The Gracie Family is a well-known martial arts family with roots in the Brazilian city of Belém and Paisley, Scotland.
They are renowned for developing the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu self-defense martial arts systems.
For more than 80 years, they have had success competing in combat sports, representing their self-defense method (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu), in events like submission wrestling, Vale Tudo, and mixed martial arts (MMA).
The Gracie family upheld the “Gracie Challenge,” a competition between different martial arts styles to demonstrate the superiority of the Gracies’ own kind of jiu-jitsu.
Members are consanguineously linked to and have affinities for the Machado family.
Who Is The Best Gracie Jiu Jitsu Fighter?
Roger Gracie won the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship 10 times in various weight divisions (6 times at 100 kg, once at 100+kg, and 3 times in the Absolute division).
He also won the Pan-American Championship in the Absolute division in 2006 and the European Championships in 2005 in the 100+kg and Absolute divisions.
Kron Gracie won the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in the under 77 kg division in 2013[16] and the European Championships in the 82 kg division in 2009.
Clark Gracie won the Pan-American Championship in the under 82 kg division in 2013.
The Gracie Family In The UFC
Rorion Gracie and promoter Art Davie worked together to organize an eight-man single-elimination competition in the early 1990s to demonstrate the superiority of Gracie jiu-jitsu over other martial arts.
No-holds-barred combat would characterize the event, similar to the vale tudo contests the family had long since taken part of in Brazil.
The goal of the televised competition was to publicly name the top martial art. The first competition was held on November 12, 1993.
Royce, the younger brother of Rorion, participated in the competition as a fighter representing Gracie Jiu Jitsu.
Royce, who was the tiniest contestant, managed to triumph in all three of his battles and was named the winner.
As more events were held, Royce would go on to win two more early UFC tournaments.
His victories brought widespread attention to the family’s style of jiu-jitsu, attracting many martial artists, especially in America.
Many martial artists wanted to start training in Jiu Jitsu, since it proved to be effective against the various styles showcased in the early UFC tournaments.