Royce remembers his history in TATAME

Photo FEG courtesy

While walking to the octagon, in 1993, everybody was wondering how that slim guy with kimono would face opponents much bigger than him. In just four minutes and 49 seconds, Royce Gracie answered to all questions in a fantastic way, submitting three opponents and showing the world the Jiu-Jitsu that revolutionized the Vale-Tudo and gave the initial step to the MMA. Fifteen years later, the black belt reminded his history in the paredão of July’s edition of the TATAME Magazine.

In an unforgettable conversation, the Gracie compared the old style of fighting with the current MMA, the importance of the challenges for the deployment of the Jiu-Jitsu in the Vale-Tudo, the best and worst moments of his career and recalled the biggest battles in the rings, as the fight against Akebono, three times heavier than him. "We knew that there wasn’t a way to I take him down or knock him out. He was a Sumô champion and weighed 220kg... There wasn’t a way to close a triangle, I was training with two tied guys to fight him... I had to bring him to the ground, then Daddy said: 'sit, my son, that he will stumble on you'", reveals the black belt. And the end of the story everyone knows: one more submission.

Run to the nearest newsstand and check the exclusive interview with Royce, analyzing the current Brazilian representatives in the MMA, electing Demian Maia as the big representative of gentle art in the rings, the intimacy and the trainings in the family, the death of his father, in beginning of the year, the professional Jiu-Jitsu, the recognizing of the importance of his family around the world and much more. Click here and know everything the TATAME #161 brings to you.