Renzo Gracie gives his version of nightclub chaos: 'No one hit anyone'

R. Gracie (photo) gave his version of the confusion in New York. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

Renzo Gracie has finally broken his silence and spoken out for the first time since he was arrested after being involved in a disturbance last week. The Brazilian, former PRIDE and UFC fighter, was detained alongside six people, including his cousins ​​Igor and Gregor, due to a fight that took place in front of the 1-Oak nightclub, in New York (USA).

Released a few days later after paying bail, Gracie participated, this Tuesday (27), in the podcast The MMA Hour, in which he gave his version of the events. According to the fighter, the confusion happened after the nightclub's security guard, Craig Molesphini, insulted several customers who were there.

“I saw him insulting a lot of people, and I thought that if he said something to me, I would hit him,” said Renzo, who stated that there was excessive fuss over what had happened. “It wasn’t a big deal. It was the people who made the episode great. The public prosecutor saw me there and decided to call the press, create a drama and say that we would be prosecuted for collective aggression.”

However, Gracie stated that he did not even attack the security guard, as he himself had asked not to fight. “In my life, I made a promise that I would never hit anyone who chickens out. The guy chickened out and asked them to throw in the towel. I couldn't hit him, I just got up. When I was walking away, he got up and called the other security guards, who were around 20 people, telling them to attack us. Then when we tried to get into the car, the security guards were running after us. When the police arrived, he made a huge fuss and got us arrested”, he detailed.

MORE ABOUT THE RENZO GRACIE CASE:
Renzo Gracie is arrested in the US for fighting in a nightclub
Renzo Gracie pays $10 bail and is released from prison
Renzo Gracie says arrest was 'a misunderstanding'
Renzo Gracie will face charges of delinquency for fighting
Security details confusion: 'I had never seen anything like this'

Gracie and her group will go to trial on July 17th. The fighter doesn't believe he needs a lawyer. “I'm going to put a group of lawyers to defend the boys, but I don't need defense. I can go there, speak for myself and resolve this. I doubt any judge will doubt what I say.”

Check out Renzo Gracie's statements on The MMA Hour:

“[What happened] It wasn’t a big deal. It was the people who made the episode great. The public prosecutor saw me there and decided to call the press, create a drama and say that we would be prosecuted for collective aggression. 'Collective aggression' is characterized by three people attacking an individual and causing serious injuries, which never happened. Now that they've watched the tapes, they realize nothing happened other than me taking the guy down and setting him up. When I was about to start hitting him, he said to me 'why are you doing this? I don't know you, why are you hitting me?'.

In my life, I made a promise that I would never hit anyone who chickens out. The guy chickened out and asked them to throw in the towel. I couldn't hit him, I just got up. When I was walking away, he got up and called the other security guards, who were around 20 people, telling them to attack us. Then when we tried to get into the car, the security guards were running after us. When the police arrived, he made a huge fuss and got us arrested.

André Gusmão [former UFC fighter] was watching everything on the sidewalk. It's ridiculous. The prosecutor said he didn't participate in the disturbance, he only spoke to me in Portuguese when I asked him to tell my family that I would need to be away from home for a few days. And he was arrested.

Now I see that the justice system often doesn't work, even if it is a good and efficient system. We were the only ones who were arrested. If there was any collective aggression, it was when the three guys jumped on Igor. Lucky no one hit anyone. The entire time we were holding each other, without there being a kick or a punch. The only time someone fell for someone was me.

The confusion was directly with this person who is accusing us, because he was rude to everyone who came close to the door. To give you an idea, I just received an invitation to dinner with 15 security guards who told me that they had wanted this to happen to that guy for a long time. This shows how much he is hated in the industry.

I saw him insulting a lot of people, and I thought that if he said something to me, I would hit him. But he was so cowardly that I didn't have the chance. I see a coward as a bag of poop – I can't get my hands dirty. Now he's saying he's going to sue me. What are you going to sue me for? He wasn't even hurt. The guy is 1,90 m tall, weighs more than 100 kg, and he chickened out. I hope I never have a child like that.”

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