Royce Gracie made his UFC debut on November 12th 1993. UFC has gone through a great deal of change since, yet Royce’s record stood untouched for the next 20+ years.

Over the past weekend Charles Oliveira managed to break the record Demian Maia was teetering on for so long.

Gracie told newsday:

“I wasn’t watching to see it live because I was on the road traveling, but yeah it was interesting it took that long because everybody practices jiu-jitsu. Back then, it was just me pretty much, my family and my students,” Gracie said. “But now, both fighters have to know jiu-jitsu, both fighters have to know the stand-up game.”

Oliveira still isn’t getting his shot at the title tho:

“The guy is doing so good, why is the guy not fighting for the title yet? He finishes everybody,” Gracie said. “So, I don’t have an opinion on the way he thinks, everybody is entitled to think what they want, but why is he not fighting for the title yet? That’s a question for the promoter, for whatever reason, they must have some reason cause he’s up there, he should be one of the top contenders.”

As for Oliveira – he’s thrilled with his results:

”I will never forget tonight. To surpass Royce at age 28, I will never forget this moment,” Oliveira told the media after his win. “Man, I’ve surpassed Royce, the No. 1, in the UFC.”

With 11 of his 12 UFC wins coming by way of submission, Oliveira believes he can be seen as an all-time great now.

”I’m a legend now,” Oliveira said. “But I’ll keep my feet on the ground. We will break more records, we will become champion, but it’s one step at a time. We broke a record today, surpassed Royce, but there are many people with better jiu-jitsu than me in the UFC. I have to train more, and that’s what I’m doing.”

For more beautifully brutal kimura variations and set ups, you will want to take advantage of the knowledge of one of the most sought after MMA and grappling coaches on the planet, Neil Melanson. He has distilled his years of leading MMA champions into The Filthy Kimura Series and it can be yours by heading over to BJJ Fanatics!