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It's odd that as a hardcore MMA fan of four years' standing, I have to ask how legit Rickson Gracie was in real combat (as opposed to pure BJJ). Sure, he was the original star of Pride, and could have competed in the UFC, but, beside Funaki, did he ever fight anyone who was legit? Not that I can see.
There's something of a consensus that he's the best BJJ practitioner of all time, but while that is probably true, it doesn't mean that he deserves the MMA reverence that he gets. People love his stories - the fight on the beach and behind closed doors - but his opponents were not significant combatants.
Obviously he showed the power of BJJ in twice besting the massive Zulu in NHB-type fights in Brazil, in 1980 and 1984. Fine.
So far as I can tell, his opponents at Vale Tudo Japan in '94 and '95 were not notable combatants.
In Pride, he twice fought a fucking pro wrestler, Takada - who had a terrible record of 2 wins and 6 losses (1 of those wins being a fight with Coleman that was probably fixed).
His final fight in 2000 was against another pro wrestler, Funaki, who easily had the strongest credentials of any opponent.
His opponent in the beach fight, Hugo Duarte, didn't beat anyone of note in MMA, and lost to Tank Abbott and Mark Kerr.
His other infamous fight, the unseen scuffle with Yoji Anjo, saw him beat up another pro wrestler - shock - who retired with an MMA record of 0 wins and 5 losses.
With the exception of Funaki, Rickson never fought ANYONE who was legit. His Joe Rogan podcast saw him talking endlessly about streetfights in Brazil (kinda sounds a bit thuggish, but whatever) against people who nobody has ever heard of!
So, basically, as a legit fighter, as opposed to BJJ expert, is it safe to say that the Rickson Gracie myth is nothing but another carefully-managed Gracie informercial?
Rickson's record of 400-0 was called bullshit by his own father. He appears to count rolling in the gym as part of his 400-0 resume. And yet, in his entire life, he was never tapped by anyone? Not even when he was learning? That's ridiculous and implausible. It indicates that Rickson only counts episodes where he came out on top, and conveniently ignores those where he didn't (for instance he has a documented loss in sambo, but simply ignores it). Using Rickon's methodology (ignore where things tanked), we would ALL have a perfect 400-0 record at something or another. Why jeopardise your reputation by fighting Bas Rutten, Frank Shamrock etc. and be defeated publicly in a way that you can't deny?
As an aside, in the JRE podcast Rickson mentioned the many BJJ titles that he won in tournaments. I've never seen those listed anywhere, but I'm obviously looking in the wrong place. Could someone point me towards his BJJ titles/resume?
As you can perhaps tell, something about the Rickson myth rubs me the wrong way.
There's something of a consensus that he's the best BJJ practitioner of all time, but while that is probably true, it doesn't mean that he deserves the MMA reverence that he gets. People love his stories - the fight on the beach and behind closed doors - but his opponents were not significant combatants.
Obviously he showed the power of BJJ in twice besting the massive Zulu in NHB-type fights in Brazil, in 1980 and 1984. Fine.
So far as I can tell, his opponents at Vale Tudo Japan in '94 and '95 were not notable combatants.
In Pride, he twice fought a fucking pro wrestler, Takada - who had a terrible record of 2 wins and 6 losses (1 of those wins being a fight with Coleman that was probably fixed).
His final fight in 2000 was against another pro wrestler, Funaki, who easily had the strongest credentials of any opponent.
His opponent in the beach fight, Hugo Duarte, didn't beat anyone of note in MMA, and lost to Tank Abbott and Mark Kerr.
His other infamous fight, the unseen scuffle with Yoji Anjo, saw him beat up another pro wrestler - shock - who retired with an MMA record of 0 wins and 5 losses.
With the exception of Funaki, Rickson never fought ANYONE who was legit. His Joe Rogan podcast saw him talking endlessly about streetfights in Brazil (kinda sounds a bit thuggish, but whatever) against people who nobody has ever heard of!
So, basically, as a legit fighter, as opposed to BJJ expert, is it safe to say that the Rickson Gracie myth is nothing but another carefully-managed Gracie informercial?
Rickson's record of 400-0 was called bullshit by his own father. He appears to count rolling in the gym as part of his 400-0 resume. And yet, in his entire life, he was never tapped by anyone? Not even when he was learning? That's ridiculous and implausible. It indicates that Rickson only counts episodes where he came out on top, and conveniently ignores those where he didn't (for instance he has a documented loss in sambo, but simply ignores it). Using Rickon's methodology (ignore where things tanked), we would ALL have a perfect 400-0 record at something or another. Why jeopardise your reputation by fighting Bas Rutten, Frank Shamrock etc. and be defeated publicly in a way that you can't deny?
As an aside, in the JRE podcast Rickson mentioned the many BJJ titles that he won in tournaments. I've never seen those listed anywhere, but I'm obviously looking in the wrong place. Could someone point me towards his BJJ titles/resume?
As you can perhaps tell, something about the Rickson myth rubs me the wrong way.
