Gracie family in force at PRIDE Bushido 1, in 2003. Photo: Disclosure
In the decades after the historic fight between Hélio Gracie and Masahiko Kimura: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu achieved its objective of spreading throughout the world and gaining real respect from practitioners of other martial arts. The frail one Royce gracie, son of Hélio, challenged the giants in the early days of the UFC, won titles and gained even more notoriety in the United States; His brother Rickson shone in Japan and showed the techniques of gentle art in the East.
In the following years, many other family members ventured into the ring around the world, including Royler (Rickson and Royce's brother) and the brothers Renzo and Ryan, grandchildren of Carlos Gracie. To get an idea of the weight of the clan's presence in fights, PRIDE, the largest MMA organization until the early half of the 2000s, organized its first “Bushido” event, in 2003, in the “Japan versus Gracie” format, in in which five Japanese athletes faced five family members. The Gracie won three to two.
READ TOO: Part 1 – Maracanã was a historic stage for the Gracie in 1951
However, over time, the family's presence at events of global proportions decreased drastically. Until October, only one Gracie fought in one of the four organizations considered the biggest in the MMA world (UFC, Bellator, WSOF and ONE FC) in 2014, with Neiman Gracie winning at WSOF 11 in July. In the UFC, the last victory by a member was Royce, in 1994, since, since then, everyone who ventured into the octagon – Roger, Rolles and Renzo, in addition to Royce himself, in a quick visit in 2006 – left defeated.
Royce is the last Gracie to win in the UFC. Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Although some members of the family still venture into the world's rings, as is the case of Rolles, who recently had his last fight in Poland, the Gracies' presence in MMA competitions is smaller than in the past decade. Many other members of the clan prefer to work as coaches of professional athletes, while others have gyms in both Brazil and the United States, promoting jiu-jitsu techniques to ordinary citizens, who do not seek to participate in competitions or make a professional living from the sport.
An explanation for this decrease
Rodrigo Gracie, son of Reylson and grandson of Carlos, lives in Torrance, California (USA), where he runs his own jiu-jitsu academy. In addition to traveling to seminars, he teaches classes to both children and adults focusing on competitions, MMA and self-defense.
Based on his own experience and seeing some of his family's cases, the fighter tries to explain the Gracies' absence from MMA competitions. “Any Gracie who opens a gym is going to be successful. You have the name, you have the tradition, so it will have an advantage over others who have a franchise, for example. 'What am I going to fight for if I can open a gym?'. I don’t think so, but I know there are many other family members who do,” he said, in an interview with SUPER FIGHTS.
BUT: Part 3 – 'We still have a lot of people to catechize', says Royler
Rodrigo had eight professional MMA fights between 2000 and 2006, playing in events such as PRIDE and K-1 and facing names such as B.J. Penn and Daiju Takase, the second executioner of Anderson Silva. Also known for entering the ring to the Japanese series' theme song Changeman, he highlights that the experience of fighting was something that changed his life. “I wanted to be recognized within my family, so I went to fight. When I fought for the first time, I loved it and couldn't stop thinking about it. It became an addiction. Stepping into that ring was the best experience of my life,” he says.
To fight or not to fight? that is the question
Having immediately fallen in love with the feeling of getting into the ring, Rodrigo Gracie is naturally in favor of other family members going through the same process. According to him, even those who do not intend to pursue a career as an athlete should enjoy fighting so that the experience enriches the knowledge of a martial arts trainer.
“When you teach your student, you will not only teach the techniques, but also the experience – you were there, you felt what it is. This is great for the human soul. I'm all for it, even just once, to see what it's like. That’s what the family became known for, with competition, with fights”, commented Rodrigo, who believes that the encouragement should come from the older members of the family.
“I fought, so I want my son to fight. I'm going to push my son to fight. What is happening with some family members is that there is no incentive for the younger Gracies, the children, to fight. I have spoken to many of my family members about this. We have to get this new generation to fight, and that will happen. You will see more of Gracie fighting, you can be sure”, continued the fighter, now 39 years old.
Roger (photo) was the last Gracie to fight in the UFC. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
However, as Rodrigo said, his opinion is not unanimous within the family. Reyson Gracie, his uncle, sees no reason for a member of the clan to take a chance on MMA. “I think it’s unnecessary nowadays. What is it to prove? That jiu-jitsu is good? This has already been proven, everyone is doing jiu-jitsu out there. I think there is no need for the Gracie family to participate in these events”, he pondered, in an interview with the website “Portal do Vale Tudo”, also suggesting that family members remain outside the rings.
“We can participate in MMA as consultants. That's my vision. If I were to live in the United States, I wouldn't fight, but I could prepare fighters like I've done throughout my life. They can represent jiu-jitsu or not, if they want to represent another sport, that’s no problem,” he added.
Modern MMA rules get in the way, says Rickson
Members of the Gracie family who intend to fight in MMA after years of competing in jiu-jitsu need to deal with a factor that hasn't been seen in 20 years. The rules currently adopted by the UFC are different from those of the early days of Vale-Tudo, where there were no weight limits, time limits, or restrictions on the fighters' clothing. Today, Ultimate has fights of three or five rounds of five minutes each, after which the judges decide. The kimono, Royce's trademark at the beginning of the UFC, is no longer allowed inside the octagon.
According to Rickson Gracie, the evolution of MMA rules ended up harming athletes coming from jiu-jitsu. “Jiu-jitsu has always been the backbone of MMA. But the current rules lead fights more towards striking than ground fighting because the rounds are short and the judges don't let the fight develop on the ground. They tell you to get up if there is no momentum. This makes fighters more explosive. Today the sport is different. [In the past] The strategy and ability to put your jiu-jitsu into practice were much greater”, compared the legendary fighter, in an interview with the “UOL” portal.
In this aspect, Rodrigo Gracie sees PRIDE, which ended in 2007, as a less unfavorable environment for jiu-jitsu. “One thing I liked about PRIDE is that it didn't matter if your opponent knocked you down ten times. If you were on the bottom and tried several submissions, you were the one who would win. The fall didn't count for much. In the UFC, if a guy takes you down and keeps throwing punches, even if you try an armbar or a triangle, the judges give the victory to the person on top. And fighters use the rules, adapt to the rules,” he assessed.
Gracie family acts heavily as coaches
Cesar Gracie (left) alongside N. Diaz (right) after winning the belt. Photo: Strikeforce/Disclosure
If the members of the Gracie family are not as numerous as they used to be in the ring, the same cannot be said about the corners. The most veteran members of the clan continue to work hard to prepare elite athletes in the world of MMA.
Renzo Gracie, veteran of PRIDE and UFC, has on his resume work done with names like Georges St Pierre, Chris Weidman, Frankie Edgar and Matt Serra, all already Ultimate champions in their categories. César Gracie, Renzo's cousin, heads a strong team in the North American state of California, with Nick Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, Nate diaz e Jake Shields training under his tutelage.
The presence of the Gracies in the squad of prominent fighters created an unusual situation last year. At UFC Fight Night 30, the brothers Rener and Ryron, sons of Rorion and grandchildren of Hélio, were on opposite sides of the corner in the main fight of the event, between Lyoto Machida and Mark Munoz.
Rener, Lyoto, Muñoz and Ryron in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
The fact itself represents a change in culture in relation to the older members of the family, as the fighters' father did not initially approve of the idea. “When I told my dad that Ryron and I would be in the corner against each other, he didn't like it. For him, a fight is not for sport, but for honor. He is from the second generation and still believes that this is much bigger than sport”, explained Rener, in an interview with the “Combate” channel website, in 2013.
“My brother and I are part of the third generation of the Gracie family. This generation is very different from the second generation. Before, it was Gracie against another martial art. But things have changed a lot. Today, it's a sport, not defending family honor. It's a sport like football, basketball, it's a game. And the guys are professional athletes in the sport of MMA, which includes jiu-jitsu. They are professionals who need to make money, pay the bills and earn respect for being the best at what they do”, continued the athlete.
Maintaining the essence of jiu-jitsu
Gracie family in 1981, with young Royler and Royce sitting at the ends. Photo: Disclosure
The Gracie clan still has names that could soon emerge on the international MMA scene. Roger, the last member of the family to fight in the UFC, recently signed a contract with Asian organization ONE FC; Kyra, five-time jiu-jitsu world champion, did not rule out his entry into MMA, although a migration seems more distant every day. But the bet of the moment is Kron, Rickson's son, who should soon debut in MMA at 26 years of age.
Having already had the experience of representing the Gracie surname in MMA, Rodrigo warns that psychological work needs to be done. “Two things can happen to someone with the surname Gracie: it is either a blessing or a curse. For me, the name Gracie helped push me forward. But there are people in the family whose name weighs so much that it puts a lot of pressure on them. If you have determination, it will be great. If not, it will be a burden,” he warned.
And, for him, the focus should not only be on the psychological side, but also inside the ring. With the evolution of the sport and its athletes, preparation within the gym also needs to be different compared to what was seen in the past.
Rodrigo, moments before facing Penn. Photo: Reproduction
“Now what you see is a person who is exceptional in boxing, exceptional in wrestling and exceptional in jiu-jitsu. The fighter is excellent in all aspects. In my opinion, the new generation of the family should be training in everything from an early age. Jiu-jitsu, as the base, of course, but doing boxing, muay thai, to be able to facilitate submissions on the ground, with determination, discipline and focus. Train, train, train everything”, emphasized Rodrigo.
For Reylson's son, however, the Gracie family's objective goes beyond triumph in sports competitions: it is necessary to work to strengthen the roots of jiu-jitsu. “These days I was watching the cartoon 'The Simpsons' and there was a scene where Homer went to fight with a guy. This guy said, 'You want to fight me? I know jiu-jitsu.” Then he threw himself on the ground and told Homer to get on top of him. In other words, there are a lot of people who see the image of jiu-jitsu like this”, explained Rodrigo.
“What is happening is that gyms are focused on competitive jiu-jitsu and this side of self-defense is being lost. This is the basis, the root of everything. I think that all jiu-jitsu academies should teach self-defense first and, after this has been learned well, then it goes to competition. I just don't want jiu-jitsu to lose its essence, which is the weak winning over the strong”, concluded the coach.
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