Kron Gracie is one of the most talented grapplers today, and he is planning a move to MMA.
Son of the legendary and undefeated veteran Rickson Gracie, the 25-year-old jiu-jitsu black belt has won world titles as a purple and brown belt, and his days in jiu-jitsu competition might be over.
“I believe I’ll make my MMA debut next year, that’s my next step,” Gracie told Tatame Magazine. “I would move away from jiu-jitsu competitions for a while to focus on that. It’s a truer fight, there’s no guard… It’s you and another man going to war. It’s truer than jiu-jitsu.”
Kron Gracie started his career as a grappler. He got everybody’s attention not only for being Rickson Gracie’s son, but also for his 51-fight win streak in jiu-jitsu as a purple and brown belt, submitting every single opponent. Add to that resume a submission victory over MMA veteran Shinya Aoki at Metamoris 2, and you have an instant prospect coming to the cage.
His father stepped away from MMA in 2000 with a perfect record of 11 wins in 11 fights, and Kron Gracie wants to do even better than him.
“I want to be way better than my father was,” said the fighter, who competes in jiu-jitsu at the 180-pound limit division. “There’s no other option for me. I will be better than him or I won’t even try. If I see him as a parameter, I see him as someone to surpass. If there were some other people, the best in the world, I would train to be better than him.
“I always think of Pride and want to be recognized for maintaining this line of my family. I won’t fight with strategy or (to win by) points. I’m curious, I think it would be nice.”
Kron Gracie’s desire to make a transition to MMA grew even more after training with Jake Shields, Gilbert Melendez and the Diaz brothers in California, where he currently lives.
“It was awesome train with them,” he said. “I’m going there all the time to train. The experience of training with the veterans gives me more confidence to get inside a ring and show my best.”