Renzo Gracie isn’t happy with Royce Gracie’s words about the new generation of the family.
The UFC Hall of Famer criticized younger members of the clan for their recent losses in MMA, but Renzo doesn’t think Royce is in a position where he can criticize others.
Renzo, who teaches the likes of Gregor, Rolles and Neiman Gracie in his gym in New York, said Royce should start helping the family to have the right to say anything bad about them.
“In order to make a negative comment about the Gracie family, you have to help the Gracie family,” Renzo told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s The MMA Hour. “You have to actually be producing new champions, putting your time to build new champions. I don’t remember Royce doing that.”
Renzo doesn’t condemn Royce for choosing not to teach the younger generation of the family, but believes Royce should do it in order to know their true potential.
“Each man chooses their path,” he said. “How can I judge someone if I don’t walk on their shoes? It’s their comfort zones. Unfortunately, I cannot just sit and watch. Don’t judge others with harsh word on situations that you didn’t try to improve them. This is the portrait of life. People will claim that we forgot who we are, that we forgot jiu-jitsu. … We didn’t forget s–t, man. We are 100% what we are. We live, eat and breathe what we do.
“Come train them, and then you’re going to be able to evaluate the reality. Sometimes people move away from reality and start dreaming, and they start living in the dreamland, judging others by their dreams or believing what people tell them.”
Ultimately Renzo doesn’t know why Royce, the first UFC champion, choses not to teach the younger Gracies.
“I don’t need to ask (him), he probably asks himself that every day,” he said. “Why am I going to ask him that? A man knows what he should think. We were born with that privilege. If you’re comfortable laying your head in the pillow thinking that what you’re doing is the right thing you do it, but don’t judge the others. Don’t come pointing fingers. I can talk bad about people because when they need me I’m there… I know how hard they work.”
Renzo wasn’t the most technical member of the Gracie family, but was brave enough to fight whoever they put in front of him in a Vale Tudo ring. The new generation, born with that popular last name, didn’t need to fight for a better life, and Renzo blames that for their recent losses in MMA.
“You give them a life of a superstar,” he said. “They get what they want. They can do what they want. It’s different. When I started fighting I didn’t have shorts to use. I had to conquer. It’s a different level of commitment back there.”