legendaryjonblue

Hi,
I'm sorry if this is a ridiculous statement but I'm very new to following UFC. From the fights I've watched on Youtube it seems that the UFC has changed its format since originally starting i.e the introduction of rounds etc.. to stop very long periods of floor wrestling. This then encourages more kickboxing.
From what I have seen it seems that Royce Gracie was dominant early on, but as age caught and other fighters also learnt more ji jitsu, he lost his dominance. Is this due to age or fighting ability? Would a young Gracie have beaten Matt Hughes and George st. Pierre etc.. Also the introduction of rounds seems to have been a negative factor for the Gracies but made the sport more entertaining.
Once again, apologies if my ignorance is unbearable but the sport is fascinating and I'd like to know more.
Oh and Sabakura also looks very good in Pride!!

Nimmy

in my opinon royce grace brought a different approach to fighting in the early days, before the days of royce fighters worked on punches as opposed to armbars etc.. when you were on your back there was nothin u could do but hold on... then came gracie.

although i think that age is a factor i dont think royce really was as good as everyone made him out to be, sure he is the godfather of the sport but as coutures game developed with age royces became stale and predictale, as he got older and stayed at the same level, fighters like GSP, Hughes and any of todays modern fighters have develped their games to incorporate an all round fighting style.

in truth i doubt if royce at a younger age could defeat the most average of UFC fighters today, Sanchez, Hughes and GSP all took something from Royce and the gracie tradition whereas the gracies never took anything from anyone else.

marnold

What is true is that at a time, Royce was the best until people learned from his style. Comparing eras is not fair wheras evolution abounds. IMO at a time, Royce was the best.

Crashsti

Royce was the best when he was an unknown in the early UFC's. its easy to be the best when everyone was ignorant when it came to technical ground fighting and submissions. he is most certainly not the best now and he cannot be regarded as the best ever. i am in no way trying disrespect what Royce has brought to the sport but he was long ago eclipsed by a new generation of fighter. however Royce has ensured a place in MMA history.

MTKrav911

With all due respect to the Gracies, they introduced their art (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) to fight fans as a self defense system of fighting to give the average sized to smaller person options when fighting much larger opponents.

The first UFC's were comprised (with a few exceptions such as Severn and Shamrock and Royce) of average men. These men were not professional athletes. Many were average Karate school dojo owners and traditional martial arts guys...Not professional athletes.

The UFC today, professional athletes abound. Whether they be high school and collegiate wrestlers and some olympic wrestlers, to professional boxers and kickboxers who learn just enough ground game to survive takedown attempts enough to get the strikes in!

Royce in other words was a master of a traditional brazilian jiu jitsu martial art, but if you were to pit him against a professional athlete of the UFC caliber fighter there is today? He'd get smoked!

But BJJ vs. the average man? The average man has no chance.

Frank Mir said it best in Muscle and Fitness in the summer of 2003:

"If the average man took even one month of basic brazilian jiu jitsu, he'd have a significant advantage on the street vs just about anybody!" - Frank Mir

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"I may not break your spirit, but I sure as hell can break your back! Last Stop MeatbalL!" - Thunderlips (Rocky III)

Harms

Well said.

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subgenius

I hear from a lot of people that Rickson Gracie was better than Royce Gracie. I wonder if we will see a Rickson Gracie match in the near future. He is unbeaten, but has not fought since 2000. SUpposedly he is unbeaten in like 100 or 200 BJJ matches.

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BJ Penn stole my SHOE!!!

Nimmy

he is 48, many have speculated that he and sakuraba will fight but its not going to happen

Ryduce

Rickson was always the best Gracie.They purposefully selected Royce to compete in the first couple of UFCs because it would make Gracie Jiu-Jitsu look even better if a small scrawny guy lacking any physical attributes was beating all these huge ripped muscled out fighters.UFC 1 was really just a 2 hour long commercial for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

If you watched the old interviews with Helio he makes fun of Royce,saying that he gets tapped by everyone in Brazil.He has never even won a tournament.Royce was never really a great grappler,he just fought guys who were clueless on the ground.Nowadays Jiu-Jitsu isn't this unknown art that it was in 1993 and everyone competing has had several years of crosstraining.Take an average fighter like Drew Fickett and throw him in UFC 1,he'll destroy everyone.

Royce himself said it best;"Back then it was a style against a style,but now it's a fighter against a fighter."

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May all the glory of Brock be with you.

Profane

the thing some people dont seem to understand is Royce is still the average man. he's never been a great athlete and he can still compete agianst some of the best in the world. even if you dont think he can win he still gives a better effort than the 'average man'. so no i dont think he's the best but he's in a different class then everyone else.

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ATT Orlando

StratTone

Well said. Hughes and MANY others wouldn't be who they are in there prime with out Gracie.

LocoSouthernBoy

IMO You can't compare Royce to todays fighters because the UFC has different rules and the fighters are now crosstrained in many disciplines. I think that Royce was the greatest at that time and he has the belts to prove it.

I think that trying to compare Royce Gracie of the early 90's to someone like Randy Couture today is like comparing apples and oranges.

I have great respect for the Gracie family. They will always be great in my book.