Royce Gracie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Royce Gracie
Gracie in 2018
Born	(1966-12-12) 12 December 1966 (age 58) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	176 lb (80 kg)
Division	Middleweight Light heavyweight Openweight
Reach	194 cm (76 in)
Style	Gracie jiu-jitsu
Stance	Southpaw
Fighting out of	Torrance, California, United States
Team	Gracie Humaitá Team Royce Gracie
Teacher(s)	Hélio Gracie
Rank	7th deg. BJJ coral belt (under Rickson Gracie)
Years active	1993–1995, 2000–2007, 2016 (MMA) 1998 (Submission grappling)
Mixed martial arts record
Total	20
Wins	15
By knockout	2
By submission	11
By decision	2
Losses	2
By knockout	2
Draws	3
Other information
Notable relatives	Gracie family

Royce Gracie (born December 12, 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist. He became very famous for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Royce is part of the famous Gracie jiu-jitsu family. He is also in the UFC Hall of Fame and is seen as one of the most important people in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA). He also fought in other big events like PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1's MMA shows, and Bellator.

In 1993 and 1994, Royce Gracie won the tournaments at UFC 1, UFC 2, and UFC 4. These were openweight tournaments, meaning fighters of any size could compete, and they had very few rules. He used his amazing submission grappling skills to beat opponents who were much bigger and heavier than him. He was also known for his exciting fights with Ken Shamrock. Royce beat Shamrock at UFC 1. Later, they had a draw in their rematch for the Superfight Championship at UFC 5.

Royce later competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships. There, he is best remembered for his very long 90-minute fight against catch wrestler Kazushi Sakuraba in 2000. He also had a special "judo vs. jiu-jitsu" match against Hidehiko Yoshida, an Olympic gold medalist in judo, at Pride Shockwave in 2002.

Royce Gracie's success in the UFC made Gracie jiu-jitsu (also called "Brazilian" jiu-jitsu) very popular. It changed mixed martial arts by showing how important grappling and ground fighting are. Because he was a pioneer in MMA, Royce Gracie was the first person to be put into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2003, along with Ken Shamrock. In 2016, he was also added to the International Sports Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Training

Royce Gracie was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 12, 1966. He is one of nine sons of the jiu-jitsu grandmaster Hélio Gracie. Royce learned this martial art from his father when he was a child. He had his first competition at age 8. By the time he was 14, he was already teaching classes.

When Royce was 17, his father, Hélio, gave him a black belt. A few months later, Royce and his brothers Royler and Rickson Gracie moved to Torrance, California. They went to live with their older brother Rorion Gracie, who had moved there in 1978 and started the Gracie Academy.

In the United States, the Gracie brothers continued their family's tradition called the "Gracie Challenge". They would invite other martial artists to their gym for no-rules full-contact matches. This was to show that Gracie jiu-jitsu was the best fighting style. Rorion later put together videos from these Gracie Challenge fights into a documentary series called Gracie in Action. Some of these videos showed Royce's fights. The Gracie in Action tapes later inspired Art Davie to create the UFC.

Royce Gracie's MMA Career

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

How the UFC Started

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was created in 1993 by Rorion Gracie, businessman Art Davie, and the Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). The idea was to have an eight-man openweight single-elimination tournament. Fighters from different martial arts would compete with very few rules. The goal was to find the most effective fighting style.

Davie and SEG wanted to create exciting vale tudo fights like those in the Gracie in Action videos. Rorion, however, wanted to promote his family's jiu-jitsu style. He aimed to show it could beat bigger, stronger opponents from more famous martial arts. Rorion chose Royce to represent the family's art because Royce was smaller and skinnier. This would prove that a small person could defeat a larger opponent using jiu-jitsu.

UFC 1: The First Champion

Royce Gracie entered the tournament wearing his famous Brazilian jiu-jitsu gi. In his first match, he beat boxer Art Jimmerson. Royce took him to the ground and got into a dominant "mounted" position. Jimmerson gave up because he couldn't move.

In the semi-finals, Royce fought shootfighter Ken Shamrock. This was a tough fight because Shamrock also had grappling experience. Royce eventually took Shamrock's back and used his own gi to apply a rear naked choke. Shamrock tapped out, meaning he gave up. Royce was declared the winner.

Gracie then fought karate and savate champion Gerard Gordeau in the finals. Royce took Gordeau to the ground and won with a rear choke. During the fight, Gordeau bit Royce's ear, which was against the rules. Royce held the choke a bit longer after Gordeau tapped. Royce was then named the "Ultimate Fighting Champion" and won $50,000.

UFC 2: Defending the Title

Royce returned to defend his title four months later at UFC 2. This tournament had sixteen fighters. He had to beat four opponents to become champion again. Royce won his first fight by submitting Japanese karateka Minoki Ichihara with a lapel choke.

He then submitted Kung Fu fighter Jason DeLucia with an armbar. Next, Royce submitted 250-pound Judo and Taekwondo black belt Remco Pardoel with another lapel choke. In the finals, he faced kickboxer Patrick Smith. Royce easily took Smith to the ground and won by submission due to punches.

UFC 3: A Setback

Royce Gracie entered UFC 3 as a two-time champion and the favorite to win. He was matched against Taekwondo and wrestling fighter Kimo Leopoldo. Leopoldo used his wrestling to control the fight on the ground. Royce eventually submitted him with an armbar. However, Royce was too tired and dehydrated to continue. He withdrew from his next fight, which was the first time he didn't win a UFC event.

UFC 4: Third Championship

Royce began UFC 4 by submitting 51-year-old karateka Ron van Clief with a rear-naked choke. In the semi-finals, he fought American Kenpo Karate specialist Keith Hackney. Royce submitted him with an armbar.

Royce's final tournament fight was against freestyle wrestling gold medalist Dan Severn. Severn controlled the fight on the ground for nearly fifteen minutes. But Royce managed to get a triangle choke and won the fight. This made Royce the first and only three-time UFC Tournament Winner.

Rivalry with Ken Shamrock

After Royce defeated Ken Shamrock at UFC 1, a rivalry grew between them. Shamrock wanted a rematch. He felt Royce had an unfair advantage using his gi for grappling. A rematch was planned for UFC 5. This was a special "superfight" outside the main tournament. The winner would get a special belt.

Time limits were added to fights in 1995. This upset both fighters, as they were only told a few hours before the event. The fight lasted 36 minutes and was declared a draw. Critics and the audience were not happy because there wasn't much action. After this fight, Royce and his brother Rorion left the UFC. They disagreed with the new time limits and plans for judges and weight classes.

UFC Hall of Fame

At UFC 45 in November 2003, on the UFC's ten-year anniversary, Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie became the first people inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. UFC President Dana White said they were the most deserving people to be the first members. He said their contributions to the sport might never be matched.

PRIDE Fighting Championships

Fighting Sakuraba

Royce Gracie's first event in PRIDE was the "PRIDE Grand Prix 2000". In his first fight, he beat Japanese professional wrestler Nobuhiko Takada by decision.

Royce then fought Kazushi Sakuraba in the quarter-finals. Sakuraba was a professional wrestler known for his submission skills. The Gracies demanded special rules for this fight: unlimited 15-minute rounds, no judges, and no referee stoppages. Wins could only happen by knockout, submission, or throwing in the towel. Sakuraba agreed to these rules.

They fought for an hour and a half! Royce became very tired and couldn't stand because of many leg kicks. His corner threw in the towel, and Sakuraba won. Sakuraba later beat other members of the Gracie family, earning him the nickname "Gracie Hunter."

Fights with Yoshida

Royce returned to PRIDE in 2002 to fight Japanese judo gold-medalist Hidehiko Yoshida. This was a special "judo vs. Brazilian jiu-jitsu" match. The event, Pride Shockwave, had a huge crowd of almost 91,000 fans.

Royce started the fight by pulling Yoshida into his guard. Yoshida then applied a choke, and the referee stopped the match, thinking Royce was unconscious. Royce immediately protested, and his family demanded a rematch with different rules. PRIDE agreed to keep the Gracie family fighting for them.

The rematch happened at Pride Shockwave 2003. Royce fought without his gi this time. Royce controlled Yoshida, but because there were no judges, the fight was declared a draw after two 10-minute rounds.

Return to UFC and Bellator

On January 16, 2006, UFC President Dana White announced that Royce Gracie would return to the UFC. He would fight UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes at UFC 60. This was a special non-title fight. Hughes won the fight by TKO in the first round.

On May 8, 2007, it was announced that Royce would have a rematch with Kazushi Sakuraba at Dynamite!! USA. Royce won the fight by a unanimous decision. However, after the fight, tests showed that Royce had a banned substance in his system. He was fined and suspended.

On November 15, 2013, Royce Gracie confirmed that he had retired from competing in mixed martial arts. However, at Bellator 145, it was announced that Royce would return to fight his old rival Ken Shamrock for a third time. This fight happened on February 19, 2016, at Bellator 149. Royce won the fight by TKO in the first round.

Life After Fighting

Royce Gracie demonstrates a Kesa-gatame in a seminar in 2011.

Royce Gracie has retired from MMA fighting. He now focuses on teaching jiu-jitsu. He travels around the world, giving seminars and interviews. He has also opened his own group of gyms called "Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Network." These schools are in many places, including the United States, Brazil, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Royce Gracie's style of jiu-jitsu mainly focuses on self-defense. He believes that some modern "sporting" jiu-jitsu techniques are not practical for real self-defense. He aims to teach the true purpose of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, as his father Hélio Gracie taught it.

Personal Life

Royce Gracie has three sons and a daughter. His son Kheydon Gracie joined the US Army.

Even though Royce is a 7th-degree coral belt, he wears a dark blue belt when training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. This is to honor his father, Hélio Gracie, who mostly wore a dark blue belt even though he had the highest rank, a red belt. Hélio Gracie passed away in 2009. Royce has said he does not want to be promoted by anyone else.

Royce Gracie enjoys shooting firearms. In 2022, he competed in the Sig Hunter Games and was on the winning team.

On July 6, 2023, it was announced that ESPN Films is making a documentary series about the Gracie family. It is being directed by Chris Fuller and produced by Greg O'Connor and Guy Ritchie.

Instructor Lineage

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Kano Jigoro → Tomita Tsunejiro → Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie → Hélio Gracie → Royce Gracie

Career Achievements

Mixed Martial Arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Hall of Fame (First person inducted, Pioneer Wing, class of 2003)
  • UFC 1 Tournament Champion
  • UFC 2 Tournament Champion
  • UFC 4 Tournament Champion
  • First tournament champion in UFC history
  • Longest winning streak by finishing opponents in UFC history (11)
  • Most fights won in tournaments in UFC history (11)
  • Most tournaments won in UFC history (3)
  • Most fights in one night in UFC history (4) (tied with Patrick Smith)
  • Longest fight in UFC history (36 minutes) - vs. Ken Shamrock 2 at UFC 5
  • Longest submission streak in UFC history (6)
  • Tied for most armbar submission wins in UFC history (4)
  • Third highest submission finish rate in UFC history (90.91%)
  • Greatest Submission in UFC's first 25 Years - vs. Ken Shamrock 1
• PRIDE Fighting Championships
  • Longest fight in PRIDE history (90 minutes) - vs. Kazushi Sakuraba at PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals
• Fight Matrix
  • Fighter of the Year (1993)
• Black Belt Magazine
  • Competitor of the Year (1994)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Fight of the Year (2000) - vs. Kazushi Sakuraba on May 1
• World MMA Awards
  • 2013 Lifetime Achievement
• International Sports Hall of Fame
  • Class of 2016

Mixed Martial Arts Record

Submission Grappling Record

Result	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Notes
Lose	Wallid Ismail	Technical submission (clock choke)	Oscar de Jiu-Jitsu	December 17, 1998	n/a	4:53	No time limit, no points.

See also

In Spanish: Royce Gracie para niños

• Gracie family
• Rodrigo Gracie
• List of Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners