Craig Kukuk-Renzo Gracie fallout

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junkyarddogg24

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Hey Guys,

does anyone know the real story behind the split in the early 90s? I know Renzo said Craig tried to get him deported but other than that does anyone know what went down? I like reading up on the BJJ history in the US in the early 90s but I can never seem to find anything in the search engines.


Thanks in advance.
 
Grappling forum would probably yield more answers...
 
Kukuk wanted Renzo deported WHAT?!?!
 
junkyarddogg24 said:
Hey Guys,

does anyone know the real story behind the split in the early 90s? I know Renzo said Craig tried to get him deported but other than that does anyone know what went down? I like reading up on the BJJ history in the US in the early 90s but I can never seem to find anything in the search engines.


Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...


I asked him this when I first met him back around 97. He said like you already claimed that it had to do with $$$ and that he was trying to get Renzo deported. There may have been more to it at the time that he couldn't talk about but that's what he told me.

I know you didn't ask this, so "sorry" but a funnier story he told me is when I asked what was up when he stomped down on Ben Spijkers neck and he told me that "that mutha fucker disrespected him" He said at the weigh ins that he was trying to be friendly and that spikers said that Renzo had nice eye's that they were like his wife's.
Later the night before the fight he had someone through out the night run by and hit Renzo's hotel door to wake him and that they kept trying to prank call his room phone.

Renzo is like a book full of crazy/cool stories.
 
I used to go there in the early/mid 90s when Matt and Nick were purple belts. Craig taught in the morning....Mito and Vinnice helped Renzo at night.

This is when the school was upstairs.....there was only one window in the place....I puked in that bathroom alot.....
 
Renzo's a legend, history will remember Craig as...NOTHING.
 
Last edited:
MMAdisciple24 said:
You have it all wrong, mate.
Renzo is a f*g and tried 69in' Craig. Somebody that knows Craig told one of my nieces dentists' in-laws. Crazy sounding but true, I don't know what happened from there but that's where shit got twisted.
Click to expand...

time to get banned my friend
 
junkyarddogg24 said:
Hey Guys,

does anyone know the real story behind the split in the early 90s? I know Renzo said Craig tried to get him deported but other than that does anyone know what went down? I like reading up on the BJJ history in the US in the early 90s but I can never seem to find anything in the search engines.


Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I would love to know myself because I trained with both of them in the mid 90's. When craig was teaching out of a kungfu studio before renzo came over as well as when renzo came to ny fulltime to teach in his new school. There was a lapse in my training so when I went back to doing BJJ craig was gone and Renzo was the only one teaching.
 
I feel a quality thread in the making.
Bump

I love reading BJJ/MMA "behind the scenes" stories.
 
junkyarddogg24 said:
Hey Guys,

does anyone know the real story behind the split in the early 90s? I know Renzo said Craig tried to get him deported but other than that does anyone know what went down? I like reading up on the BJJ history in the US in the early 90s but I can never seem to find anything in the search engines.


Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

If someone tried to have ME deported I don't think I would like them very much either.
 
I also never knew why they use to call matt serra the first american black belt under Renzo when Craig was the first american black belt that I knew of teaching bjj in nyc at the time. This was way before Matt serra was a black belt.
 
I trained with Craig for years and I know the real story. Here it is, Craig got his black belt in Brazil from Royler and Helio in 1991 after that he taught for Roryon in LA then moved to NYC. He had several academeys going and needed someone else to help him teach, he new Renzo from his time in Brazil so he asked him and he said yes. He set up Renzo with a House and a car. Craig was offered a fight in the extreme fightng championchip but turned it down because he needed back surgery, but told the promoter he new a guy that would be great and told him about Renzo and he said ok. Renzo won the tournement and 100,000.00. Then years later Renzo started telling guys in the locker room behind his Craig's back that he was going to be leaving Craig. When they split Craig gave Renzo a few accademeys even though his schools were up and running before He brought Renzo over from Brazil. Craig had Renzo on a work visa and if he wanted him out of the country he would have been. The turth is he did not care. He never tryed to get him deported. Renzo wanted to go on his own because he did not like alot of the money he was making to go to taxes. If you wanted to know the truth thats it. Renzo wanted to leave because of money... If you know Craig you know if there's one thing he is not not it's a liar. That's the truth.
 
nktkd2000 said:
I trained with Craig for years and I know the real story. Here it is, Craig got his black belt in Brazil from Royler and Helio in 1991 after that he taught for Roryon in LA then moved to NYC. He had several academeys going and needed someone else to help him teach, he new Renzo from his time in Brazil so he asked him and he said yes. He set up Renzo with a House and a car. Craig was offered a fight in the extreme fightng championchip but turned it down because he needed back surgery, but told the promoter he new a guy that would be great and told him about Renzo and he said ok. Renzo won the tournement and 100,000.00. Then years later Renzo started telling guys in the locker room behind his Craig's back that he was going to be leaving Craig. When they split Craig gave Renzo a few accademeys even though his schools were up and running before He brought Renzo over from Brazil. Craig had Renzo on a work visa and if he wanted him out of the country he would have been. The turth is he did not care. He never tryed to get him deported. Renzo wanted to go on his own because he did not like alot of the money he was making to go to taxes. If you wanted to know the truth thats it. Renzo wanted to leave because of money... If you know Craig you know if there's one thing he is not not it's a liar. That's the truth.
Click to expand...


It's hard to believe allot of this!! BUT, it doesn't mean that allot of it didn't happen.
I do believe money was at the source of it. I guess it just depends on who you ask Renzo or Craig. It seemed to be a bad split so both camps will spin it to make them look like the victim. I did completely forget that Craig did most of his training before he hooked up with Renzo. I also thought he was a brown and Renzo gave him his black. Either way I like what you put down, GOOD READ.
 
nktkd2000 said:
I trained with Craig for years and I know the real story. Here it is, Craig got his black belt in Brazil from Royler and Helio in 1991 after that he taught for Roryon in LA then moved to NYC. He had several academeys going and needed someone else to help him teach, he new Renzo from his time in Brazil so he asked him and he said yes. He set up Renzo with a House and a car. Craig was offered a fight in the extreme fightng championchip but turned it down because he needed back surgery, but told the promoter he new a guy that would be great and told him about Renzo and he said ok. Renzo won the tournement and 100,000.00. Then years later Renzo started telling guys in the locker room behind his Craig's back that he was going to be leaving Craig. When they split Craig gave Renzo a few accademeys even though his schools were up and running before He brought Renzo over from Brazil. Craig had Renzo on a work visa and if he wanted him out of the country he would have been. The turth is he did not care. He never tryed to get him deported. Renzo wanted to go on his own because he did not like alot of the money he was making to go to taxes. If you wanted to know the truth thats it. Renzo wanted to leave because of money... If you know Craig you know if there's one thing he is not not it's a liar. That's the truth.
Click to expand...

I believe this completely. I also would not be surprised AT ALL if Renzo is bisexual and/or a straight-up homo.
 
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