA’s high stakes tournament.”
The eighth tournament competitor as well as several Superfights and a preliminary bout card will be announced soon.  All tournament fights, including the championship matchup, will be comprised of three, five-minute rounds.

A rough and tough battler, the 5-foot-9, 35-year-old Carneiro has dealt with the physically and mentally taxing format of the one-night tournament in the past.  On March 18, 2006, he defeated Gregory Bouchelaghem and Matt Horwich – each by split decision – in the quarterfinal and semifinal round, respectively, of an eight-man playoff in Manchester, England.

The back-to-back victories pitted Carneiro against Leonardo Nascimento Lucio in the championship matchup.  Carneiro broke his foot in the first round of action, forcing him to retire during the break before the second frame, resulting in a second place finish.

Carneiro took up Capoeira at the age of five before receiving a brutal introduction one day to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from his younger brother, who quickly took Carneiro’s back and applied a choke hold that Carneiro was unable to escape from.  Carneiro immediately became fascinated with the submission art, eventually earning his black belt under legend Carlson Gracie.

Eight years ago, Carneiro left his native Brazil for Paris, France and, two years after that, re-located to Atlanta, where he started a family and opened a training center.  He will prepare for the upcoming challenge with local, world-class talent, including Brian Stann, Ovince St. Preux and Raphael Assuncao, and plans to spend another portion of his training camp at American Top Team in South Florida.

Carneiro made his debut on the silver screen in 2011, playing fictional MMA fighter Marco Santos in the LionsGate theatrical release Warrior, starring Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte.

Tickets for the BattleGrounds MMA event, priced from $65, can be purchased online atwww.bokcenter.com as well as at Arby’s Box Office at the BOK Center, all ticket outlets, or by calling 1-800-7-BOKCTR.

Doors at BOK Center open at 6 p.m. CST on June 27.  The first preliminary bout will begin at 7:15 p.m.