UFC Legend Royce Gracie Shares His surprising Pick for the greatest fighter of all time
As the UFC closes in on its 30th-anniversary event inside Madison Square Garden, the promotion’s first-ever champion, Royce Gracie, is sharing his pick for the greatest fighter in combat sports history.
Whether you’re relatively new to the sport of MMA or have been a die-hard fan since 1993, you likely know the name Royce Gracie. The submission grappling superstar introduced fight fans to ‘The Gentle Art’ of Brazilian jiu-jitsu by putting his skills on display and dispatching three larger opponents to win the inaugural UFC tournament. Gracie went on to win the UFC 2 and UFC 4 tournaments the following year.
Royce Gracie is a pioneer of combat sports and is considered by many to be one of the greatest competitors of all time.
Since Royce Gracie’s time at the top, a slew of other world-class martial artists have come and gone in MMA. Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, Khabib Nurmagodmedov, and Conor McGregor are all often heralded as the greatest fighter(s) of all time.
Royce Gracies Dubs His Father as The Greatest
However, the 56-year-old Gracie looked past every one of them when making his pick for the best of the best. Instead, he named his father, Helio Gracie, as his surprising choice for martial arts’ greatest competitor.
“He was way ahead,” Gracie told talkSPORT.com when asked to name the greatest fighter of all time ahead of the UFC’s 30th-anniversary event. “My father was way ahead of everybody, not as a fighter but as a self-defense style.
“You put a smaller guy and he defends himself against somebody who is bigger and stronger. You see it’s not the same way of fighting. You take all the rules out. No time limit, no gloves, no weight divisions, fighting three or four fights in one night. It was my father; he was ahead of everybody.”
With the help of his brothers Oswaldo, Gastao Jr, George, and Carlos, Helio Gracie founded and developed the martial art system Gracie jiu-jitsu.
Helio Gracie often tested his skills against bigger competition. In 1932, he first put his skills to the test when he fought national boxing champion Antonio Portugal. Gracie took him down and finished the bout with an arm-lock in 40 seconds. He suffered the first defeat of his career in 1951 when he was submitted by an opponent 77lbs heavier than him via a kimura.
Helio Gracie went in and out of retirement up until 1967 when he finally hung up his competition gi for good, opting to focus on sharing his knowledge with the world and preparing his sons for their time in the spotlight.
In 2009, he passed away at the age of 95, leaving behind a legacy that has had an immeasurable impact on the world of combat sports.
Long live the ‘Godfather of BJJ.’
