Many Brazilian jiu-jitsu figures, like Ricardo Arona, Demian Maia, Paulo Filho, and others, rank Rickson Gracie as the best BJJ practitioner of all time. He is also the son of Grand Master Helio Gracie, co-founder of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Rickson has won almost every major tournament in the sport's history. He is the only person to win the gold medal in both heavyweight (absolute) and lightweight (no gi) divisions.
As for his career, it lasted from 1974 until 2002. During this time he won almost all of the important tournaments available. In 1994, he was even awarded the title of the first ever UFC champion when he defeated Royce Gracie to become the first double world champion when he successfully defended his belt against Royler Gracie at the IBJJF World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
However, many believe that he was beaten by his brother, Georges, during the latter part of their match. If this is true then Rickson Gracie is still the absolute winner with no opponent able to come close to him.
In addition to being a successful fighter, Rickson has gone on to have a very successful business career after leaving the cage behind. Today, he is one of the most famous athletes in Brazil and is considered one of the top 10 sportspeople in the country.
He was widely regarded as the finest fighter in the Gracie clan and one of the hardest in the world in the 1980s and 1990s.
| Rickson Gracie | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 21, 1958 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Other names | The Last Samurai |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Gracie was born to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu instructor Rickson Gracie in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As a kid, he began his training with his father. His father awarded him his black belt in 2008, when he was 19 years old. Rickson Gracie's youngest kid, Gracie, is the late Helio Gracie's grandson. Kauan and Kaulin are his two elder sisters.
Kron is Rickson's second oldest son. He has three brothers: Rayder, Roger, and Ryron. All of them are professional wrestlers; they are part of the WWE (Wrestling Entertainment Wrestling) family. They are known as The Gracie Brothers.
As far as we know, there is only one woman who has been married to more than one Gracie brother at the same time. Her name is Cris "Cyborg" Santos and she has been married to Ryron Gracie. They have a daughter named Destiny who was born in 2001. She also has a sister named Kyla who was born in 2003.
In addition to being wrestlers, all five Gracies are BJJ practitioners. They all came from a family that taught BJJ as a form of self-defense and it has become their career too.
Brasília is the city where all the Gracie brothers live together. Each one of them has his own gym where he teaches BJJ.
Kron Gracie (born July 11, 1988) is a Brazilian-American grappler and mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family; Rickson is his father, and Helio is his grandpa. He is presently signed to the UFC and has previously competed for the Rizin Fighting Federation. He was widely regarded as the finest fighter in the Gracie clan and one of the hardest in the world in the 1980s and 1990s.
His first fight after turning pro was against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 147: Gracie vs. Ortiz. The match went the full three rounds without a finish, with Kron winning by unanimous decision. This was followed by another win over former teammate Leandro Guida at UFC on Fox 7: Franklin vs. Henderson. In 2015, he fought former champion Renzo Gracie at Fight Night Brasilia and lost via submission in the second round.
Since then, he has won two fights in a row against highly ranked opponents, including a split decision victory over former heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC on FOX 19: Johnson vs. McCall. Most recently, he defeated former champion Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN+ 13: Gustafsson vs. Silva II. He is currently scheduled to face Alistair Overeem in a middleweight bout on March 3, 2019, at UFC 242.
In addition to his career as a fighter, Kron also owns and operates a successful wrestling school in New York City called Gracie Academy.
Rickson Gracie's youngest kid, Gracie, is Helio Gracie's grandson.
In addition to his family business, Rickson also has a football team called Centro Basket in Brazil. The name "Centro Basket" is also the name of a basketball court where they practice. In 2007, Rickson brought over some of his students from America to play on this court in order for them to learn more about basketball. The game lasted for three hours straight without a break!
After learning about this sport, many of Rickson's students wanted to try it out for themselves. So he created a new team called Gracies do Brasil which means "Gracie from Brazil" in Portuguese. They started playing in local tournaments and were very successful at first. In 2009, an American named Royce Gracie heard about this team and decided to send them to Japan to fight in a tournament called Desafio! D'Ação where eight fighters from different teams will battle it out in a round-robin format with only the winner advancing to the final. The team was led by Rickson himself who chose Kana as their captain.
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