How Royce Gracie Changed the Fight Game

Gracie Jiu-jitsu opened the eyes of many martial artists in the 90s and beyond to the importance of ground fighting and grappling. A martial artist is not a complete fighter until he knows the ground game. As a practioner of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and karate has told me recently, jiu-jitsu gives you the option of going to the ground if it gives you an advantage and it helps you to survive the ground when taken down against your will. The clip below shows Royce Gracie at his best in the early Ultimate Fighting Championships. The fighters he's pitted against have no idea how to defend against him.



However, just as the Gracies taught us the importance of being able to fight on the ground, striking is still important. This clip shows probably the best Japanese Mixed Martial Arts fighter in recent memory, Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba, in his first fight with the legendary Royce Gracie. Sakuraba was given the nickname "The Gracie Hunter" because he successfully had beaten several members of the Gracie family in earlier bouts. Sakuraba neutralizes what Royce Gracie dished out with devastating punches and crippling kicks.