Royce Gracie

2.1.1. Early UFC Tournaments (UFC 1, 2, 3, 4)

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was co-founded in 1993 by Rorion Gracie, business executive Art Davie, and the Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). The event was designed as an eight-man, openweight, single-elimination tournament with minimal rules, aimed at identifying the most effective fighting style among various martial arts. While Davie and SEG sought violent and exciting vale tudo fights reminiscent of the Gracie in Action tapes, Rorion's primary goal was to promote his family's jiu-jitsu style by showcasing its ability to defeat larger and stronger opponents. Rorion specifically chose Royce to represent the family's art due to his smaller, skinnier physique, intending to visibly demonstrate how a smaller individual could overcome bigger adversaries using jiu-jitsu.

Gracie entered the tournament wearing his iconic Brazilian jiu-jitsu gi. In his first match at UFC 1, he swiftly defeated journeyman boxer Art Jimmerson. Gracie utilized a baiana (諸手刈_morote-gari^Japanese, a double-leg takedown) to bring Jimmerson to the ground, securing a dominant mounted position. With only one free arm, Jimmerson conceded defeat by tapping out.

In the semi-finals, Gracie faced shootfighter and King of Pancrase competitor Ken Shamrock. This proved to be Gracie's most challenging match, as Shamrock possessed grappling experience, previously using a Heel Hook to defeat Patrick Smith. Gracie initiated the round with a double-leg attempt, which Shamrock defended with a sprawl, trying to return to his feet. Gracie then countered by pulling Shamrock into his guard, delivering small kicks to Shamrock's kidneys. Shamrock managed to escape the guard and attempted a heel hook, similar to his move against Patrick Smith. Gracie defended by wrapping his gi around Shamrock's arm, and as Shamrock sat back, it pulled Gracie on top of him. Gracie then took Shamrock's back and used his own gi to secure a rear naked choke. Shamrock later confirmed it was a gi choke, using the cloth around his neck. Shamrock tapped out to the choke, but the referee, failing to see the tap, ordered the fight to continue. Shamrock then verbally admitted defeat to the referee, stating it would be unfair, and Royce was declared the victor. Both fighters exchanged a handshake after some initial taunting.

In the finals, Gracie competed against Kyokushin karateka and savate world champion Gerard Gordeau. Gracie successfully took Gordeau to the ground and secured a rear choke, winning the bout. During the fight, Gordeau bit Gracie's ear, violating one of the few rules of the event. Gracie retaliated by holding the choke after Gordeau had tapped out, with Gordeau tapping in panic before being separated by the referee. Royce was declared the "Ultimate Fighting Champion" and was awarded 50.00 K USD in prize money.

Gracie returned four months later to defend his title at UFC 2, a tournament featuring sixteen fighters, requiring him to defeat four opponents to become champion. He began his title defense by submitting Japanese Karatedo Daido Juku and Kyokushin karateka Minoki Ichihara after a five-minute bout, his longest at that point, with a lapel choke (made possible by Ichihara's Karategi). Advancing to the quarterfinals, Royce Gracie fought Five Animals Kung Fu practitioner and future Pancrase veteran Jason DeLucia, whom he had previously defeated in a "Gracie Challenge" in 1991. Gracie submitted DeLucia via armbar just over a minute into the bout. Gracie then submitted 250 lb ^{(250 lb)} Judo and Taekwondo black belt Remco Pardoel with a lapel choke (as Pardoel was wearing a Judogi). Gracie, who was giving up 84 lb ^{(84 lb)} to Pardoel, eventually brought him down and choked him out with the gi. He then reached the finals against kickboxer Patrick Smith, who had also participated in UFC 1. Displaying superior grappling skills, Gracie easily took Smith to the ground and won the fight via submission to punches.

For UFC 3, Royce Gracie entered as a two-time champion and the favorite. The tournament size reverted to eight fighters. In the first round, Royce was matched against Taekwondo representative and former high school wrestler Kimo Leopoldo. Leopoldo utilized his wrestling background to control the grappling exchanges, defending several of Gracie's takedowns and even taking his back. As both fighters tired, Gracie maintained control of Leopoldo by grabbing his ponytail, eventually submitting him with an armbar at 4:40 of the first round. However, due to exhaustion and dehydration, Gracie withdrew from his next fight against Harold Howard before it began. This marked the first UFC event Gracie did not win, as he entered the ring and threw in the towel.

Gracie commenced UFC 4 by submitting 51-year-old Karateka and Kung Fu film actor Ron van Clief in the opening round with a rear-naked choke near the four-minute mark. In the semi-finals, he fought American Kenpo Karate specialist Keith Hackney, who successfully defended Gracie's takedowns for four minutes until he was submitted by an armbar. Gracie's final tournament bout was against Dan Severn, a former Pan American Games freestyle wrestling gold medalist. Severn dominated the fight, securing takedowns and maintaining top control, delivering ground and pound for nearly fifteen minutes. However, Gracie eventually managed to secure a triangle choke for the submission victory at 15:49 of the first round. The match extended beyond the pay-per-view time slot, leading to viewers who missed the end of the fight demanding refunds. With this victory, Gracie became the first and only three-time UFC Tournament Winner.

2.1.2. Rivalry with Ken Shamrock (UFC 1, 5)

Following Gracie's victory over Ken Shamrock at the first UFC event, a significant rivalry developed between the two fighters. Shamrock particularly sought a rematch, claiming that Gracie had gained an unfair advantage by using his gi for grappling, while Shamrock had been prohibited from wearing wrestling shoes by the promoters. Despite his grievances, Shamrock conceded that he had underestimated Gracie in their initial encounter.

A rematch between Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock did not materialize at UFC 2 because Shamrock had broken his hand during training. Similarly, at UFC 3, Gracie withdrew from the competition due to exhaustion, leading to Shamrock also withdrawing from the event. To address the unpredictability of the tournament format, a "superfight" between Gracie and Ken Shamrock, outside the main tournament structure, was scheduled for UFC 5. The winner of this bout would be awarded a special belt and become the inaugural UFC Superfight Champion. Time limits were reintroduced into the sport in 1995 due to pay-per-view constraints following the UFC 4 debacle, and both fighters were informed only hours before the event, which upset them.

At the beginning of their UFC 5 encounter, Shamrock immediately secured a takedown, with Gracie pulling guard. The majority of the contest involved Shamrock in a top position, defending Gracie's submission attempts and occasionally landing ground and pound. After nearly thirty minutes of Shamrock's control, the contest was declared overtime and restarted on the feet. Early in the overtime, Shamrock connected with a punch that caused significant swelling to Gracie's eye, prompting Gracie to immediately pull guard again. After another uneventful few minutes, the contest was declared a draw.

The draw sparked considerable debate and controversy, particularly regarding who would have won if judges had determined the outcome or if there had been no time limits, especially given that by the end of the fight, Gracie's right eye was swollen shut. UFC matchmaker Art Davie believed that Shamrock would have been declared the winner if ringside judges had been present. The fight was poorly received by critics and the live audience due to the lack of action from both competitors.

2.1.3. Departure from UFC

After his fight with Ken Shamrock at UFC 5, Royce Gracie, along with his brother Rorion, departed from the UFC, with Rorion selling his shares in the organization. According to Rorion, their departure was due to a conflict of interest arising from the introduction of time limits after UFC 4 and future plans to introduce judges and weight classes, which contradicted the Gracie family's core philosophy of open-ended, no-rules fighting.

Throughout his time in the UFC, Royce frequently issued public challenges to well-known fighters, often through open letters published in Black Belt Magazine's The Ultimate Fighter column, though these challenges rarely materialized. Notable figures, including Mike Tyson (who was serving a prison sentence at the time), received these invitations to "fight to the finish, any place and any time."

2.1.4. Later UFC Appearances

At UFC 45 in November 2003, coinciding with the UFC's ten-year anniversary, Royce Gracie and his former rival Ken Shamrock were announced as the inaugural inductees into the UFC Hall of Fame. UFC President Dana White emphasized their significance, stating, "We feel that no two individuals are more deserving than Royce and Ken to be the charter members. Their contributions to our sport, both inside and outside the Octagon, may never be equaled." Gracie was also ranked third among the top 10 all-time popular fighters in a UFC website poll at the time, trailing only Randy Couture and Ken Shamrock.

On January 16, 2006, Dana White announced that Royce Gracie would return to the UFC to fight UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes on May 27, 2006, at UFC 60. This was a non-title bout contested at a catchweight of 175 lb ^{(175 lb)} under standard UFC/California State Athletic Commission rules. To prepare for the fight, Gracie incorporated Muay Thai into his training regimen and was featured in promotional materials from Fairtex. In the first round, Hughes secured a straight armbar that hyper-extended Royce's arm, but Gracie famously refused to tap. Hughes ultimately won the fight via TKO (punches) at 4:39 of the first round. Following the fight, Royce expressed his desire for a rematch, stating that he was not surprised by Hughes's performance and that his own defeat was due to over-training: "We knew what he was planning to do. We worked out his game plan before the fight, and he did exactly what we expected. I over-trained for the fight. That was all. I started training too much, too hard, for too long. He did exactly what we expected."

On May 8, 2007, EliteXC announced that Gracie's opponent for the June 2 Dynamite!! USA event in Los Angeles would be Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba, setting up a highly anticipated rematch. Gracie defeated Sakuraba by a unanimous decision. However, a post-fight drug screen revealed that Royce had traces of Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid, in his system, leading to controversy.

2.2.1. PRIDE Debut and Bout with Kazushi Sakuraba

Gracie was initially slated to debut in PRIDE Fighting Championships at their PRIDE 2 event in 1998 against fellow UFC champion Mark Kerr. The Gracie side demanded special rules, including no time limit and no referee stoppage, which were accepted by PRIDE. However, Royce withdrew from the fight due to a back injury after the bout had already been advertised.

The situation changed significantly after PRIDE 8, when Royce's elder brother Royler Gracie was defeated by Kazushi Sakuraba. Sakuraba dominated the match and secured a technical submission, as Royler was caught in a Kimura lock and refused to tap, prompting the referee to stop the match before his arm could be broken. This marked the first time in 50 years that a Gracie had been defeated in a mixed martial arts fight, and Sakuraba subsequently issued a challenge to Rickson Gracie. In response, the Gracies contended that Royler's loss should not count because he had not conceded or tapped out, arguing that the referee's stoppage violated the special rules they had requested for the fight. Many pundits also began asserting that the pure-BJJ approach of the Gracies was no longer sufficient against a well-rounded, cross-trained fighter. In response to these assertions, and with the specific aim of defeating Sakuraba in a rematch, the Gracies signed Royce to PRIDE.

Royce Gracie's first event in PRIDE was the "PRIDE Grand Prix 2000," an openweight tournament split into two events: the Opening Round (featuring the Round of 16) and the Finals (comprising the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals three months later). The bouts in the Opening Round were modified to consist of a single 15-minute round. In the first round, he faced Japanese professional wrestler Nobuhiko Takada. Takada was a highly popular wrestler who had headlined PRIDE 1 and PRIDE 4 against Royce's brother Rickson, and was also the former mentor of Sakuraba, the Gracie family's rival. In the first minute of the bout, Gracie pulled Takada into his guard, and he spent the remainder of the match unsuccessfully attempting to submit or sweep Takada. After a largely uneventful fight, Royce Gracie was declared the winner by unanimous decision and advanced to the Grand Prix Quarter-Finals.

Royce was then scheduled to fight Kazushi Sakuraba in the quarter-finals at the PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals. Sakuraba was a professional wrestler who built his submission foundation on catch wrestling and shoot wrestling, becoming one of the first Japanese stars of PRIDE. As Royce had entered the Grand Prix specifically to face Sakuraba, the Gracies demanded special rules for the fight: an unlimited number of 15-minute rounds, no judges, no referee stoppages, and wins only by knockout, submission, or throwing in the towel. Sakuraba publicly criticized the differing rule set and the Gracies' demands for special treatment but ultimately agreed to the challenge. The two battled for an hour and a half (six 15-minute rounds), after which Gracie began to fatigue and could no longer stand due to a broken femur, which he suffered as a result of numerous leg kicks. The towel was thrown in by his corner, and Sakuraba was declared the winner by TKO. Sakuraba went on to defeat other members of the Gracie family, including Renzo Gracie and Ryan Gracie, earning him the enduring nickname "Gracie Hunter."

2.2.2. Bouts with Hidehiko Yoshida

Gracie returned to PRIDE in 2002 to fight Japanese Olympic gold-medalist judoka Hidehiko Yoshida in a special "judo vs. Brazilian jiu-jitsu" rules match. The bout was billed as a "rematch" of the historic 1955 contest between Masahiko Kimura and Hélio Gracie. The rules stipulated that the fight would be contested in two 10-minute rounds and would be declared a draw if no result was achieved. Strikes to the head were disallowed, as was any striking if both opponents were on the ground. Lying on the mat or dropping down without touching the opponent was also banned. Both fighters were required to wear a keikogi, reflecting their respective disciplines. The event took place at PRIDE Shockwave, a co-production between PRIDE and K-1 kickboxing, intended as a mega-event celebrating martial arts. It drew an estimated 71,000 to 91,000 fans, marking it as one of the largest live attendances in MMA history. Royce's father, Hélio Gracie, along with MMA pioneer Antonio Inoki, lit a ceremonial Olympic torch during the opening ceremony.

Royce began the fight by pulling guard and attempting a heel hook and an armbar, which Hidehiko blocked before countering with a gi choke and an ankle lock attempt. Gracie pulled guard again, but Yoshida converted it into a daki age and sought the Kimura lock. When the Brazilian blocked that technique, Yoshida passed his guard and performed a mounted sode guruma jime. After a moment of inactivity, referee Daisuke Noguchi stopped the match, believing Royce was unconscious, and declared Yoshida the winner.

Gracie immediately protested the stoppage. Footage of the fight was reviewed, which showed that Gracie's visible arm during the execution of the choke was limp and motionless, supporting the referee's decision. However, Gracie began arguing with Noguchi, and the altercation quickly escalated into a full brawl involving the corners of both fighters. Later backstage, the Gracies demanded that the fight be declared a no contest and that an immediate rematch be booked under different rules, threatening that the Gracie family would otherwise never fight for PRIDE FC again. PRIDE, wishing to retain the Gracie family, accepted their demands.

Subsequently, Gracie began fighting without a gi (道着_dōgi^Japanese) to prevent his opponents from stalling by holding onto his uniform. The grudge rematch between Yoshida and Gracie took place at PRIDE's Shockwave 2003 event on December 31, 2003. Gracie dominated Yoshida throughout the bout but, as the match was held without judges per Gracie's request, it was declared a draw after two 10-minute rounds.

2.2.3. Contract Dispute with PRIDE

In September 2004, PRIDE and Gracie encountered a disagreement regarding his participation in the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix. Gracie raised objections concerning the proposed opponents and the tournament rules, particularly the requirement that Grand Prix fights must have a definitive winner and could not end in a draw. Consequently, Gracie transitioned to the Fighting and Entertainment Group's K-1 organization. PRIDE subsequently filed a lawsuit against Gracie for breach of contract. The case was settled in December 2005, with Gracie issuing a public apology, attributing his actions to a misinterpretation of his contract by his manager.

2.3.1. K-1 Activities

Royce Gracie competed in K-1's Dynamite!! series, which featured both kickboxing and MMA matches. On December 31, 2004, Gracie made his K-1 debut at the K-1 PREMIUM 2004 Dynamite!! event held at the Osaka Dome, facing former sumo wrestler and MMA newcomer Akebono Tarō (also known as Chad Rowan) under special MMA rules, consisting of two 10-minute rounds with the match ending in a draw if no winner emerged. Gracie quickly dispatched his much heavier opponent, forcing Akebono to submit to a shoulder lock at 2:13 of the first round. Exactly one year later, on the K-1 PREMIUM 2005 Dynamite!! card on December 31, 2005, Gracie fought Japanese fighter Hideo Tokoro, a 143 lb ^{(143 lb)} opponent. This fight ended in a draw after 20 minutes. Gracie's original opponent for this event was scheduled to be the tall Korean fighter Choi Hong-man, another MMA newcomer, but the match was changed due to Choi's injury.

2.3.2. Bellator MMA Return

On November 15, 2013, at UFC 167, coinciding with the 20th Anniversary of the UFC, Royce Gracie officially confirmed his retirement from competing in mixed martial arts in an interview with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.

However, at Bellator 145, it was announced that Gracie would emerge from retirement to face his long-time rival Ken Shamrock in a trilogy fight. The match took place on February 19, 2016, at Bellator 149. Gracie won the fight via TKO in round one. The victory was not without controversy, as replays showed that Gracie landed a knee strike that grazed Shamrock's groin just prior to the stoppage. Shamrock protested the result, but the bout was officially ruled a victory for Gracie. It was later announced that Shamrock had failed his pre-fight drug test for banned substances.