Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian

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 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A third generation member of the

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 grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder Carlos Gracie, grandnephew of

Helio Gracie Helio may refer to: * Helio AU-24 Stallion * Helio (wireless carrier), a defunct American wireless communications provider (2005–2010); originally a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, purchased by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008 * He ...

, nephew of Carlos Gracie Jr. and the son of Robson Gracie. By the age of 20, Gracie was a multiple-time BJJ champion in Brazil. In mixed martial arts, Renzo has competed in the

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

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

, RINGS, and International Fight League (head-coaching the New York Pitbulls). Gracie is crediting with training some of the best fighters in North America such as:

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981), also known by his initials GSP, is a Canadian former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-divi ...

, Frankie Edgar, Chris Weidman,

Matt Serra Matt Serra (born June 2, 1974) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor and a former UFC Welterweight Champion. He is the co-sta ...

Ricardo Almeida Ricardo Alves Almeida (; born November 29, 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist and current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Bordentown, New Jersey. Almeida is a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRID ...

, Roy Nelson, Rodrigo Gracie, Paul Creighton, and

Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon ( ; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his tenures in WWE. The son of Vince McMahon, he is a fourth-generation wrestling promoter as a ...

. Gracie is also known to have trained Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. '' Renzo Gracie: Legacy'', a

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

follows his influence on Brazilian jiu-jitsu and

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

over a ten-year period, showing the origins of the sport from its bare knuckle days to the explosion of the sport in both

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In honor of his achievements and contributions to the sport, Gracie was inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame on February 21, 2022. On January 18, 2023, Gracie was presented with his coral belt in Abu Dhabi by

Rickson Gracie Rickson Gracie (; born November 21, 1959) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Gracie, and half-brother to Rolker, Royce, Robin ...

Mixed martial arts career

Renzo debuted in the Brazilian

vale tudo Vale Tudo or vale-tudo (; ), also known as No Holds Barred (NHB) in the United States, is an unarmed, full-contact combat sport with relatively few Regulation of sport, rules. It became popular in Brazil during the 20th century and would eventua ...

circuit. He had his first match against kickboxer Luiz Augusto Alvareda, whom submitted by

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

. After the match, he moved to the United States to teach Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

World Combat Championships

In October 1995, Gracie was called to fight in World Combat Championships, a no holds barred event created by Jon Peters's son Christopher. The event hosted two separate tournaments for strikers and grapplers whose winners would meet at the finals, and Gracie was put on the latter due to his Brazilian jiu-jitsu background. His first match was against Dutch judoka

Ben Spijkers Bernhard Hendrikus Martinus Spijkers (born 10 March 1961) is a Dutch retired judoka who represented his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics (Judo at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's 86 kg, 1984, Judo at the 1988 Summer Olympics ...

, who had taunted Gracie in the press conference and pranked him on his hotel room the previous night. Spijkers scored the first takedown, but Renzo answered with another, took his back through headbutts and elbow strikes and finally choked him for the win. After the bout, Gracie intentionally stepped on Spijkers's head as he walked away as an act of revenge for the pranking, an act he later apologized for.Jim Coleman, ''World Combat - We're here, deal with it!'', Black Belt Magazine, February 1997 Gracie next fought striker Phil Benedict, and although he received a hard right punch in the first seconds, he executed a takedown and defeated Benedict by

ground and pound Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the solid terrestrial surface of the Earth * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical circ ...

from the mount. At the finals, Gracie then faced kickboxer James Warring, winning by neck crank in similar time. Gracie had originally entered WCC with the idea of fighting Bart Vale, who would compete as well, as Vale had boasted that smaller opponents like Renzo were afraid of facing him. However, Vale would forfeit his place in the tournament after his first match, so the bout didn't happen. Producer Peters had the intention to host a second event where Gracie and Vale would fight in a "superfight" format, but these plans were abandoned.

Pentagon Combat

On September 22, 1997, Gracie partook in Pentagon Combat, an MMA event founded by future ADCC backer Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed. Gracie was pitted against Eugenio Tadeu, a fighter whose style,

luta livre Luta Livre (, lit. ''freestyle fighting'' or ''wrestling''), known in Brazil as Luta Livre Brasileira (lit. ''Brazilian freestyle fighting'') or Luta Livre Submission, and also Brazilian Submission Wrestling, is a Brazilian martial arts and comb ...

, was in a huge rivalry with Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the time, which guaranteed the match was received with heat. Promoters of the event hired little security for the match, and although the luta livre supporters got fewer tickets than their jiu-jitsu homologues, they snuck into the arena earlier in the event. The first minutes of the match were uneventful, with Gracie claiming years later that Tadeu had greased up his body to difficult his grip, but he eventually managed to mount Tadeu. However, Gracie got tired, and Tadeu started to take control of the action. When the fight became stalled against the cage wall, audience members pushed their way through security staff and grabbed the very cage, screaming insults at the fighters and even attacking them through the netting whenever they came near. Some spectators climbed up the fence while others pulled them down, leading the match to be briefly stopped to clear them out, while Gracie received both punches and kicks by luta livre supporters without the referee noticing. The situation finally exploded when Gracie fought back one of his attackers, causing a massive brawl to erupt among the over 400 spectators. Audience members threw chairs and seats to each other, the lights were turned off, and gunshots were heard. The event caused mixed martial arts to be banned in Rio de Janeiro for ten years.

Pride Fighting Championships

Gracie debuted in the first event of

, Pride 1, where he was pitted against Japanese

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

-based fighter

Akira Shoji Akira Shoji (小路晃) (born January 31, 1974) is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is most known as being a regular in almost all the beginning Pride Fighting Championship Shoji was in Pri ...

. The Brazilian dominated the match, at several points threatening Shoji with

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...

s and

omoplata An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock tha ...

s, all while receiving only superficial damage from kicks and knees, but he failed at finishing Shoji, and thus the match went to a draw after thirty minutes. His first victory in Pride was at the very next event, Pride 2, against judoka and catch wrestler Sanae Kikuta. The match was fought under special rules by Gracie's demand, which included an unlimited number of ten-minute rounds. However, this had the effect to lengthen the match to almost an hour, as both fighters remained largely inactive in the clinch and Renzo's

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

. Only in the sixth round, Renzo managed to lock a guillotine choke and submit Kikuta. In 2014, Gracie claimed to have been drugged by PRIDE promoters before the fight to explain his performance. Gracie returned in Pride 8, where he fought

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

Alexander Otsuka. The latter, who came to the match bandaged due to a pro wrestling match the same day, scored a takedown and passed Gracie's guard for a moment, but the Brazilian regained his defense. Gracie came back with hard upkicks and multiple submission attempts, like a

triangle choke A triangle choke, or sankaku-jime (三角絞) in judo, is a type of figure-four chokehold that encircles the opponent's neck and one arm with the legs in a configuration similar to the shape of a triangle. Applying pressure using both legs and ...

and a guillotine choke, being answered with short hammerfists by the Japanese. After the match was restarted, Renzo seemed to secure an armbar from the bottom, only for Otsuka to escape and defend until the end. Even although Gracie next landed a German suplex-like takedown, the match ended with both Otsuka and Gracie pursuing a submission each.

Fighting Network Rings

Gracie discontinued his appearances in PRIDE to participate in the ''King of Kings'' tournament of rival promotion Fighting Network Rings. His first bout in the card was against the promotion's usual low carder

Wataru Sakata is a Japanese people, Japanese retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 until 2016, Sakata fought for Fighting Network RINGS, Pride FC, Deep (mixed martial arts), Deep a ...

, who nonetheless had a 20Ibs advantage. Gracie defeated him quickly, taking him down from a kick and submitting him by armbar. After advancing round to meet former kickboxer and UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith, Gracie achieved the same result, taking him down before submitting him with a

-style yoko-sankaku-jime/ ude-gatame combination. The Brazilian reached the quarterfinals, where he encountered another Rings shoot wrestler,

Kiyoshi Tamura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Once a student of legendary professional wrestlers Billy Robinson, Lou Thesz and Akira Maeda, Tamura was known for his skills in catch wrestling and is considered to be on ...

. Gracie started the fight with takedowns and guillotine choke attempts, but Tamura took over with defense and positional control, ending the first round inflicting

on Renzo. At the second, the wrestler started passing Gracie's guard and capturing his back, to the extent of locking a facedown

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

and searching for a

. Although Gracie managed to escape without being submitted, the unanimous decision was given to Tamura, thus eliminating the Brazilian.

Return to Pride

Gracie returned to Pride to fight

Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, submission wrestling, submission wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH, Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Championship, G ...

, who had been nicknamed "The Gracie Hunter" for his victories against Renzo's relatives Royler and Royce. During the first round, they fought evenly, mainly exchanging strikes and takedown attempts. At the second, the Japanese wrestler took Gracie down, but he was unable to pass his guard despite his many techniques and tricks. The match finally came to its peak when Renzo executed a De la Riva reversal and captured Sakuraba's back against the corner. At that moment, the Japanese got hold of Gracie's arm and spun around with a

Kimura lock An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock tha ...

, dislocating his arm before hitting the mat and prompting the referee to stop the fight. Uncharacteristically for the Gracie side during their rivalry with Sakuraba, Renzo took the mic after the match and declared Sakuraba was the better man. Similarly, years later Gracie called Sakuraba "his hero" and remembered their match as "one of the biggest lessons he learned in his life". Gracie next fought American wrestler

Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American former mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...

at Pride 13, now under new rules that allowed knees and kicks to the head of a downed opponent.

Stephen Quadros Stephen "The Fight Professor" Quadros (born November 9, 1952, in Santa Cruz, California, United States) is an American broadcaster, specializing in play-by-play and color commentary, as well as interviews for the combat sports genre on cable, pay ...

, ''Silva Stops Sakuraba, Telligman Upsets Vovchanchyn'',

Black Belt magazine ''Black Belt'' is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports. The magazine is based in Hollywood, California, and is one of the oldest titles dedicated to martial arts in the United States. History and profile The magazine was ...

, July 2001 The resultant match was short, as Henderson used his wrestling superiority to keep the fight on their feet and land punches and knees as per the new ruleset. After one minute, Gracie tried a takedown, but Henderson landed two heavy punches and knocked him out. The American became the first fighter ever to knock out a Gracie. Renzo bounced back with a victory over professional wrestler Michiyoshi Ohara, who resorted to clinch defensively for most of the match. In 2002, Gracie fought against

Shungo Oyama Shungo Oyama ( 峻護 ''Ōyama Shungo'' ; born April 11, 1974) is a Japanese former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 to 2014, he competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Pancrase, RINGS, DREAM, K-1, ...

in Pride 21. Oyama taunted Renzo incessantly through the match and imitated Sakuraba's offensive moves, getting some measure of success with it. Renzo became so irritated that he spat on Oyama at the end of the second round. At the third, Gracie looked to re-take the bout, but they just could exchange takedowns and strikes before the match went to the judges, with Oyama winning a unanimous decision. Gracie was unhappy with this, and stated to believe he had lost the decision only because he spat on Oyama. His last match for Pride would be in October 2003 against eclectic grappler Carlos Newton. Gracie took him down and captured his back, only for Newton to reverse positions. The two fighters exchanged multiple sweeps and submission attempts in a short time, with Renzo almost locking a kneebar, but Newton ultimately escaped and ended the round hitting

from side mount. At the second, Renzo received a slamming takedown and a hip throw, so he opted to grab a guillotine choke and pull guard, seeking the finish, yet Newton freed himself and ended the match again with punches from half guard. Newton was given the split decision win, which Gracie disputed.

IFL and EliteXC

Gracie debuted for International Fight League in September 2006, submitting

Pat Miletich Patrick Jay Miletich (; born March 9, 1968) is a retired Americans, American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC W ...

in three minutes with a guillotine choke. He would then rematch Carlos Newton in December. The match was noted to resemble oddly their first encounter, as they struggled for position in the first round with Gracie threatening a submission and Newton ending it in side mount. The situation reversed at the second, as Gracie flipped Newton over to side mount, only for Newton to menace him with an ankle lock. At the third and final round, Newton worked to keep the fight standing and made Gracie bleed with some glaring strikes, but the fight ended without a result, and after deliberation, the judges gave it to Gracie. This outcome was immediately met with controversy, with Gracie himself declaring he felt Newton was the winner. On February 10, 2007, Gracie won a match by disqualification against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Frank Shamrock Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) ...

for upstart MMA promotion

EliteXC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States–based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decem ...

on its debut night Saturday February 10, 2007, on Showtime. Gracie was able to take Frank down and keep the fight on the ground, until Shamrock was disqualified by referee Herb Dean for landing illegal knee strikes to the back of Gracie's head. Shamrock had already been given one warning earlier in the match for illegal strikes to the back of Gracie's head. After the match, Gracie had to be helped out of the ring and back to his dressing room by his team allegedly due to receiving a concussion from the strikes.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Returning from a three-year hiatus, Gracie signed a six-fight contract with the UFC in December 2009 and faced former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes on April 10, 2010, at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Although Gracie fared reasonably well against the American, he began to take more and more leg kicks, and by the end of the second round, the fight began to look more and more to Hughes's favor. The third round saw Hughes score with a series of uppercuts and hooks that hurt Gracie. Hughes finished Gracie with a series of punches. Gracie lost to Hughes by TKO at 4:40 of round 3, becoming the second Gracie to fall victim to Matt Hughes, the other was his famous cousin Royce Gracie at UFC 60.

ONE Championship

On June 7, 2018, ONE Championship's president Chatri Sityodtong announced that Renzo Gracie had been enticed from retirement and was scheduled to face

Yuki Kondo is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. He has officially 112 professional fights, making him one of the most experienced mixed martial artists ever. He has also competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Sengo ...

at One Championship Reign of Kings on July 27, marking Gracie's first fight since his loss to Matt Hughes in 2010. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round.

Other ventures

Renzo formerly coached a team, the New York Pitbulls, for the International Fight League. Gracie is the head instructor at the Renzo Gracie Academy in midtown Manhattan. Many well-known BJJ and MMA fighters have been trained by Renzo, including BJJ black belts Rodrigo Gracie, former UFC Welterweight Champion

, former UFC Welterweight Champion

, BJJ World Champion Rafael "Gordinho" Correa, Paul Creighton, Alan Teo, David Branch (fighter), Rafael Natal, former Middleweight King of Pancrase

, Sean Alvarez and former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman. Gracie has co-written two instructional books on jiu-jitsu; "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique" with his cousin

Royler Gracie Royler Gracie (born December 6, 1965) is a Brazilian-American retired mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Gracie ran the Gracie Humaitá school in Rio de Janeiro for many years under his father Helio's d ...

, and "Mastering Jujitsu" with training partner John Danaher. He has also been the personal jiu-jitsu teacher of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, since 1993.

Submission grappling career

On November 22, 2014, Renzo fought

in a grappling match in Metamoris V. The fight ended in a draw.

Documentary

Gracie is the subject of a 2008 documentary, Renzo Gracie: Legacy.

Personal life

Gracie is a resident of

Holmdel Township, New Jersey Holmdel is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located near Raritan Bay in the Raritan Valley Region, the township is a regional commercial hub of Central Jersey, home to Bell Labs and PNC Bank Arts Center, and a ...

. He and his wife Cristina have three children. He has eleven brothers and sisters, including Charles Gracie, Flavia Gracie (

Kyra Gracie Kyra Gracie Guimarães (born 29 May 1985) is a Brazilian submission grappler and a 4th degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner. A member of the Gracie family and a highly decorated competitor, she is a four-time World Jiu-Ji ...

's mother), Carla Gracie ( Neiman Gracie's mother), Ralph Gracie and the late Ryan Gracie. In early 2022, Renzo released his biography, written by Brazilian former Special Culture Secretary and theatre director Roberto Alvim.

Ambassador of International Tourism

A supporter of President Bolsonaro of Brazil, Gracie became in August 2019 Ambassador of International Tourism for Embratur, a branch of the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism. In September 2019, in his new ambassador role, and after President Macron of France called the wildfires an "international crisis," Gracie threatened in a video to choke the French President, calling him a clown and insulting his wife. Gracie declared the Amazon rainforest wildfires to be "false fires".

Public image

In May 2014, Gracie was arrested at 1OAK in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

after being charged with gang assault after sending a

night club A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

bouncer to the hospital. Gracie maintained that he took down the bouncer and

mounted Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

him, but did not punch him. Gracie's cousin, Igor was arrested together with 5 other people in the incident. In 2017 Gracie took part in a BJJ seminar in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

at a gym owned by dictator

Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician and current head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the ...

, Gracie appeared during that time on local TV to promote Kadyrov's government. In September 2022, footage emerged of Gracie being involved in an altercation with a stranger in the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

. Gracie alleged that the man had approached him making racist remarks.

Instructor lineage

Mitsuyo Maeda naturalized as Otávio Maeda (),Virgílio, p. 9 was a Japanese people, Japanese-born judo, ''judōka'' and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions. He was known as Count Combat or ''Conde Koma'' in Spanish and Portuguese, a nickname he pi ...

→ Carlos Gracie Sr. →

→

Rolls Gracie Rolls Gracie (; 1951–1982) was a Brazilian martial artist. He was a prominent member of the Gracie family known for their founding of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and considered by some the family's best ever fighter. He was teacher of Rickson Gracie, ...

→ Carlos Gracie Jr. → Renzo Gracie

Championships and accomplishments

Submission grappling

* ADCC Submission Fighting World champion (1998 and 2000)

Brazilian jiu-jitsu

*Copa Atlântico Sul Champion (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994)

Mixed martial arts

*World Combat Championships **World Combat Championships 1 tournament winner

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE: Reign of Kings , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:40 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–6–1 (1) ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , IFL: Gracie vs. Miletich , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:37 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–5–1 (1) , Carlos Newton , Decision (split) ,

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 ...

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Pride 17 The year 2001 was the 5th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2001 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 13 - Collision Course''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters T ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3–1 (1) ,

, KO (punch) , Pride 13 - Collision Course , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2–1 (1) ,

, Technical Submission (kimura) , Pride 10 - Return of the Warriors , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 9:43 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1–1 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Rings: King of Kings 1999 Final , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0–1 (1) , Maurice Smith , Submission (straight armbar) , rowspan=2, Rings: King of Kings 1999 Block B , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 , rowspan=2,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0–1 (1) ,

, Submission (armbar) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:25 , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0–1 (1) , Alexander Otsuka , Decision (unanimous) , Pride 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 10:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0–1 (1) , Sanae Kikuta , Submission (guillotine choke) , Pride 2 , , align=center, 6 , align=center, 0:43 ,

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 , , - , Draw , align=center, 5–0–1 (1) ,

, Draw (time limit) , Pride 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 10:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , NC , align=center, 5–0 (1) , Eugenio Tadeu , No contest (fans rioted) , Pentagon Combat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 14:45 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 ,

Oleg Taktarov Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov (; born 26 August 1967) is a Russian actor and retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He was a practitioner of Sambo (martial art), Sambo and Judo and competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride ...

, KO (upkick) , Martial Arts Reality Superfighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , James Warring , Submission (choke) , rowspan=3, WCC 1: First Strike , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:47 , rowspan=3,

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Phil Benedict , TKO (submission to strikes) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:08 , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 ,

, Submission (choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:38 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Luiz Augusto Alvareda , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Desafio: Gracie Vale Tudo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:03 ,

, Brazil ,

Grappling record

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:80%; text-align:left;" , - , colspan=8 style="text-align:center;" , 19 Matches, 11 Wins (3 Submissions), 7 Losses, 1 Draw , - ! Result ! Rec. ! Opponent ! Method ! text-center, Event ! Division ! Date ! Location , - , Draw, , , ,

, , Draw , , Metamoris V, , Superfight, , November 22, 2014 , ,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, CA , - , Loss, , 11–7, , Mario Sperry , , Points , , ADCC 2011, , Superfight, , September 25, 2011 , ,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, - , Loss, , 11–6, , Mike Fowler , , Points , , ADCC 2007 , , –77 kg, , May 4, 2007 , , Trenton, NJ , - , Loss, , 11–5, , Pablo Popovitch , , Points , , ADCC 2005 , , –77 kg, , 2005, ,

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, CA , - , Loss, , 11–4, , Marcelo García , , Points , , rowspan=2, ADCC 2003 , , rowspan=2, –77 kg, , rowspan=2, May 17, 2003, , rowspan=2,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, - , Win, , 11–3, , George Sotiropoulos , , Points , - , Loss, , 10–3, , Cris Brown , , Advantage , , ADCC 2001 , , –88 kg, , 2001 , ,

, - , Win, , 10–2, , Jean Jacques Machado , , Advantage , , rowspan=4, ADCC 2000 , , rowspan=4, –77 kg, , rowspan=4, 2000, , rowspan=4,

, - , Win, , 9–2, , Marcio Feitosa , , Submission (guillotine choke) , - , Win, , 8–2, , Israel Albuquerque , , Points , - , Win, , 7–2, , Dennis Hallman , , Points , - , Loss, , 6–2, , Egan Inoue , , Points , , rowspan=2, ADCC 1999 , , rowspan=2, –99 kg, , rowspan=2, 1999, , rowspan=2,

, - , Win, , 6–1, , Fan Yi , , Submission (verbal) , - , Win, , 5–1, , Luis Brito , , Submission (guillotine choke) , , rowspan=4, ADCC 1998 , , rowspan=4, –77 kg, , rowspan=4, 1998, , rowspan=4,

, - , Win, , 4–1, , Fabiano Iha , , Points , - , Win, , 3–1, , Rodrigo Medeiros , , Points , - , Win, , 2–1, , Frank Trigg , , Decision , - , Loss, , 1–1, , Wallid Ismail , , decision , , Desafio WxR, , Superfight, , 1993, ,

, - , Win, , 1–0, , Ricardo de la Riva , , Advantage , , Campeonato Brasileiro, , Superfight, , 1993, ,

, -

Notes

References

External links

*
Interview: Renzo Gracie and the Art of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

The official website of the documentary
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gracie, Renzo Brazilian male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male judoka Brazilian people of Scottish descent Mixed martial arts trainers Brazilian jiu-jitsu trainers 1967 births Living people Sportspeople from Holmdel Township, New Jersey Brazilian emigrants to the United States Renzo People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Rio de Janeiro (city) Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters ADCC Hall of Fame inductees Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners who have competed in MMA (men) People awarded a coral belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu ONE Championship mixed martial artists 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen