Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie
Born (1966-12-12) December 12, 1966
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nationality Brazilian
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 176 lb (80 kg; 12.6 st)
Division Openweight, Welterweight (2006)
Style Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Torrance, California, United States
Team Gracie Humaitá
Teacher(s) Hélio Gracie
Rank 6th degree black belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu [1]
Years active 1993-1995, 2000, 2003, 2006-2007, 2015-present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 20
Wins 15
By knockout 1
By submission 12
By decision 2
Losses 2
By knockout 2
Draws 3
Other information
Notable relatives Gracie family
Website http://www.roycegracie.tv
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: March 10, 2011 (2011-03-10)

Royce Gracie (/ˈrɔɪs ˈɡreɪsiː/; Portuguese: [ˈʁɔjsi ˈɡɾejsi]; born December 12, 1966)[2] is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist for Bellator MMA ,[3] a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. He is considered by UFC fans to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.[4] He is a member of the Gracie family.

Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Between 1993 and 1994, he was the tournament winner of UFC 1, UFC 2, UFC 4, and fought to a draw with Ken Shamrock in the championship match in the Superfight at UFC 5.[5] Gracie popularized Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and revolutionized mixed martial arts with his results contributing to the movement towards grappling and ground fighting in the sport.

He holds the most consecutive submission victories in UFC history with 11, which he earned between UFC 1 and UFC 4.

Mixed martial arts career

The Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC 1

In his first match, Gracie defeated journeyman boxer Art Jimmerson. He tackled him to the ground using a baiana (morote-gari or double-leg) and obtained the dominant "mounted" position, also pinning Jimmerson's left arm around the boxer's own neck. Mounted and with only one free arm Jimmerson conceded defeat.

In the semi-finals, Gracie defeated Ken Shamrock and went on to defeat a Savate practitioner Gerard Gordeau, taking his opponent to the ground and securing a rear choke.

UFC 2

In the next tournament, Gracie began his defense of the title by submitting Japanese fighter Minoki Ichihara - a second degree black belt in Karatedo Daido Juku and Kyokushin karate, who was billed by the UFC at the time as a "living legend" in Tokyo, who had won over 60 full-contact fights. The fight had gone 5:08, which was longer than Royce's 3 bouts in the first event (totaling 4:59). Advancing into the quarterfinals, Royce Gracie defeated future Pancrase veteran Jason DeLucia, submitting him via armbar just over a minute into the bout. Gracie then submitted 250-lb Judo and Taekwondo black belt Remco Pardoel[6] with a lapel choke, and finally won the final bout against Patrick Smith, when his opponent submitted to punches from the top position.

UFC 3

At UFC 3, Royce was matched up in the first round against Kimo Leopoldo and won via submission after 4 minutes and 40 seconds. However, he then withdrew from his next fight with Harold Howard before it began due to dehydration.[7][8] Royce entered into the ring and threw in the towel.[9] This prompted the UFC to bring in alternate Roland Payne, who lost to Howard by a knockout in less than a minute. This was the first event which Gracie did not win.

UFC 4

Gracie submitted 51-year-old Ron van Clief in the opening round with a rear naked choke, and then submitted Keith Hackney in the semi-finals. Gracie's final UFC victory was in a match that lasted for 16 minutes (there were no rounds or time limits at the time), during which he was continuously pinned underneath 260 pound (118 kg) wrestler Dan Severn. To end the match, Royce locked his legs in a triangle choke for a submission victory. The match extended beyond the pay-per-view time-slot and viewers, who missed the end of the fight, demanded their money back.

UFC 5

Time limits were re-introduced into the sport in 1995 and Ken Shamrock would become the first fighter to survive Royce Gracie's submission attack and earn a draw. The match lasted for 30 minutes and a 6-minute overtime. The draw sparked much debate and controversy as to who would have won the fight had judges determined the outcome, or had there been no time limits, as by the end of the fight Gracie's right eye was swollen shut. However, the swollen eye was a result of a standing punch due to a sudden change of the rules in which both of the fighters were restarted on the feet.[10] After this fight Gracie left the UFC.

At UFC 45 in November 2003, at the ten-year anniversary of the UFC, Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie became the first inductees into the UFC Hall of Fame. UFC President Dana White said;[11]

“ We feel that no two individuals are more deserving than Royce and Ken to be the charter members. Their contributions to our sport, both inside and outside the Octagon, may never be equaled. ”

PRIDE Fighting Championships

2000 Openweight Grand Prix

Kazushi Sakuraba, a professional wrestler who derived his foundation in submissions not from jiu jitsu but rather from catch wrestling and shoot wrestling, rose up in the year's stablemate and master Nobuhiko Takada, before finding himself matched up with Gracie. The two battled for an hour and a half. Early in the fight, Sakuraba nearly ended things with a kneebar towards the end of the first round. Later on, Royce returned the favor with a guillotine choke. Indeed, the Gracie's own no time-limit rules began to work against Royce when Sakuraba, displaying much better conditioning, kept punishing Royce instead of going for submissions, prolonging the match.

As the fight wore on however, Sakuraba's wrestling skills and balance nullified Royce's ability to score a takedown and—in some instances—even pull guard. Royce's ever-present jiu-jitsu gi became a weapon for the wrestler to use against him as Sakuraba used it to help him control Gracie on the instances the fight did come to the ground. However, with Sakuraba's control of the takedown, these instances of ground warfare became increasingly sporadic. After the 90 minute battle of punishing low kicks, Royce's brother threw in the towel. Gracie could no longer stand and suffered a broken femur from accumulated damage. Sakuraba would go on to defeat other members of the Gracie family including Renzo Gracie and Ryan Gracie earning him the nickname "Gracie Hunter."

Bouts with Yoshida

Gracie returned to PRIDE in 2002 to fight Japanese gold-medalist judoka Hidehiko Yoshida in a special "Judo vs. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" limited rules MMA match. Royce started the fight pulling guard and attempting a heel hook and an armbar, with Hidehiko blocking them and coming back with a gi choke and an ankle lock attempt. Gracie pulled guard again, but Yoshida turned it into a daki age and sought the Kimura lock; then, when the Brazilian blocked the technique, Yoshida passed his guard and performed a mounted sode guruma jime. After a moment of inactivity, the referee Yuji Shimada stopped the match in the belief Royce was unconscious and gave victory to Yoshida.[12]

Gracie immediately protested, claiming he had not passed out and that the referee had not authority to stop the match. Footage of the fight was revised, and it was found that while Royce did get up right after the stoppage, his visible arm during the execution of the choke was limp and motionless.[12] Later backstage, the Gracies demanded it be turned into a no contest, and an immediate rematch be booked (with different rules for the next time). If not, the Gracie family would pull themselves from PRIDE FC, and never fight for them again.[13] PRIDE, wanting to keep the Gracie family with them, accepted their demands.

Afterward, Royce took Rickson's advice and started fighting without a gi so that his opponents could not stall by holding onto the gi. The grudge match between Yoshida and Gracie had rules more like the standard PRIDE MMA rules. This match took place at PRIDE's Shockwave 2003 event on December 31, 2003. Gracie dominated Yoshida by sweeping him and hitting ground and pound on a turtled up Hidehiko.[14] However, as the match had no judge per Gracie's request, the official decision was a draw after two 10-minute rounds.

Fighting and Entertainment Group

In September 2004 Pride had a disagreement with Gracie about his participation in the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix. Gracie had issues with the proposed opponents and rules (Grand Prix fights must have a winner and cannot end in a draw). He jumped to the competing K-1 organization. Pride sued Gracie for breaching his contract with them. The case was settled in December 2005, with Gracie issuing a public apology, blaming his actions on a misinterpretation of the contract by his manager.

On December 31, 2004 Gracie entered the K-1 scene at the "Dynamite!" card inside the Osaka Dome, facing off against former sumo wrestler and MMA newcomer Akebono Tarō aka. Chad Rowan under special MMA rules (Two 10-minute rounds; the match would end as a draw if there was no winner after the two rounds). Gracie made quick work of his heavy opponent, forcing Akebono to submit to a shoulder lock at 2:13 of the first round. The match was refereed by renowned MMA ref John McCarthy.

Exactly one year later, on the "Dynamite!" card of December 31, 2005, Gracie fought Japan's Hideo Tokoro, a 143-pound fighter, in a fight ending in a draw after 20 minutes. Gracie's original opponent was scheduled to be the tall Korean fighter Choi Hong-man, another MMA newcomer.

Return to UFC

On January 16, 2006, UFC President Dana White announced that Royce Gracie would return to the UFC to fight UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes on May 27, 2006, at UFC 60. This was a non-title bout at a catchweight of 175 lb. under UFC/California State Athletic Commission rules. To prepare, Gracie cross-trained in Muay Thai and was frequently shown in publicity materials from Fairtex.[15] In round one, Hughes hyperextended Gracie's arm in a straight armbar, but Gracie refused to tap[16] and held on with a calm expression on his face.

Hughes has stated, in past interviews, that Gracie would rather let his arm break than submit.[17] Hughes went on to win the fight by TKO due to strikes at 4:39 of the first round.

Royce said later after the fight with Hughes that he wanted a rematch and that he wasn't surprised by Hughes' performance, "No, we knew what he was planning to do. We worked out his gameplan before the fight, and he did exactly what we expected. I over-trained for the fight. That was all. I started training too much, too hard, for too long. He did exactly what we expected."[18]

Rematch with Sakuraba

On May 8, 2007, EliteXC announced that Gracie's opponent for the June 2 K-1 Dynamite!! USA event in Los Angeles, California, would be Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba.

Gracie defeated Sakuraba by a unanimous decision. The drug test revealed that Royce had traces of Nandrolone in his system. “Use of steroids is simply cheating,” said Armando Garcia, California State Athletic Commission executive director. “It won’t be tolerated in this state.”[19]

Steroids

On June 14, 2007, the California State Athletic Commission declared that Gracie had tested positive for Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid, after his fight with Sakuraba.[19] According to the California State Athletic Commission, the average person could produce about 2 ng/ml of Nandrolone, while an athlete following "rigorous physical exercise" could have a level of around 6 ng/ml. Both "A" and "B" test samples provided by Gracie "had a level of over 50 ng/ml and we were informed that the level itself was so elevated that it would not register on the laboratory's calibrator," said the CSAC.[20] Gracie was fined $2,500 (the maximum penalty the Commission can impose) and suspended for the remainder of his license, which ended on May 30, 2008. Gracie paid the fine.[21] The California State Athletic Commission's Bill Douglas told MMAWeekly, "Currently, our rules do not support overturning a decision based off the drug test results. However, Armando Garcia and I are meeting with the Attorney General next month to begin the process of modifying the existing laws to incorporate those rules for the future. Should everything move along like I anticipate, I would expect to see the changes in place by the end of the year."[22]

Royce Gracie decided to dispute the allegations during an online video interview on May 2009, more than two years after the fact, saying that his weight in the first UFC event was 178 lb and claiming his weight during his Sakuraba fight was 180 lb, thus only gaining 2 pounds.[23] This was widely disputed by experts as his weight was actually 188 lb for the Sakuraba fight. According to ESPN "Gracie is hardly possessed of an exaggerated physique, but he was clearly more sculpted for his June 2 fight with Kazushi Sakuraba than he was for a May 2006 match with Matt Hughes. In the former contest, he weighed in at 175 pounds; for Sakuraba, he was 188. One may not need to be nutritionist to observe that a muscle gain of 13 pounds in one year at the age of 40 is a strikingly accomplished feat. Athletes nearing the half-century mark are often happy to maintain functional mass, let alone pack it on".[24]

Retirement

On December 15, 2010 the UFC held a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil announcing an event August 27, 2011 at the HSBC Arena. During the press conference Royce stated: "This return of UFC to Brazil touched me, made me feel the wish of coming back to the Octagon. Everything is being negotiated with Dana White. Let's wait". On March 11, 2011 Royce Gracie's profile was added back to ufc.com active fighters list as a middleweight. His manager stated that they were actively negotiating with the UFC for a return to the octagon and said it was just a matter of "getting it nailed down" and that there was plenty of time for it.[25] On November 15, 2013 at UFC 167 on the 20th Anniversary of the UFC, Royce Gracie with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani confirmed he had retired from competing in Mixed Martial Arts.[2]

Bellator MMA

At Bellator 145, it was announced that Gracie would return from retirement to face rival Ken Shamrock in a trilogy fight, taking place on February 19, 2016 at Bellator 149.[26] Gracie won the fight in the first round after taking Shamrock down and ending the contest with hammerfists. The win was not without controversy, however, as replays showed that Gracie landed a knee strike to the groin of Shamrock prior to the finish. Shamrock protested the stoppage, however the bout was officially ruled a TKO victory for Gracie, the first of his MMA career.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Personal life

Gracie filed for divorce in 2016. He and his former wife Marianne have three sons, Khonry, Khor, and Kheydon and a daughter named, Kharianna.[31] He starred in the music video for "Attitude" by Brazilian band Sepultura. He appears on the film "Vale Todo" of Ecuadorian director Roberto Estrella. Royce Gracie has engaged in multiple disputes with other martial artists including his nephews Rener Gracie and Ryron Gracie,[32] and Eddie Bravo.[33] On April 1, 2015, the IRS sent Royce Gracie and his wife a Notice of Deficiency claiming they owe $657,114 in back taxes and $492,835.25 in penalties for Civil Fraud, based on IRC 6663(a).[34]

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 15–2–3 Ken Shamrock TKO (knee and punches) Bellator 149 February 19, 2016 1 2:22 Houston, Texas, United States Light heavyweight bout.
Win 14–2–3 Kazushi Sakuraba Decision (unanimous) Dynamite!! USA June 2, 2007 3 5:00 Los Angeles, California, United States Gracie tested positive for anabolic steroids after match. The judges' decision was not overturned.[35]
Loss 13–2–3 Matt Hughes TKO (punches) UFC 60 May 27, 2006 1 4:39 Los Angeles, California, United States
Draw 13–1–3 Hideo Tokoro Draw K-1 PREMIUM 2005 Dynamite!! December 31, 2005 2 10:00 Osaka, Osaka, Japan Rules modified for no judges' decision.
Win 13–1–2 Akebono Taro Submission (omoplata) K-1 PREMIUM 2004 Dynamite!! December 31, 2004 1 2:13 Osaka, Osaka, Japan
Draw 12–1–2 Hidehiko Yoshida Draw Pride Shockwave 2003 December 31, 2003 2 10:00 Saitama, Saitama, Japan Rules modified for no referee stoppages and no judges' decision.
Loss 12–1–1 Kazushi Sakuraba TKO (corner stoppage) Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals May 1, 2000 6 90:00 Tokyo, Japan 2000 Openweight GP Quarterfinal; Rules modified for unlimited rounds and no referee stoppages; Fight of the Year.
Win 12–0–1 Nobuhiko Takada Decision (unanimous) Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round January 30, 2000 1 15:00 Tokyo, Japan
Draw 11–0–1 Ken Shamrock Draw UFC 5 April 7, 1995 1 36:00 Charlotte, North Carolina, United States For UFC Superfight Championship; Match was a draw due to lack of judges. Longest fight in UFC history
Win 11–0 Dan Severn Submission (triangle choke) UFC 4 December 16, 1994 1 15:49 Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States Won UFC 4 Tournament. Became the first and only three time UFC Tournament Winner.
Win 10–0 Keith Hackney Submission (armbar) UFC 4 December 16, 1994 1 5:32 Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States UFC 4 Tournament Semifinals
Win 9–0 Ron van Clief Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 4 December 16, 1994 1 3:59 Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States UFC 4 Tournament Quarterfinals
Win 8–0 Kimo Leopoldo Submission (armbar) UFC 3 September 9, 1994 1 4:40 Charlotte, North Carolina, United States UFC 3 Tournament Quarterfinals; Gracie withdrew from tournament afterwards
Win 7–0 Patrick Smith Submission (punches) UFC 2 March 11, 1994 1 1:17 Denver, Colorado, United States Won UFC 2 Tournament
Win 6–0 Remco Pardoel Submission (lapel choke) UFC 2 March 11, 1994 1 1:31 Denver, Colorado, United States UFC 2 Tournament Semifinals
Win 5–0 Jason DeLucia Submission (armbar) UFC 2 March 11, 1994 1 1:07 Denver, Colorado, United States UFC 2 Tournament Quarterfinals
Win 4–0 Minoki Ichihara Submission (lapel choke) UFC 2 March 11, 1994 1 5:08 Denver, Colorado, United States UFC 2 Tournament Opening Round
Win 3–0 Gerard Gordeau Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 1 November 12, 1993 1 1:44 Denver, Colorado, United States Won UFC 1 Tournament
Win 2–0 Ken Shamrock Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 1 November 12, 1993 1 0:57 Denver, Colorado, United States UFC 1 Tournament Semifinals
Win 1–0 Art Jimmerson Submission (position) UFC 1 November 12, 1993 1 2:18 Denver, Colorado, United States UFC 1 Tournament Quarterfinals

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gracie University Member Rankings URL accessed on October 6, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "UFC 167: Royce Gracie on UFC 1, Renzo Gracie's Criticism, More". YouTube. 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  3. ↑ "Nineteen years later, Royce Gracie reflects on UFC 1". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  4. ↑ Correspondent (2010-07-19). "The 10 Most Influential Figures in MMA". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  5. ↑ "Domain Does Not Exist • x10Hosting • Free Web Hosting with cPanel, PHP, and no forced ads". Ufcstats.x10hosting.com. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  6. ↑ "Bjj Eastern Europe – UFC 2 Vet Remco Pardoel On Pioneering BJJ In Europe, Fighting In The First Mundials In The Black Belt Division & His Flourishing DJ Career". Bjjee.com. 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  7. ↑ "Royce Gracie vs. Harold Howard Results and News - UFC 3 - MMA Fighting".
  8. ↑ The MMA Encyclopedia.
  9. ↑ "Harold Howard Vs Royce Gracie". Metacafe.
  10. ↑ Blackbelt Magazine May 1995
  11. ↑ "Zuffa Creates "Hall of Fame" with Shamrock, Gracie Charters". Sherdog.com. 2003-11-05. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  12. 1 2 Keith Vargo, Courage and Controversy reign at Shockwave event, Black Belt Magazine, January 2003
  13. ↑ "Helio Gracie Royce Gracie Pedro Valente Interview 2002 GTR".
  14. ↑ "Royce Gracie Vs. Hidehiko Yoshida 2 part 3". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  15. ↑ Fairtex.com Archived May 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ "Fairtex.com". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  17. ↑ Matt Hughes vs Royce Gracie – How the Battle of Champions Went Down – by Cliff Montgomery, ExtremeProSports.com
  18. ↑ "Royce Gracie Wants a Rematch with Matt Hughes". MMAWeekly.com. August 10, 2006. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  19. 1 2 "Royce Gracie Suspended, Fined For Steroids". Thesweetscience.com. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  20. ↑ Gracie Opts Against Appealing – by Josh Gross. July 16, 2007
  21. ↑ Sporting News – Your expert source for MLB Baseball, NFL Football, NBA Basketball, NHL Hockey, NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball and Fantasy Sports scores, blogs, and articles
  22. ↑ "Royce Gracie Tests Positive for Steroids (Updated)". MMAWeekly.com. June 14, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Video". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  24. ↑ "Gracie tests positive for off-the-chart measurements of steroids - MMA - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  25. ↑
  26. ↑ "Bellator books Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock 3, 'Kimbo' vs. 'Dada 5000' for Houston - MMAjunkie". MMAjunkie.
  27. ↑ "UFC 45: Revolution". Fighttimes.com. 2003-11-21. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  28. ↑ "Fight Matrix - UFC Records &» Consecutive Wins".
  29. ↑ "FightMatrix MMA Awards". FightMatrix.com.
  30. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101220174732/http://www.blackbeltmag.com/archives/719. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. ↑ "About Royce". ROTCEGRACIE.tv. September 17, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  32. ↑ "Royce Gracie: Rener & Ryron Are Misrepresenting Jiu Jitsu". MMA Latest News & Fights Videos l UFC Fighting Videos l Female MMA Champion.
  33. ↑ "Royce Gracie Says His Issue with Eddie Bravo is His Drug Use, Not His Jiu-Jitsu or Family Feud". mmaweekly.com.
  34. ↑ Gift, Paul (11 January 2016). "IRS goes after Royce Gracie claiming tax underpayment, fraud totaling $1.15 million". Bloody Elbow. SB Nation. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  35. ↑ "Gracie tests positive for off-the-chart measurements of steroids". ESPN.com.
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