This morning, Royce Gracie finally confirmed what has been rumored for about two months now. The first K-1 Hero’s card to be held in the USA on June 2 will feature a fight between Royce Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba.

This morning on the MMAtv.com UnderGround forums, Royce made the following post:

For years the fans have been asking if I am going to ever fight Sakuraba again. Well now you have it. June 2nd, LA Colisem. The fight was offered to me, and I accepted it.

So come on out, we have a lot of seats to fill – lol

Royce

Gracie and Sakuraba first fought in May of 2000 during the PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals. Their fight lasted for over an hour before Gracie’s corner threw in the towel giving Sakuraba the TKO victory. This fight with K-1 Hero’s will be scheduled for five 5-minute rounds.

The following is a note from Jordan Breen at Sherdog.com

It should be noted that the California State Athletic Commission, which has been noted for stringent provisions in sanctioning mixed martial arts under executive officer Armando Garcia, has requested a full physical examination of Sakuraba.

The mandate was expected, given the 38-year-old Sakuraba’s now-infamous fainting spell during training this past September, and the subsequent medical tests that revealed damage to Sakuraba’s vertebrobasilar system, preventing proper blood circulation in his head and neck.