(Video courtesy of YouTube/Submissions101.com)
A long-awaited rematch of the 2003 Abu Dhabi Combat Club tournament bout between Eddie Bravo, 40, and Royler Gracie, 45, has been confirmed for September 25. The match will be contested at a 165-pound catchweight under ADCC tournament rules.
The first time the pair met in São Paulo, Brazil, Bravo, who was then a brown belt under Jean-Jacques Machado at the time, shocked everyone, (including Gracie) by locking in a triangle and eliciting a tapout from the decorated black belt. The win earned Bravo, who has not competed since the tournament, the respect of the BJJ community as well as his black belt from Machado. He would go on to start his own style of no-gi jiu-jitsu known as the 10th Planet system, which is centered around the Rubber Guard.
News of the match-up, which was first reported by ADCC on its Facebook page, was confirmed by Bravo via Twitter and his Nibiru forums.
“Yes it’s true, it’s on like don Juan.I am so stoked that you guys are as pumped as I am.Thank you all very much 4 all the love and support!” he tweeted yesterday.
Royler spoke of the rematch with GracieMag International today, calling the 2003 loss to Bravo a fluke.
“Even though he beat me, every now and again I catch word that Eddie Bravo wants to go again. Perhaps Bravo wants a sequel to prove it was no fluke,” he said. “So I’ll let him have a rematch. Lightning never strikes twice in the same place, nor kills the same horse.”
The event will also feature another superfight between Renzo Gracie and Ze Mario Sperry.