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Creator Of The UFC, Rorion Gracie: “I Knew We Were Going To Change The World Forever…”

 

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Rorion Gracie (red belt) with some of his children

We owe alot to this man. Rorion Gracie, creator of the UFC in an exclusive interview with Brazilian magazine tatame, talks about how he revolutionized the fighting world and created a real moneymaker, today in the hands of Dana White and the Fertitta brothers.

Are you surprised the growth of MMA?

When I started the UFC, I knew we’d overtake Boxing. There was no surprise. I did this game knowing that a MMA fight is much more entertaining, exciting and thrilling to audiences than a Boxing match. Boxing is very limited with rules, when you enter the clinch it has to stop, no ground game etc … Since there was no option, the World Champion Boxing was an awesome guy, so when I brought forth the idea and started the business of MMA, the idea was to explore exactly this sense of reality. Start standing, fall to the ground, continue on the ground, just as it already was in Brazil. We brought it here, to the American people, who did not know it. Success was guaranteed.

Rorion with Royce and Rickson Gracie during UFC 1

Rorion with Royce and Rickson Gracie during UFC 1

MMA took a while to develop towards crosstraining in different martials arts.What do you think of a fighter like Marco Ruas who started the crosstraining trend?

Marco Ruas is a great fighter. He did Luta Livre, which is no gi Jiu-Jitsu, which started in Brazil in the 1950s. Brazil was already following vale tudo fights in those early days. Jiu-Jitsu is the technical part of all of this, but in MMA, Luta Livre is No Gi Jiu-Jitsu, also created in Brazil by the Gracie family. Marco Ruas is a great fighter. He doesn’t put the kimono, but knows the moves. The principles are the same. When the UFC began to grow here, the people began to see that they had to learn Jiu-Jitsu, or would lose. Nowadays, no one dares to do MMA without learning a little ground fighting first. Who does not learn BJJ, can’t enter a ring or cage.

Have you already received offers to collaborate with some MMA events that exist today?

I’ve had several offers, but I’m not interested in that, I have another goal. My children are more or less directing this part of the gym to do this kind of online learning and teaching the people around the world our method of Jiu-Jitsu. I’m in another phase of my life. My main goal is to educate people about a healthier way of eating, following the principles of Gracie diet, developed and perfected by my uncle Carlos, who spent 65 years studying the law of food combinations. In the opinion of Rorion Gracie, ninth degree red belt, if I have to choose between diet and Jiu-Jitsu that I know, I prefer my diet. My next goal for the next 40 years of my life is to influence people and direct them to eat well through healthy eating, antacid.

Do you regret having sold the UFC for only two million dollars?

I do not regret it. When creating the UFC, my idea was never to make money. I created an event where we could compare fighting styles, and through this comparison could demonstrate to the world the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Money was never the reason for my work. Money has always been the result of my work. I do well done and, as a consequence, I have money. Not for the money itself, but the work.

Read full interview (In Portuguese)