I think it’s safe to say the last part of this year has been a weak one for MMA’s big-name shows. So lately, I’ve turned most of my attention (and writing) to boxing and jiu-jitsu. Watching recent shows, it just kind of feels like we’re in a bit of a rut. Everyone’s going through the motions, but we’re missing a little passion.
I watched the Renzo Gracie: Legacy DVD again recently, looking for inspiration. (I gave it kind of an uncharitable review here. It’s actually better than I gave it credit for, but that’s for another time.) Maybe Dana White was watching too, because it looks like Renzo will be making his UFC debut in 2010.
Gracie’s return to the limelight kicked off with a spirited interview at FightWorks Podcast last Sunday, where he goes into some detail about his return to MMA, but mostly, and more interestingly, uses his time to respond to an earlier interview from FWP with his uncle Relson.
You have to hear this.
Total-MMA readers will remember Saulo Ribeiro in the second of our two part interview last month, describing how so many different voices are trying to control jiu-jitsu, all to no avail. Ribeiro even recalled Hélio Gracie himself saying, “Son, no one control this s–t!” Here Renzo proves it’s just as true now as when Helio was fighting in the 1950’s; as he offers to pay his uncle Rorian’s Gracie Academy in Torrence an old fashioned “dojo storm” to prove the merits of his own instruction.
But there’s no point in trying to summarize — this speaks for itself. Renzo’s is easily the best (audio) interview I’ve heard in 2009… and it was worth the wait. I expect Renzo to bring the same passion to his UFC appearances. Maybe not a contender at his advanced age but with his spark back, I think it’ll be a ton of fun.
Don’t you think that him going back into the hot bed of talent that is the UFC 185ibs division is just going to damage the Gracie Legend further than when Royce came back in 2005 and got destroyed by Matt Hughes? He hasn’t beaten a fighter who stands a chance in the current UFC since before the turn of the century. (no, I don’t count his DQ win over Shamrock) Who’s he going to match up against in the 185 division. Maybe if fellow old man Frank Trigg returned to 185 we’d see a competitive fight, but if he couldn’t beat Carlos Newton clearly, then the likes of Wanderlei Silva (Coming of a Loss) Demian Maia (ditto) and Thales Leites are going to walk right through him. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy, but even in his prime his most notable scalps are relatively minor, he beat Oleg Taktarov way back when and Maurice Smith shortly afterwards. He’s been beaten, in his prime, by Kiyoshi Tamura, Shungo Oyama and Carlos Newton. I’m omitting his losses against the likes of Sakuraba and Henderson because they don’t prove the point nearly as well. His coming to the UFC and getting beaten up live on TV will only bring the casual fan to the conclusion that the Gracies’ aren’t that great after all, and I don’t think that’s what Renzo, or any of the Gracies, wants.
In summary: Renzo Gracie, lovely guy, great at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, average at Mixed Martial Arts.
Ha! Thanks for reading but I have to disagree: there’s nothing average about Renzo Gracie. The passion this man brings has been missed. With the UFC roster including other names from the old guard like Matt Hughes and Dennis Hallman, it should be easy to fit him in.
But as far as his record goes, I actually had him ahead for the Shamrock bout, although I’ll concede it was close. He beat Carlos Newton and Pat Militech before that — who both held UFC titles. Gracie also won the first round of his fight with BJ Penn before losing a competitive bout there.
We haven’t seen him for a few years, true. But hey… to hell with conventional wisdom, and to hell with marketing the Gracie name. Ken, listen to this man’s voice and tell me you’re not moved.
Give ‘em hell Renzo!!!
That Renzo seems unconcerned about what losing might do to the Gracie name should be considered another point in his favor, IMO.
Yes, he can speak. I’ve already said I like the guy. Miletech is past his prime also, so I don’t think that can be seen as a true refelection of the fight. He’ll cut some nice promos, for sure, and he’ll make some entertaining fights, but I can’t see what he’s got to gain - isn’t half the point he’s joining the UFC to make a point of how great Gracie Barra JJ is over Relson’s version? So if he gets slaughtered - especially by another sub specialist like Maia - then he’ll just look like a bit of an idiot.
And Hallman and Hughes fight Welterweight don’t they? I had Renzo down as a small Light Heavyweight or a Large Middleweight.
Though hardcore fans are happy to say that parts of the Gracie family is getting irritating (Rickson’s frequent gloating, the general tetchiness etc), these facts are not mainstream knowledge. For the casual MMA fan, ‘Gracie’ is synonomous with the brilliant fighters: Royce in his prime back in the 90s for example. To see it torn to shreds on a PPV may just hurt their perception of the sport: IE if this is how average the guys who won the early UFC were, then the whole orgsnisation must have been pretty rubbish… maybe it still is.
A couple of points:
1) GJJ was not made for 5 minute rounds.
2) After Royce, everyone realized they had to add some form of BJJ to their game to succeed.
Gracie’s are not superheroes, but they have proven that you cannot ignore BJJ. I’d love to see the UFC go old school tournament like it was originally intended. Even a once a year tourney would be good.
Here’s what I think… or actually, first here’s what I don’t think:
I don’t think Renzo is fighting to prove anything to Rorian & the Torrence guys. (Rener has offered a rebuttal by the way, also at FightWorks Podcast.)
I think Renzo Gracie wants to fight because he’s still a fighter, period. Since he’s really been the one carrying the flag, I think we all agree that he should be respected.
And… I think he’ll do better than some of you think
They’ll probably work out a catch weight for him and match him properly.
Finally, I think this is the best audio interview since Wallid Ismail waxed poetic about Ryan Gracie (RIP) and Luca Atalla in 2000 or so.
Dana’s said he wants Hughes and Renzo headlining at the UFC in Abu Dhabi next year.
Sounds great! It might actually be plausible too. I know there was a fairly big MMA show in Bahrain yesterday.
I’m thinking Sheik Tahnoon is still mad at Hughes for fixing that match at Abu Dhabi, so look for Renzo to have home field advantage there
He also trains members of the royal family in Jiu-jitsu. They’ll all be rooting for Renzo, methinks. The card if booked, I forget what the event name is.
Yeah, they say it’s on for 10 April 2010 in UAE, but we’ll see.
Here’s Rener Gracie’s response to Renzo at FWP. It’s also pretty interesting: http://thefightworkspodcast.com/2009/12/06/rener-gracie-academy/