Fight Facts Retrospective: Royce Gracie

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Fight Facts Retrospective is a branch of the Fight Facts series that chronicles the accomplishments and achievements of legendary fighters and historic promotions. Join us as we celebrate the career of the first Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer, Royce Gracie, ahead of the 25th anniversary of his historic battle for the inaugural UFC superfight title.

The original “ultimate fighter,” Gracie proved not only that Brazilian jiu-jitsu was essential in the sport of MMA, but that size matters not. Never heavier than 191 pounds, Gracie took on larger and stronger men, both young and old, and put them in their place. Although he only competed 20 times as a professional, his career spanned an incredible 23 years and provided one lengthy highlight reel.

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A TRUE OG: Carrying a Sherdog Fight Finder ID number of 19, Gracie is by far the earliest competitor ever entered into the Fight Finder database who received attention from the Fight Facts Retrospective series. Should multiple-time opponent Ken Shamrock become the study of such a piece, his number of four is only later than Brian Hawkins, Kurt Rojo and Tony Galindo.

GRACED WITH HIS PRESENCE: Across his 20-fight career, Gracie retired with 15 victories and sported an 87 percent finish rate, with all 13 of those finishes taking place in the first round. However, Gracie operated at a time when the UFC and Pride Fighting Championships did not implement rounds for his bouts.

MR. UFC: Gracie is the only fighter to appear at each of the first five UFC events. No other athlete competed at more than three of those cards (Shamrock).

NO SUCH THING AS JUDGES: The first 11 bouts in Gracie’s career all ended with his opponent tapping out. The first time he went the distance came in his rematch with Shamrock at UFC 5. Gracie still holds the all-time UFC record for the most consecutive stoppage victories.

KEEPING IT BRAZILIAN: Gracie held the record for the most submissions in promotional history with 10, not accounting for his strike-induced submission stoppage of Patrick Smith. That record stood from 1995 until 2018, when Charles Oliveira surpassed it by submitting Christos Giagos at UFC Fight Night 137. “Do Bronx” has since extended that record with three more submissions.

ROYCE THE ROCKSTAR: Gracie’s 11-fight winning streak from 1993-95 stood as the longest in the promotion’s history until he was passed by Anderson Silva at UFC 117 in 2010.

SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT FOUR FIGHTING: Becoming the first and only fighter to ever compete in and win four UFC bouts in a single night, Gracie submitted his way through four opponents at UFC 2 to prevail in the 16-man, one-night tournament.

GRAND VIZIER OF THE GRAND PRIX: The winner of three UFC tournaments, Gracie is the only fighter in UFC history to win that many. The Brazilian was well on his way to a fourth at UFC 3, but after tapping Kimo Leopoldo with an armbar, he withdrew due to exhaustion. This allowed the unlikeliest of outcomes, as alternate Steve Jennum won that tournament by only fighting once.

PASS IT ON: While sporting a gi for his early UFC bouts, Gracie secured the first and second lapel choke finishes in company history by tapping Remco Pardoel and Minoki Ichihara. The only other submission of its type in promotional history came by the aforementioned Pardoel at UFC 7.

THE FIRST SUPERFIGHT: Prior to the UFC creating weight classes, the promotion attempted to make the superfight championship, where a champion could take on the winners of future tournaments. The first fight for this belt came at UFC 5 in 1995 between Gracie and Shamrock, and they fought to a draw.

NEVER AGAIN, SAID THE UFC: In the superfight championship bout, Gracie took part in the longest match in UFC history when he squared off with Shamrock. With no rounds created, a 30-minute time limit was enacted for this title fight. The tilt went the full 30 minutes but inadvertently continued on for an additional minute before it was called. Out of confusion of what to do next, an additional five-minute overtime was implemented. When neither man won, this 36-minute affair was declared a draw.

FEATURE-LENGTH FISTICUFFS: Not to be outdone, five years later, Gracie participated in the Pride 2000 openweight grand prix. Taking on Kazushi Sakuraba at the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals, the two agreed on modified rules under which there were an unlimited number of 15-minute rounds, as well as no stoppages from the referee. After an unprecedented 90-minute battle—the longest in major MMA history—Gracie’s corner threw in the towel after the sixth round for his first career defeat.

THE PRIDE OF A FIGHTER: Although not the first, Gracie is one of the earlier fighters to ever record wins in both the UFC and Pride. The first to do so was Gary Goodridge, who knocked out Oleg Taktarov at Pride 1 after winning three times in the UFC cage.

GRACIE VS. GOLIATH: In one of the largest size differences in MMA history, a 190.5-pound Gracie took on the 451-pound Chad Rowan at K-1 Premium 2004 Dynamite!! Outweighed by 260.5 pounds, Gracie tapped his massive opponent with an omoplata wrist lock in just over two minutes.

THE RETURN OF THE GRACIE: After over 21 years away from the UFC, Gracie returned at UFC 60 to take on then-welterweight champion Matt Hughes. In that 175-pound catchweight contest, Hughes nearly landed a submission on Gracie before ending the fight by technical knockout. It marked the first time Gracie had been stopped due to strikes in his career.

WHO DROPPED THE BALL?: Following his unsuccessful return to the Octagon, Gracie again competed at a Dynamite event in 2007, when he met Sakuraba once more. Although Gracie took home a unanimous decision win, he tested positive for steroids. However, the official result was not changed.

THE TRILOGY: Gracie and Shamrock faced one another three times throughout their legendary careers. They first met at UFC 1 and then again at UFC 5, and nearly 21 years later, they came to blows for a third time in Bellator MMA. Headlining Bellator 149, Gracie dispatched Shamrock and concluded the trilogy with two wins and a draw against “The World’s Most Dangerous Man.”

I’LL SEE YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE, WHEN WE ARE BOTH CATS: The length of time spanning Gracie-Shamrock matchups from April 1995 to February 2016—20 years, 10 months—is the longest gap between rematches in major MMA history.

RIGHT IN THE SHAMROCKS: Gracie scored the first knockout of his career—not counting when he made the aforementioned Smith tap to strikes—when he finished Shamrock at Bellator 149.

FIRST-BALLOT GANG: Along with Shamrock, Gracie was inducted into the first class of the UFC Hall of Fame at UFC 45 in November 2003.

SUPER NECESSARY DRAWS: Gracie fought to three draws throughout his career, and all three were a result of rulesets that did not allow for judges’ decisions. In the event that the fight went the full length, it was automatically declared a draw.

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