Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie was the first mixed martial arts superstar. He displayed how dominant a ground attack – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to be specific – could be against a bigger, stronger, or more athletic opponent.

The Gracie family is responsible for the creation of the UFC and MMA as we know it today. Royce’s father and uncle created the discipline of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Royce was chosen from the brothers to represent the discipline as the dominant martial art in the world because he was smaller than the other brothers. He won UFC 1, UFC 2 and UFC 4. Royce was unbeaten in his 13 UFC matches, winning 11, before he and the family chose to leave the promotion in 1995.

After the success of Royce in the UFC, most MMA fighters began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It has become one of the most common studied martial arts in the world. Royce, with his brother Rorion, opened the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Torrance, California in 1996 and it has become one of the largest schools in the country.

Royce returned to competition in 2000 with the Pride promotion’s Grand Prix in Japan. He won his first fight by decision but it was apparent that the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu didn’t stack up as well against the Japanese catch wrestlers as it did against the stand-up striking disciplines. In his next fight he lost to legend Kazushi Sakuraba after the two fought for 90 minutes until the Gracie corner threw in the towel to end Royce’s undefeated streak.

Since then he has fought to two draws and has two wins in K-1, including one against Kazushi Sakuraba on June 2, 2007 (after which Royce surprisingly tested positive for steroids). He stepped back into the octagon in 2006 in a catch weight match against Matt Hughes and promptly got stomped down and out for an embarrassing defeat. He said he would return to the octagon but that is unlikely, especially since the steroid issue, which also has him suspended from the California State Athletic Commission until May 30, 2008.

His MMA record is 14-2-3 and Gracie was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in the late nineties. His fighting future is unsure but his name alone will allow him to compete as much as he wishes to.