Could Khonry Gracie be the next MMA phenom? His famous father, Royce Gracie, isn’t sure, but the signs look good.

At the very least, the UFC Hall of Famer knew when his son was ready to cross over into the family business. Prior to the 20-year-old’s amateur debut in September, he fell asleep backstage.

“He kept himself composed the whole time,” Gracie told reporters at a media luncheon. “He put a towel over his face and fell asleep. I do the same thing.”

Four months later, Khonry Gracie (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is set to make his professional debut vs. Devon Brock (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at Bellator 192, which takes place Jan. 20 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.. The event’s main card airs live on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

The way Royce tells it, Khonry pressured him to get to this point. Those pleas were mostly ignored until the youngster shifted away from his passion to play soccer and started ramping up on MMA training.

“He’s been bugging me for at least a couple of years, and I keep saying, ‘Nope, you’re not ready yet,'” Royce said. “(Khonry said), ‘Well, sign me up and I’ll be ready.’ (I said), ‘No, you’re not ready. I’ll let you know.’

“I was waiting for him to mature a little more. A little more ripe. He started taking the training a little more seriously. That’s when I said, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ I was like, ‘I just signed you up.'”

Royce, Rodrigo and Royler Gracie will all be in Khonry’s corner on fight night. Not a bad trio of advisers for one’s first time out.

Royce said he’s never pressured his son to become a fighter – only to learn how to defend himself.

“At least know what you’re doing,” he said.” That’s what I tell my kids. You don’t have to teach, you don’t have to fight, but know, because, ‘Oh, you’re Royce Gracie’s son. Can you fight?’ The question is going to pop up one day in your life. Not just to me, but my cousins, my brothers, and the next generation on and on.”

Royce goes so far as to encourage his children to get into trouble, even though Khonry largely has stayed out of it.

“I actually encourage them, ‘Get yourself in trouble, because it’s my job to get you out of trouble. If you don’t get in trouble, I can’t do my job,'” Royce said. “Don’t confuse that with being stupid. Stupidity, no. But it’s OK, get yourself in trouble. It’s my job to guide you how to get out.”

On fight night, Royce and his family will be giving all the advice they can to ensure Khonry wins in the cage. The youngster’s physical gifts are not in question. The ability to withstand adversity, however, remains a question mark.

“He’s stronger than I am, for sure, than I ever was,” Gracie said. “What hasn’t been tested yet is to see if he has blood in his eyes. When it’s time to go, he’ll bite (down) and dive in and go for it. That, time will tell.”

For more on Bellator 192, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.