Top 25 Gracie martial artists of all time

Royce Gracie, of the legendary Gracie family, is one of the most prolific and influential MMA fighters in history. He became an 'underdog' hero while changing the landscape of combat sports and revolutionizing martial arts forever. After winning the first UFC Tournament(s) (UFC1, UFC2, UFC4), he proved that with the knowledge of his father's fighting style (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) a "David" could beat a "Goliath". Royce is the only fighter in history to defeat four opponents in the same night; unlike today, these tournaments had no weight divisions, no time limits and no real rules. In Brazil they were called "Vale Todo" in America it became 'no-holds-barred' and was quickly ruled illegal throughout most of the U.S. In 2003, Royce was the first fighter inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. His record of 'victories via submissions' remain untouched. Today he's considered an icon, a pioneer, and "The Godfather" of a sport that will be celebrating it's 20th anniversary, November 12th 2013.

Rickson Gracie is considered one of the greatest Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters in history. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he comes from the legendary fighting Gracie family. Along with brothers Royce, Royler, and Rorion Gracie, and his father Hélio, Rickson Gracie has won countless tournaments and championships. A master at submissions, Rickson has defeated such fighters as Japanese jiu-jitsu champion Yoshinori Nishi, kick boxing champion Bud Smith, Pankration champion Masakatsu Funaki, and Japanese wrestling champion Nobuhiko Takada. In 1980, Rickson became a legend by defeating famed vale tudo fighter Rei Zulu, who had an alleged record of 140-0. Rickson is said to have a record of 410 wins and no defeats. However, this record is not without controversy. Gracie is reported to have been defeated in the early 1990s in Oklahoma City losing to Dr. Ron Tripp in a Sambo tournament. In addition, critics often cite the fact he has failed to face any recent champions or truly credible opponents. Regardless, Rickson Gracie will always be ranked among the great jiu-jitsu practitioners. He just may be the greatest jiu-jitsu fighter in history, only time will tell.

Renzo Gracie is known for Once Upon a Time in Brazil, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) and Warrior Island the Movie.

Helio Gracie was born to Gastao Gracie and Cesalina Gracie in Belem do Para, Brazil in . The family had eight children, with five boys and three girls. Helio was the youngest boy, and distinctive for being slim and tall, while the rest were shorter and muscular. As a child, Helio was frail, and forbidden from participating in sports because he would get dizzy from running or going up some stairs. After completing the second grade he convinced his mother to stop sending him to school, attributing it to his condition. When the Gracie family met with a precarious financial situation, they moved from Belem do Para to Rio de Janiero.Helio's oldest brother, Carlos Gracie, opened a Jujutsu academy in Rio de Janeiro in 1925. Carlos was taught Jujutsu, a martial art of Japanese origin, by Mitsuyo Maeda. A Japanese immigrant, Maeda gained a job with the help of Gracie's father, Gastao, in 1914. Carlos would bring brothers Oswaldo, Gastao, Helio, and George to help him operate the school.

Under the guidance of a protective Carlos, who was a trained doctor, Helio's health improved from "The Gracie Diet". The diet consisted of vegetables, raw foods, and consumption of combinations of foods at a set time. Helio understood Jujutsu from observing Carlos instructing in the gym. Once, Carlos was late for an appointment with a student and Helio, aged 16, taught the student. When Carlos arrived, the student requested to work with Helio thereafter, and Carlos agreed. Carlos learned that Helio was secretly sparring in Jujutsu and was adept at it, later becoming his main student. Due to his slim build and weaker disposition, Helio modified Carlos' Jujutsu techniques to make them easier to use, and that was the start of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a ground-based art which emphasized technique over power, with a philosophy of enabling its practitioner, despite size, to overcome larger opponents. BJJ was later called Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to prevent confusion with Japanese Jiu-Jitsu.

To spread the knowledge of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and prove its efficacy, Carlos Gracie and Hello Gracie would make challenges to opponents in other fight forms, creating the Gracie Challenge. There is a legend that Carlos and Hello once came home to find a robber. They challenged the robber to fight or go to jail. Supposedly the robber, after choosing to fight, shouted for jail after being beaten. Helio once got in trouble for attacking a well-known detractor, Manoel Rufino dos Santos. The man accused the Gracies of winning fights that were fixed. Helio broke his ribs and arms, resulting in a two-and-a-half year jail sentence being imposed. Brazil's President Getulio Vargas, whom liked Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, pardoned him. In his first purported ring bout in 1932, Gracie quickly defeated boxer Antonio Portugal by arm-bar. To refute an article about the supremacy of boxing, Gracie challenged boxers Ezzard Charles, Primo Carnera, and he offered another boxer, Joe Louis, $16,000 to fight him. Gracie also proposed fighting five boxers in the same night. He fought American wrestler Fred Ebert and Wladek Zbyszko which ended in draws.

With the family's growing reputation, one group in particular challenged the Gracies by wanting Japanese fighter Masahiko Kimura to come to Brazil. Helio was eager to fight Kimura, but Kimura was hesitant because he weighed much more and felt the older and smaller man was not on his level. Helio would have to fight two of Kimura's protégés first. An injured Helio fought Kado to a draw. In the rematch, Helio choked Kado unconscious within six minutes. Kimura's other student, Yamaguchi, declined to fight, so Kimura accepted Gracie's challenge. At "The World Championship of Jiu-jitsu" on October 23, 1951, they fought for thirteen minutes at Brazil's Maracana Stadium. A worried Carlos Gracie had agreed to allow Helio to fight Kimura after making him promise to give up the bout if his health was at risk.Kimura snapped Helio's arm and he refused to submit. Carlos threw in a towel and Kimura won. Helio would later say that he was briefly unconscious when Kimura had applied a choke earlier.On May 24, 1957, Hello fought a former student named Waldemar Santana. They fought for three hours and forty minutes at the Brazilian headquarters of YMCA. The fight ended when Santana slammed Gracie to the ground and knocked him out with kicks to his head. Helio Gracie continued studying and practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for rest of his life. Rorion Gracie credits him for producing the popular TV show "Vale Tudo on TV". Per 'Relson Gracie,' Helio also produced "Herois do Ringue" ("Heroes of the Ring"). In 1967, Gracie helped established the Federation of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil, which organized jiu-jitsu competitions. Gracie left the organization out a feeling that the Jiu-Jitsu taught focused on sports instead of real life self-defense scenarios. During UFC 1: The Beginning (1993), Helio Gracie was honored as the first Ultimate Fighter. He had nine children: Rorion Gracie, Relson Gracie, Rickson Gracie, Rolker Gracie, Royler Gracie, Royce Gracie, Rherika Gracie, Robin Gracie, and Ricci Gracie.

Carlos Gracie was born on 14 September 1902 in Belém, Pará, Brazil. He died on 7 October 1994 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rorion Gracie is the oldest son of Helio Gracie. Helio, and his oldest sibling, Carlos Gracie, had helped spread the family's reputation in their native Brazil with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), a ground-based martial art they successfully modified from Japanese jujutsu. Helio taught his children, and, with Carlos, the Gracie family members would challenge practitioners of other martial arts with "The Gracie Challenge", and often won. At age seventeen in December 1969, Rorion Gracie traveled to the United States for the first time on vacation, and for a year he toured New York, Los Angeles, and Hawaii. Gracie had kept cash and return trip airline tickets at a YMCA in Hollywood, California. When his money and airline tickets were stolen, he worked in a restaurant, and later at a construction site where he would often sleep. When he became destitute, he begged for money on the streets until he was able to return to Brazil in 1970. He spent five years studying law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and earned a degree.

In 1979, Rorion Gracie returned to the United States and settled in Torrance, California. He trademarked and started using the term "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu" to prevent confusion with that of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. Gracie brought his version of "The Gracie Challenge", which included a $100,000 prize to opponents who could beat him with their fighting style. Gracie met noted kick-boxer Benny Urquidez and demonstrated Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in practice sessions. Gracie challenged Urquidez to a fight, however it did not happen because the two could not settle on terms. While teaching out of his garage, Gracie did various jobs, including cleaning homes. While on a house cleaning job, he met a woman whose husband was a television and film producer. She recommended that Gracie become an actor. It was while working as a background actor on set of Lethal Weapon (1987) that he caught the attention of director Richard Donner, to whom he gave lessons. Donner had seen a video of Gracie fighting and defeating Ralph Alegria, a kick-boxer, and asked Gracie to choreograph fights scenes in the movie.

In 1989, Gracie created the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy in Torrance, California. He gave an interview published in Playboy magazine touting the Gracie Challenge. The article got the attention of Art Davie, a marketing professional. Davie was based in Los Angeles and employed by J &P Marketing, and sought new ideas on what to market. Davie met Rorion at the Gracie Academy in Torrance, California. They met again when Rorion invited Davie to watch Gracie Jiu-Jitsu being used on visiting karate opponents. Davie met film director and screenwriter John Milius, while witnessing Royler Gracie defeating karate opponents. Gracie and Davie became business partners, seeking a large media platform for Gracie Jiu Jitsu. They formed WOW Promotions on May 12, 1993, to seek investors. Davie received interest from Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) when he sent them fight videos of the Gracies. SEG programmer Campbell McLaren convinced his boss SEG President Robert B. Meyrowitz to invest. There was early friction between Gracie and Meyrowitz. Gracie was a purist in wanting the bouts to emulate real street fights as much as possible without rules or time limits. Meyrowitz, a veteran producer of radio and television content, was conscious of timing and presentation. On November 12, 1993, UFC 1: The Beginning (1993) was held and aired live on Pay-Per-View. Rorion's brother, Royce Gracie, competed in the tournament and defeated Art Jimmerson, Ken Shamrock and Gerard Gordeau to become UFC's first ever tournament champion. Royce's victory also validated the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu against traditional martial arts. Royce would become tournament winner of UFC 2: No Way Out (1994) and UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors (1994). Seeking to capitalize on Royce Gracie's dominance and popularity, Robert B. Meyrowitz arranged a meeting for him to act in movies and merchandise be made based on him. Meyrowitz wanted a financial share in any such ventures, which Rorion opposed. This further heightened tension between Meyrowitz and Rorion. Rorion later sold his stake in UFC, and Royce stopped competing in the promotion. Rorion continued his family's legacy of teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu through the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy.

Royler Gracie was born on 6 December 1965 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is an actor, known for World Record Pizza (2006), Choke (1999) and Faixa Coral (2017). He is married to Verinha. They have four children.

Carlos Gracie Jr. was born on 16 January 1956 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Ryan Gracie was born on 14 August 1974 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was married to Elaine Caparroz. He died on 15 December 2007 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Cesar Gracie is known for No Pain, No Gain (2004), Countdown to UFC (2011) and Fight Life (2014).

Kyra Gracie was born on 29 May 1985 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has been married to Malvino Salvador since October 2019. They have three children.

Carlos Robson Gracie was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is the second son of Carlos Gracie and a member of the legendary Gracie family from Brazil, who founded the martial art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is one of the highest ranking practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu holding the rank of 9th degree red belt (the equivalent of a 9th degree black belt in other styles) in the world. He is also the father of famed jiu-jitsu fighters Charles Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Ralph Gracie, and the late Ryan Gracie. He is also the grandfather of jiu-jitsu and submission wrestling world champion Kyra Gracie Guimaraes. He is the founder and president of the Rio de Janeiro Jiu-Jitsu Federation.