Considered by many to be the biggest name in the history of Jiu-Jitsu, Roger Gracie recently participated in an interview on the “Connect Cast” podcast where he discussed various topics related to his career and the gentle art as a whole. Among the topics, the multi-time black belt champion chose the greatest opponents he faced throughout his career in the sport. The Rio de Janeiro native listed two names, identifying fighter Marcelinho Garcia as the opponent with the “greatest technical quality” he has ever faced, while Ronaldo Jacaré, with whom he had a great rivalry on the mats, was selected as the “toughest.”
“The most technical opponent I’ve ever fought was Marcelo Garcia. I fought him twice. The first time I managed to finish in less than five minutes. I won the second by a large margin of points, but I couldn’t finish. He is the most technical, as you feel the physical tension from his techniques. The techniques he was using had no tension, so it is pure technique. He’s good, even though I beat him. He didn’t put me in danger, but he caught me once, without any force. Technically, he is the best,” declared Roger Gracie, who continued:
“The toughest one was Ronaldo Jacaré. He is very strong and had a very boring game, very tough on his feet. He would pull guard so I wouldn’t get under him. On top, to hold on, he broke all the grips, he came with strong pressure. He was the toughest,” concluded the black belt.
Roger Gracie has enjoyed a successful career full of great achievements in Jiu-Jitsu, where he was world champion as a black belt ten times. At 42 years old, the Rio de Janeiro native last fought in 2017, when he submitted fellow multi-champion Marcus Buchecha in the main fight of the Gracie Kore event, held in Rio de Janeiro.
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