Rickson Gracie is not arguably the best submission artist and MMA fighter from the world-renowned Brazilian jiu-jitsu family.
As far as the Gracies are concerned, he was and still is (unless a “credible” kin or two digress and publicly claim otherwise).
Now, 11 years after putting Masakatsu Funaki to dreamland with a rear-naked choke, how does the legend assess his family’s fighting/ grappling art, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, in MMA today? Read the man’s thoughts from a recent interview with Marcelo Alonso at Sherdog.com:
Sherdog.com: Do you believe jiu-jitsu fighters are having trouble getting the fight on the ground in today’s MMA?
Gracie: I see it as a new race of fighter developing, something that’s been invented. There are no more style match-ups. Now, everyone knows everything. It’s about the strengths of the individual. The time of fights was shortened, the weights were equalized and technology was incorporated into training. There is no more romanticism in seeing a smaller guy fight a bigger guy for two hours. Thinking of that, I believe jiu-jitsu has lost the capacity to be put into practice in today’s MMA, because it’s an art you have to wait for the right moment with. Now, MMA is a sport for the better-prepared fighter, the guy who can absorb more punches and still win. There’s still an admiration for the art by those who practice it, but there’s a decline in how it’s working in MMA. My motivation is completely focused on the concept. That’s where I believe I can make a difference: in making the shy kid feel normal, in making the weak woman believe she’s strong. I want people to have a sense of self-defense and a concept of the invisible power. That’s where jiu-jitsu will achieve its eternity.
Well, in contemporary UFC, not only is there no more romanticism in long-playing and literal David-versus-Goliath spectacles of biblical proportions, but they are also no longer practiced, courtesy of the breakthrough inventions called weight class and time limit.
Read more on “6 Questions for Rickson Gracie” at Sherdog.com.
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