Royce Gracie

By Brian Duffy
Love of Sports Correspondent

UFC president Dana White’s often given credit for bringing the once underground world of mixed martial arts to the mainstream. True as that might be from a marketing and financial perspective, it’s important to realize that another man played a tremendously critical role in making the sport what it is today, and that man is UFC’s first hall of fame member, the legendary Royce Gracie.

UFC was the brainchild of Rorion Gracie, who’s the oldest member of the Gracie clan. He selected his brother Royce to fight in an eight man tournament with little-to-no rules.

MMA fans should remember this event as vividly as any other life-changing sports event. For instance, I remember watching it with my friends, as we gathered around the TV in anticipation of a serious bloodbath. We didn’t know the rules or care about the disciplines, because all we wanted was violence.

In retrospect, this raw version of UFC was completely different from today’s refined version. There were no weight classes, and while that might not seem like a big deal, it really is when you look back and realize that sumo wrestlers were involved in this groundbreaking event. In short, it’s quite likely that a majority of viewers were tuning in to witness a potentially brutal sideshow.

In the end, there was definitely no shortage of violence and blood, yet all I remembered was the fact that Gracie didn’t make his opponents bleed. The lack of blood was due to his methodical stalking and maneuvering, which inevitably led to submissions. To me, this was the true birth of submission-style fighting in the modern era. Until that point, the only submissions we knew were Bret hart’s sharpshooter and Roddy Pipers sleeper hold, but I digress.

This is why Gracie’s run as UFC champion will always be remembered. He won UFC 1, 2 and 4, and only lost in UFC 3 because his corner threw in the towel. As a side note, it’s common knowledge that Gracie’s shoulder was seriously injured in an earlier fight, and that’s further evidenced by the fact that the towel was thrown just as the fight began.

Most important of all is Gracie’s influence on the overall landscape of organized mixed martial arts, as his signature Gracie Jiu-Jitsu’s a must have in the current MMA world. Gone are the bar brawler types like Tank Abbot, who rose to fame by throwing wild hooks and praying for a knockout.

Simply put, Royce Gracie changed the world of combat sports for the better. His dedication and passion helped change MMA forever.

So, here’s to some OLD SCHOOL LOVE for Royce Gracie and his influence in the world of mixed martial arts.