- Joined
- Nov 25, 2017
- Messages
- 4,889
- Reaction score
- 0
He condemns point fighting and says he has no interest in watching fights based on a point-system.
Following the spirit of MMA, and the words of a pioneer, we can safely state that fighters that seek the finish are the best. Point fighting is condemnable and a corruption of the arts.
Interview with the winner of the three first editions of the UFC. Relevant parts:
"One of the greatest names of modern fighting, does not see himself as a stereotypical fighter. The 51 year old spends 7 months each year travelling the world teaching BJJ, always emphasising: this is a martial art, the goal is the finish. For this reason, he doesn't even follow the Jiu Jitsu championships.
1- About the early championships. "I was always napping before fights. Royler had to wake me up". "For me it was normal. My father, my uncles, I grew up in an environment where everybody engaged in bare fist combat. The adversaries were shocked that they would fight with their bare hands, but for me it was the usual: let's fight with no gloves, nothing, no problem".
2 - (Interviewer) "How was your decision to abandon UFC5 and quit MMA?". (Royce) "They started to introduce rules: gloves, time. My father used to tell them ' I'll give you the weight, but you have to give us the time'. I was giving them the weight advantage, but they took the time away from, which made it difficult for me....I'm giving you guys the weight advantage, I fight with 78 to 80Kg and they weigh 100, 120 even 150Kg and make the fight very short: it became a disadvantage for me. I can give you the weight, but you have to give me the time".
3 - (interviewer) "We have now large world events, see now a professionalisation of Jiu Jitsu, weight classes, great talent, the way Jiu Jitsu is presented to the public. How do you see this change in the style of Jiu Jitsu?". (Royce) "I am against the athletic Jiu Jitsu, designed to score points. Martial arts were not designed to score points. Martial arts were created to defend yourself in a real combat: forget which is best or worst, the goal is to defend yourself in a real fight, not to score points. So, I am against championships, points..." (interviewer) "You claim you are ok with the UFC's format, that's a closed form, but for Jiu Jitsu you are opposed to these this format?" (Royce) " NO! Because there (in Jiu Jitsu) they are learning to fight. They are learning how to defend themselves in a real fight. Championship, rules, points: Tae Kwon Do for example, (slaps the interviewer's shoulder) I scored a point - now I'm olympic champion in TKD, it's nonsense. TKD was not created for that, it was created to kicks the opponent's head off, punch a hole in the opponent's chest. Forget which is the better or worse (martial art), TKD was created for that, but if you do it, you are too violent, you can't do it, you have to simply score a point. Jiu Jitsu was not created for scoring points, it was created for personal defence in a real fight. UFC has a time limit, they created the weight classes, but they are not learning to fight, it's just a test of martial arts."
4 - (interviewer) "What about great names like Bochecha and Leandro Lo, who are in great organisations. How do you see these fighters, and who do you admire?" (Royce) "They are good Jiu Jitsu fighters. But how can I climb up in degrees, how can I be a black belt in Karate if I don't know the self-defence system? If I don't know the katas in Karate? If tomorrow, I join a Karate dojo, knock everyone out, does that make me a Karate black belt? No, because I don't know the katas...it's different. So, if tomorrow, the Jiu Jitsu champion who won all championships, subs everybody, does he really know the system? Does he know how to get out of a necktie, can he defend himself in a real fight? That's a different picture. We are teaching a martial art."
5 - (interviewer) "Do you like watching any of these guys?" (Royce) "No. If it's a Vale Tudo fight, I watch it, if it's a championship, no. I don't even know".
