by Mike Cestero
Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, UFC legend & Hall of Famer, Mixed Martial Artist, Teacher
While many of us work hard to better ourselves, our families and the world in which we live, very few of us actually get to impact history during our lifetime.
Royce Gracie has.
For thousands of years man has heatedly debated which style of fight is superior. Boxers argued that they would knock out wrestlers, wrestlers in turn have said they’d defeat boxers; bar room brawlers, karate practitioners, kickboxers, tae kwon do and judo artists have also made claims to their style of fighting as being the best. Even sumo wrestlers have thrown their hats in the ring, stating their sheer size would make any opponent succumb to defeat.
The score was finally settled in 1993 by a tall, skinny, 26-year-old Brazilian from Rio de Janeiro . The proving ground was the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held in Colorado . There, Royce (pronounced “Hoyce”) Gracie displayed his family’s brand of jiu jitsu (grappling mixed with submission and choke holds) to the world that the Gracie’s had been practicing and perfecting for over 60 years. It was a method by which a much smaller man can defeat his much larger opponent by utilizing leverage and technique. In that one night, 175lb Royce defeated three successive opponents. Royce was outweighed in all his matches, with one fighter outweighing Royce by more than 80 pounds!
The pay-per-view audience was stunned. The world had never witnessed anything like this before- where a skinny guy easily defeated much larger and stronger opponents, mostly without throwing a single strike and without drawing a single drop of blood. It seemed incomprehensible to the viewers. Even the commentators- who were actually present and watching the event live ten feet from the action- were asking, “What just happened? How did Royce do that…?”
People around the world clamored to see more. So it was the following year that the second Ultimate Fighting Championship was born- UFC 2. This time, Royce defeated FOUR opponents in a single night, winning a grand prize of $60,000, yet more importantly, showcasing the superiority of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. (Nowadays, fighters compete two or three times maximum in a YEAR. Royce fought four times in ONE NIGHT…)
Though Royce defeated two opponents in UFC 3, an injury prevented him from competing in the finals where he would have inevitably won his third straight UFC title. But the following year at UFC 4, Royce again easily defeated three more fighters in a single night, eventually becoming crowned UFC 4 champ. The word was out: Gracie Jiu Jitsu was the discipline to learn.
Royce and his family had single-handedly created a market: Ultimate Fighting. People from all over the world began signing up for Gracie Jiu Jitsu classes- from laypersons wanting to get in shape to future combatants in this new sport to Hollywood movie stars taking private lessons to worldwide police departments wanting to be able to control someone without having to fire their guns. People who’d previously thought their style of fighting was superior now began adding Gracie Jiu Jitsu to their fight arsenal. Graduating college wrestlers with no where to go to continue competing, suddenly began learning jiu jitsu. Boxers began studying the art, coming to realize that 95% of all fights end up on the ground. Troubled kids saw Gracie Jiu Jitsu as a way out much the same way other sports get kids off the street.
Royce Gracie is to Mixed Martial Arts & Brazilian Jiu Jitsu what Henry Ford is to the automotive industry. Though Henry didn’t invent the automobile, he popularized it worldwide to the masses. Though Royce didn’t invent jiu jitsu (originally an ancient Japanese martial art used by guards of the emperors), he spread it around the world over the years through his and his family’s teachings at their many international academies.
What was once called “human cockfighting” with little rules and regulations; Mixed Martial Arts has evolved dramatically these past 15 years since Royce fought in UFC 1. Today there are many rules, regulations and limits to protect the fighters. These rules and regulations actually drew more of a fan base, making MMA the fastest growing sport in the world. To give you numbers of proof: In 2001, the UFC was purchased for fewer than 4 million dollars. In 2007, Forbes estimated the value of the UFC brand at over 2 BILLION. Not a bad investment…
Royce Gracie has been unofficially dubbed the “Godfather of MMA” and his proud family has been officially crowned the “God-family” of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Most current day fighters say they became fighters after they watched Royce Gracie compete in the first UFCs. He was their hero.
Royce has competed all over the world. When he fought in Japan with an organization known as Pride Fighting Championships earlier this decade, Royce was the biggest draw. In fact, in one fight, Royce competed before a crowd of over 100,000 people! Comparatively speaking, Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson never fought in front of more than 60,000 people! (The once-ferocious, ear-biting Mike Tyson is on record saying that he’d never step into a ring against Royce Gracie due to fear…)
Over the years Royce has defeated many opponents representing many styles of fighting- including a 6’8” 500lb grand champion sumo wrestler named Akebono- who outweighed Royce by over 320lbs! Though Royce has not won every match in which he’s competed, he’s demonstrated mastery over pain as well as most of his opponents and has honored his proud family, including his father, Grandmaster Helio, who taught Gracie Jiu Jitsu to a young Royce.
Today Royce is 41 and lives in Southern California with his wife and children. He travels the world to continue teaching Gracie Jiu Jitsu to millions of eager students.
When I met Royce Gracie back in May 2008 at one of his academies in North Jersey to solidify his involvement in the upcoming fundraiser, I transformed from a confident 44-year-old man to a nervous kid. Sensing my nervousness, Royce smiled, put his hand on my shoulder and said- in his thick Portuguese accent- “It’s a done deal.”
It is certainly a rare occurrence when we get a chance in our lifetime to meet someone who’s positively impacted millions of people around the world. As such, Allies Inc. is proud to have such a distinguished guest to headline the fundraiser.
We thank Royce and his family for his generosity by being part of the Allies, Inc. January 29, 2009 Fundraiser to be held at KatManDu in Trenton, NJ !