Tag: doormen

Renzo Gracie Nightclub Brawl Was Either a Simple Misunderstanding or a Coordinated Storm of Vengeful Fury


(Damn. How much better would this story be if Renzo’s crew were all wearing IFL Pitbulls jerseys at the time?)

While official details on Renzo Gracie‘s Sunday night arrest are still scarce, both sides of the altercation are starting to talk about what happened outside of 1-OAK nightclub in New York City, which ended with a doorman getting his ass kicked. Here’s what Gracie himself told MMAFighting.com via text message on Tuesday afternoon, after the MMA pioneer was booked for misdemeanor assault with intent to cause injury, then released on $10,000 bail:

“Everything is a misunderstanding. We always had a great relationship with that amazing club and all their employees. Soon everything will be clear.”

Alright, fine. Maybe this is just one of those things that happens late at night when you mix alcohol and testosterone. Maybe Renzo and Igor Gracie showed up to the club and the bouncer was wearing a “LUTA LIVRE IS THE STRONGEST” t-shirt, and one thing led to another. A comment was taken the wrong way. The bouncer failed to recognize who these Gracies were, bro. Maybe.

However, the bouncer himself — 35-year-old Craig Molesphini — has a very different story, and it suggests that the attack was premeditated. Here’s what Molesphini told the New York Post:


(Damn. How much better would this story be if Renzo’s crew were all wearing IFL Pitbulls jerseys at the time?)

While official details on Renzo Gracie‘s Sunday night arrest are still scarce, both sides of the altercation are starting to talk about what happened outside of 1-OAK nightclub in New York City, which ended with a doorman getting his ass kicked. Here’s what Gracie himself told MMAFighting.com via text message on Tuesday afternoon, after the MMA pioneer was booked for misdemeanor assault with intent to cause injury, then released on $10,000 bail:

“Everything is a misunderstanding. We always had a great relationship with that amazing club and all their employees. Soon everything will be clear.”

Alright, fine. Maybe this is just one of those things that happens late at night when you mix alcohol and testosterone. Maybe Renzo and Igor Gracie showed up to the club and the bouncer was wearing a “LUTA LIVRE IS THE STRONGEST” t-shirt, and one thing led to another. A comment was taken the wrong way. The bouncer failed to recognize who these Gracies were, bro. Maybe.

However, the bouncer himself — 35-year-old Craig Molesphini — has a very different story, and it suggests that the attack was premeditated. Here’s what Molesphini told the New York Post:

“In my entire 14-year career, I have never seen anything like this. At 1:30 a.m. a gray van pulled up, parked in the middle of the street, seven men exited the vehicle and started creating mayhem, screaming, pointing, starting to pick fights with the security guards. One man, [who] I later learned was Renzo, came in my direction, threw the velvet rope on the floor, ran straight into my chest and knocked me back onto the concrete floor onto my elbow. He was on top of me for 20 seconds, trying to punch me, but I wrapped both my arms around his neck so he couldn’t hit me, before somebody pulled him off.”

He added of the brawl, “All of the seven men were fighting, doing MMA moves on the guards, some of whom were injured. When the police arrived, they tried to get away, but the cops parked in front of their van, which was waiting with a driver.”

He said the attack was “retribution for me not allowing two of their masters into the venue last week. This was a carefully planned and coordinated attack. The police arrested all seven of them.”

Molesphini reportedly suffered a fractured elbow and shoulder. His lawyer Salvatore Strazzullo said they were cooperating with the district attorney, and could also file a civil assault claim.

Misunderstanding or not, this could turn into a very expensive mistake for Renzo. We’ll keep you posted…

Renzo Gracie and Igor Gracie Arrested Following Alleged Beating of Nightclub Doorman in New York

(This video doesn’t show any of the actual brawl, but it does feature a dude calling Renzo a “f*ckin’ legend” over and over again. / Props: Sherdog)

The last time Renzo Gracie beat the hell out of somebody in New York, we all had a good laugh about it. But his latest public altercation sent him to jail on Sunday night — and might tarnish his good-guy reputation.

As reported earlier today by Sherdog and the New York Post, Renzo and his cousin Igor Gracie were arrested in Manhattan last night following a brawl outside of the nightclub 1-OAK:

Sherdog.com was able to obtain a video following the alleged altercation from an anonymous witness who recorded the scene on a camera phone. According to the witness, Gracie arrived at the club in a group of approximately seven men and immediately went to the front of the line.

Gracie then became involved in a confrontation with what the witness described as the doorman. Things escalated from there, as Gracie’s group allegedly squared off with a group of 1-Oak bouncers. According to the witness, Gracie at one point had the doorman in full mount, while another one of his group hit a different bouncer with a construction cone.

The fracas spilled into the street, with more punches being thrown. Eventually the police arrived and arrested everyone in Gracie’s party, while an ambulance came for the bouncer who had been mounted by Gracie, according to the witness. It was unclear as to why Gracie and his group were originally upset.

The New York Post‘s report adds a couple more details, delivered with a very anti-Gracie slant:


(This video doesn’t show any of the actual brawl, but it does feature a dude calling Renzo a “f*ckin’ legend” over and over again. / Props: Sherdog)

The last time Renzo Gracie beat the hell out of somebody in New York, we all had a good laugh about it. But his latest public altercation sent him to jail on Sunday night — and might tarnish his good-guy reputation.

As reported earlier today by Sherdog and the New York Post, Renzo and his cousin Igor Gracie were arrested in Manhattan last night following a brawl outside of the nightclub 1-OAK:

Sherdog.com was able to obtain a video following the alleged altercation from an anonymous witness who recorded the scene on a camera phone. According to the witness, Gracie arrived at the club in a group of approximately seven men and immediately went to the front of the line.

Gracie then became involved in a confrontation with what the witness described as the doorman. Things escalated from there, as Gracie’s group allegedly squared off with a group of 1-Oak bouncers. According to the witness, Gracie at one point had the doorman in full mount, while another one of his group hit a different bouncer with a construction cone.

The fracas spilled into the street, with more punches being thrown. Eventually the police arrived and arrested everyone in Gracie’s party, while an ambulance came for the bouncer who had been mounted by Gracie, according to the witness. It was unclear as to why Gracie and his group were originally upset.

The New York Post‘s report adds a couple more details, delivered with a very anti-Gracie slant:

Two top mixed-martial-arts fighters — part of the famed Gracie clan — were busted for helping to beat a bouncer to a pulp outside a Manhattan celeb hangout early Monday, law-enforcement sources told The Post.

Renzo Gracie and his cousin Igor were arrested along with five other people for the 1:30 a.m. beat-down of the worker outside 1 OAK in the Meatpacking District, sources said.

The victim suffered a fractured right arm along with bruises and cuts, sources said.

The hulking cousins — whose Brazilian family started the sports-promoting business Ultimate Fighting Championship — were charged with gang assault, as were the other suspects. The charge for Renzo and Igor Gracie is in the second degree…

“People who train this kind of stuff have no business getting into street fights — it’s completely unfair,’’ said a disgusted law-enforcement source. “These guys really should have known better”…

The thugs were busted in front of the trendy West 17th Street club, where celebs such as Jay-Z, Beyonce, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz hang out.

Renzo just wanted to party with Leo DiCaprio, bro, and now a major NYC newspaper is referring to him as a “hulking thug.” Not good. We’ll update you when we know more…