The Gracie family is one of the most influential families in combat sports. Without them, nothing would be the same in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA)… And even people who don’t train MMA know that – such as David Goggins.

As a famous ultramarathon runner, author, motivational speaker, and former Navy SEAL, Goggins knows a thing or two about becoming the best. Which is why he has a ton of respect for the Gracie family.
He revealed his opinion on the Gracies in a recent Joe Rogan Experience episode:

There’s so many people who I hear are very successful… That say that there’s something about their life that they’re missing.

And, mentioning the Gracies, it seems to me like they… [Like for them] it wasn’t about money, it wasn’t about nothing, man.
They’re grassroots, mother*ucker. And that’s what I was telling people that they are missing.

That they’re missing that desire. Those guys [the Gracies] had a passion in them, an obsession.
And I guarantee you, man, those mother*uckers don’t have those conversations: “*uck, I’m missing something.” They’re not missing sh*t, dude. They’ve got it figured out, man.

Goggins also emphasized how much he loves watching MMA:

I love watching fights, man. I see [a fighter] in a bad situation, man. And I see a couple guys getting ready to fu*king tap. And that one-second decision, I call it… They’re thinking: “I gotta tap.”

And you see the hand motion, like they’re gonna tap. And then they go somewhere else, like: “Not today, mother*ucker. Because I’ve been here before. I can last for this one more second, and this one second may get me out of this sh*t.”

And I see how the mind is evolving in that one moment.