Ralph Gracie (born May 25, 1971) is a retired Brazilian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and

jiu-jitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

black belt. A member of the famed

Gracie family The Gracie family () is a family of martial artists originally from Belém, state of Pará, Brazil, whose ancestors came from Paisley, Scotland. They are known for promoting the self-defense martial arts system of Gracie jiu-jitsu, commonly kn ...

, he is the son of

Robson Gracie Carlos Robson Gracie Sr. (; 16 January 1935 – 28 April 2023) was a Brazilian martial artist. The second son of Carlos Gracie, Gracie was a 9th degree red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, affording him the title of Grandmaster. Career Robson G ...

and the brother of 11 Gracies, including Charles Gracie,

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A third generation member of the Gracie family, he is the grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder C ...

and the late

Ryan Gracie Ryan Gracie (August 13, 1974 – December 15, 2007) was a Brazilian mixed martial artist with a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He was a member of the Gracie family and a grandson of Carlos Gracie. Career Ryan trained with his bro ...

Early life

Ralph Gracie was born on 25 May 1971, in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the sixth-most-populous city in the Americas. Founded in 1565 by the Portuguese, the city wa ...

. Like most members of the

, he started practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu from a young age, training extensively with his uncle

Carlos Gracie Jr. Carlos "Carlinhos" Gracie Jr. (born January 17, 1956) is a Brazilian 8th-degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner, instructor, and coach. A member of the Gracie family, he is the son of Carlos Gracie, one of the founders of Br ...

who awarded him his black belt when Gracie was twenty one. In the early days of Gracie Barra, he became a strong representative of the team in many local tournaments. In the 1990s Gracie moved to the United States at the invitation of his cousin Cesar Gracie.

Mixed martial arts career

Gracie's 1995 American debut was featured in the short-lived Battlecade Extreme Fighting events. Gracie won fights versus Makoto Muraoka, Steve Nelson, and Ali Mihoubi, the longest of which lasted a minute and thirty-four seconds. In sharp contrast to the typical "passive" Gracie approach, Gracie's aggressive and often brutal approach earned him the nickname of "The Pitbull". In 2003, Gracie ended his absence from fighting to pit his skills against modern MMA fighters, earning a decision win over

Dokonjonosuke Mishima known as , also written Dokonjyonosuke Mishima, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He has competed professionally since 1998 in organizations such as Shooto, DEEP, PRIDE, the UFC and in his pro wrestling days he has co ...

. The following year, he suffered a loss to

Takanori Gomi is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist who gained international fame in Pride Fighting Championships. Later in his career, Gomi also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Gomi is the only Pride FC Lightweight Champion in the ...

, who stopped Gracie in six seconds with knee strikes to the head in what would be Gracie's last MMA fight. Upon retirement, Gracie held a record of six wins and one loss in sanctioned fights. He holds a fifth degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and has won several BJJ tournaments.

Academies

Gracie owns and operates a series of martial arts academies in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, as well as Florida, (specializing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu). Gracie owns eight academies in Northern California (Berkeley, Richmond, Dublin, Sacramento, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Jose, and Vacaville) and two in Southern California (Anaheim and Chino Hills); with the largest being the San Francisco Academy. Most recently, the academy in Richmond opened and instructed by Igor Estrella. Notable instructor, and 6th-degree black belt, Luis Eduardo Fraga, has been head instructor at the Berkeley Academy since 2007. Gracie taught former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

welterweight and lightweight champion, B.J. Penn, when he first came to California from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. Gracie also taught other prominent black belts such as Kurt Osiander, the Camarillo brothers, Scot Nelson, and more. In late 2016, Ralph Gracie Florida academy opened in the city of Port Orange, Volusia county, under 5th-degree black belt Regis Calixto. In early 2021, Ralph Gracie Jiu-Jitsu issued a public statement on an incident concerning the head instructor at an affiliate gym, whereby he harassed the parent of a former student and left a voicemail including threats and a racial slur.

Championships and accomplishments

*Extreme Fighting Championship **EFC Lightweight Championship (1 time, first, only) ** 1995 EFC Lightweight Tournament Winner

Attack on Flavio Almeida

On 15 December 2018, Gracie assaulted 5-time World Champion Flavio Almeida, Gracie Barra’s North America Executive Director, elbowing him in the face on the sidelines of the 2018 World No-Gi Championships in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

. According to prosecutors, after Almeida was knocked unconscious to the ground, Gracie, and one of his student Lincoln Pereira, continued to kick him in the head. Almeida reportedly suffered serious injuries as a result including a concussion and two broken teeth. The attack allegedly came from Gracie not wanting Almeida to set up a Gracie Barra franchise near one of his schools. Gracie fled to Brazil after the assault and a warrant from the Orange County District Attorney's office was issued for his arrest in April 2019. Gracie failed to appear to four consecutive court appearances. A pretrial date was set for December 8, 2020, and a

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...

date was for 2021. Gracie pleaded guilty to a felony assault charge for the unprovoked attack and he was sentenced to 180 days in jail, three years formal probation, a $50,000 fine and anger management. He was subsequently released after serving three months of his sentence, the reason for his early release being unclear. According to his court statement, Gracie felt "tremendous remorse" for attacking Almeida. As a consequence of the attack, and in the wake of the video evidence, Gracie received a lifetime ban from the IBJJF, the largest Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization in the world led by his uncle Carlos Gracie Jr. Gracie is forbidden to compete, act as a coach, or participate in another IBJJF event for the rest of his life.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 ,

, KO (knees) , PRIDE Bushido 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:06 ,

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

PRIDE Bushido 1 The year 2003 was the 7th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2003 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 25 - Body Blow''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The follo ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Steve Nelson , Submission (armbar) , Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 13:14 ,

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Ali Mihoubi , Submission (armbar) , Extreme Fighting 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:34 ,

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Steve Nelson , TKO (submission to punches) , Extreme Fighting 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Makoto Muraoka , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Extreme Fighting 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, United States , Won EFC Lightweight Tournament and EFC Lightweight Championship , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Geraldo Silva , Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , Desafio – Gracie Vale Tudo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:25 , Brazil ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gracie, Ralph Living people 1971 births Brazilian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

Brazilian emigrants to the United States People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Rio de Janeiro (city) People convicted of assault