FIGHTERS
The legendary practitioners who built, refined, and redefined Brazilian Jiu Jitsu across the last century.
HELIO GRACIE
“O Mestre”
Helio Gracie is the historical face of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the figure most responsible for the art's global spread, though the precise nature of his contribution is one of the most contested quest…
MARCELO GARCIA
“Marcelinho”
Marcelo Garcia is widely regarded as the greatest pound-for-pound BJJ competitor of all time and the most influential figure in modern no-gi grappling. A middleweight at 76 kilograms, Garcia won the A…
GORDON RYAN
“The King”
Gordon Ryan is the most dominant no-gi competitor in the history of submission grappling. Born in New Jersey in 1995, Ryan rose to prominence as a member of John Danaher's original Renzo Gracie traini…
MITSUYO MAEDA
“Conde Koma”
Mitsuyo Maeda is the technical ancestor of every Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner alive today. Born in Aomori Prefecture in 1878, he entered Jigoro Kano's Kodokan school of judo as a young man and qui…
CARLOS GRACIE SR.
“O Patriarca”
Carlos Gracie Sr. is the eldest of the Gracie brothers and the figure most directly responsible for transmitting Mitsuyo Maeda's Kodokan judo into the Brazilian context that would eventually become Br…
ROYCE GRACIE
“The Lion”
Royce Gracie is the practitioner most responsible for the global spread of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As the youngest Gracie brother sent to represent the family at UFC 1 in November 1993, the lean, 178-pou…
RICKSON GRACIE
“The Black Belt of Black Belts”
Rickson Gracie is the most mythologized fighter in the history of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The third son of Helio Gracie, born in 1958, he became the family's primary representative for high-stakes challe…
ROGER GRACIE
“The Greatest of All Time”
Roger Gracie is generally considered the most decorated competitive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner of all time. The grandson of Carlos Gracie Sr. and son of Mauricio Motta Gomes (a black belt under …