Hisaki Kato: Nothing special about fighting a Gracie family member at Bellator 170

Hisaki Kato said he gets no special form of enthusiasm in preparing to take on a member of the family that helped craft modern MMA at Bellator 170.

Kato (7-2 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) fights Ralek Gracie (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), the nephew of MMA legend Rickson Gracie and UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie, in a middleweight bout on Saturday’s Bellator 170 main card, which airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Some fighters would feel a great deal of prestige in fighting a member of the Gracie family. It’s an opportunity that comes along less often in current era of the sport, but historically athletes have said competing against a Gracie is more meaningful than the overage fight.

Kato, the striking specialist who comes from a kickboxing background, is not of that perspective. For him, the matchup with Gracie is just the next step in his career.

“I don’t really care about (his name),” Kato told MMAjunkie. “He’s a Gracie and comes from the Gracie family, so I will be careful on the ground and trying to keep the fight standing. But it gives me no particular feeling because he’s from the Gracie family.”

From Kato’s side of the equation, the matchup with Gracie might actually be a step down from recent competition. Kato has been mixing it up with some of Bellator’s top 185-pound fighters since he joined the organization in mid-2015, while Gracie hasn’t competed in an official MMA bout since May 2010.

The greatest advantage in Gracie’s favor would seemingly be his unpredictability. Kato said he has no doubt Gracie will bring an elite grappling arsenal to the cage, but everything outside of that is a complete mystery.

“There is no video of him; there is nothing to analyze,” Kato said. “I’m just taking the first impression that he’s going to be very good on the ground and very complete on the ground and willing to put the fight to the ground. It will be an amazing striker vs. grappler and jiu-jitsu fighter. I will try to keep the distance and try to move a lot and be light on me feet and keep punching him.”

In most of Kato’s previous Bellator fights, he’s been pitted against fellow strikers. That means he could unleash his full standup arsenal with little fear of takedowns and being forced into grappling situations.

Kato said that won’t be the case when he meets Gracie. The game plan is, of course, to stand and hunt for the knockout. However, Kato said he must be much more methodical in his approach than previous fights, because one mistake could lead to an advantageous ground position for Gracie and that could be all that’s needed to win.

“I won’t be able to strike like my last fights because I will have to be careful of not going to the ground and not being in his clinch,” Kato said. “I will have to move a bit differently and be quicker and lighter. But if he knows I’m going to do that and I know he’s going to try to grab me and put me down. I will just stay with my plan to control the distance.”

A victory for Kato at Bellator 170 would push his record in the promotion to 3-1. Despite the fact Gracie hasn’t fought in nearly seven years, Kato said a victory should move him further into the discussion for a title shot against current Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho (13-1 MMA, 4-0 BMMA).

Kato said he knows Gracie has essentially no relevant MMA accomplishments this decade, but he thinks the name value of beating a Gracie will hugely benefit his career and move him closer to his goals.

“He’s really famous so it’s a good matchup,” Kato said. “I was not expecting to fight him, but it’s a good matchup so it’s OK for me. If I have a good win and I can knock him out or something then I will really push to have a title shot, because I think I would deserve it.”

For more on Bellator 170, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.