Last August, after having defeated current BJJ world champion Marcus Buchecha by submission, Roger Gracie anounced his retirement from BJJ competitions. He said that he would be focusing on his MMA career since he finished his BJJ one on an extremely high note. Now he has also decided to end his MMA career.
Here’s Why Roger Gracie Is Undoubtedly BJJ’s Greatest Of All Time
He is the current One Championship light heavyweight champion and has a 8-2 MMA record after having fought in the UFC, One and Strikeforce.
His reason for retiring is a lack of motivation.
Gracie told MMA Fighting
“I decided to stop because I didn’t think MMA was motivating me enough to keep dedicating myself 100 percent to an athlete’s life. I enjoyed it, it was a huge pleasure to do these 10 MMA fights, but I have no other ambitions. I just turned 36. I never wanted to compete longer than 38, and there’s not much else left to conquer in MMA, something that would change my career.”
I just ended my career at a high level. I would have more to lose than to gain if I kept fighting MMA. If I had the same passion in MMA like I had in jiu-jitsu I would continue, but the only motivation that would keep me in MMA was money, and I’m against doing something focusing only on money. I don’t think I’d even give my 100 percent in this case, so I decided to retire and focus on other things in my life.
I’m super happy with my career. I’ve fought 10 fights, faced several great opponents, big names, and was able to put on excellent fights. It was a cool experience to fight MMA. It’s completely different from the jiu-jitsu I competed my entire life. It was a special feeling to follow the Gracie family’s path. I saw my cousins and uncles fighting MMA since I was a kid, and I knew that the Gracie path was to fight jiu-jitsu and MMA.
