Royler Gracie (born December 6, 1965) is a Brazilian-American retired mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Gracie ran the Gracie Humaitá school in Rio de Janeiro for many years under his father Helio's direction, and lives and teaches in San Diego, California. Considered a legend of jiu jitsu and submission wrestling, Gracie is a member of both the IBJJF Hall of Fame,[11] and the ADCC Hall of Fame.[12]

Royler Gracie
Royler Ruairi Gracie
Born (1965-12-06) December 6, 1965 (age 58)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
ResidenceSan Diego, California
NationalityBrazilian & American
Height5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m)
Weight160 lb (73 kg; 11 st)
DivisionFeatherweight
Lightweight
TeamGracie Humaitá
Victory MMA
Rank8th deg. BJJ coral belt
(under Rorion Gracie)[1]
Mixed martial arts record
Total11
Wins5
By submission4
By decision1
Losses5
By knockout2
By submission1
By decision2
Draws1
Other information
Notable studentsSaulo Ribeiro, Leonardo Xavier, Leticia Ribeiro, Cleber Luciano
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Royler Gracie
Medal record
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/Grappling
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
Gold medal – first place 1999 Featherweight (black)[2]
Gold medal – first place 1998 Featherweight (black)[3]
Gold medal – first place 1997 Featherweight (black)[4]
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Absolute (black)[4]
Gold medal – first place 1996 Featherweight (black)[5]
ADCC World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2001 −65 kg[6]
Gold medal – first place 2000 −65 kg[7]
Gold medal – first place 1999 −65 kg[8]
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 1999 Featherweight (black)[9]
Gold medal – first place 1997 Featherweight (black)[10]

Biography

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As son to the late Grandmaster, Helio Gracie and brother of Rickson and Royce Gracie, Royler is a member of the Gracie family. He holds an 8th degree red/black belt in the style pioneered by his family, Brazilian jiu-jitsu.[13]

Prior to his retirement, Royler competed in the black-belt ranks for 20+ years. Royler is also a four-time World Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Pena/Featherweight Black Belt Category and has placed in the Absolute Division.

Royler has a professional mixed martial arts record of five wins, five losses and one draw. His retirement fight came on September 14, 2011 at the age of 45 when he lost to Masakatsu Ueda via split decision.[14]

In 2003, Royler Gracie faced Eddie Bravo in the quarterfinals of the ADCC tournament in the under 66 kg/145 lbs bracket. Royler was 38 years old at the time, but still regarded as one of the favorites to win the division. Bravo did exceptionally well against Royler, submitting him by way of triangle as the Gracie tried one of his trademarked knee sliding guard passes. Royler had a highly anticipated rematch against Eddie Bravo on March 29, 2014 at Metamoris III in a submission-only competition format. Despite a tight calf slicer submission attempt and multiple groin stretch attempts by Eddie the match concluded as a draw after the 20 minutes ran out due to the no points rule.[15][16]

Media appearances

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In a season 3 episode of the Wildboyz, Steve-O and Chris Pontius visit Brazil and attend the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu school in Rio de Janeiro. Royler takes on Chris Pontius and chokes him out, while female student Leticia Ribeiro defeats Steve-O via armbar submission.[17]

Published works

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Gracie has co-written three instructional books on Brazilian jiu-jitsu:

  • Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Practice[18] with his cousin Renzo Gracie
  • Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Submission Grappling Techniques[19] with author Kid Peligro
  • Gracie Submission Essentials: Grandmaster and Master Secrets of Finishing a Fight[20] with his late father Helio Gracie and Kid Peligro

Personal life

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Royler is married to Vera Lucia Ribeiro. They have four daughters.

On September 23, 2015 Royler became a citizen of the United States of America.[21]

Instructor lineage

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Kano JigoroTomita TsunejiroMitsuyo "Count Koma" MaedaCarlos GracieHelio Gracie → Royler Gracie → Eduardo Benoliel

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
11 matches 5 wins 5 losses
By knockout 0 2
By submission 4 1
By decision 1 2
Draws 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 5–5–1 Masakatsu Ueda Decision (split) Amazon Forest Combat 1 September 14, 2011 3 5:00 Manaus, Brazil
Loss 5–4–1 Hideo Tokoro Decision (unanimous) K-1 Premium 2006 Dynamite!! December 31, 2006 2 5:00 Osaka, Japan
Loss 5–3–1 Norifumi Yamamoto KO (punch) Hero's 3 September 7, 2005 2 0:38 Tokyo, Japan Hero's 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix quarter-final.
Win 5–2–1 Koji Yoshida Decision (majority) Hero's 2 July 6, 2005 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 4–2–1 Kazuyuki Miyata Submission (triangle choke) Rumble on the Rock November 20, 2004 2 2:46 Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Loss 3–2–1 Genki Sudo KO (punches) K-1 MMA ROMANEX May 22, 2004 1 3:40 Saitama, Japan
Draw 3–1–1 Takehiro Murahama Draw (time limit) Deep – 1st Impact January 8, 2001 2 10:00 Nagoya, Japan
Loss 3–1 Kazushi Sakuraba Technical Submission (kimura) Pride 8 November 21, 1999 2 13:16 Tokyo, Japan Royler demanded special rules: No stand ups, no judges[22]
Win 3–0 Yuhi Sano Submission (armbar) Pride 2 March 15, 1998 1 33:14 Yokohama, Japan
Win 2–0 Noboru Asahi Submission (rear-naked choke) Vale Tudo Japan 1996 July 7, 1996 1 5:07 Urayasu, Japan Royler demanded special rules: No strikes on ground
Win 1–0 Ivan Lee Submission (rear-naked choke) Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 2 June 24, 1996 1 1:33 Brazil

References

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  1. ^ "Royler Gracie Promoted To 8th Degree BJJ Coral Belt by His Brother, Rorion Gracie". Bjj Eastern Europe. May 4, 2022.
  2. ^ "CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL 1999". Official IFBJJ results. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  3. ^ "CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL 1998". Official IFBJJ results. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL 1997". Official IFBJJ results. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  5. ^ "CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL 1996". Official CBJJ results. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  6. ^ "ADCC Results". Official 2001 ADCC results. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  7. ^ "ADCC Results". Official 2000 ADCC results. Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  8. ^ "ADCC Results". Official 1999 ADCC results. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  9. ^ "CAMPEONATO PANAMERICANO 1999". Official CBJJ results. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  10. ^ "CAMPEONATO PANAMERICANO 1997". Official CBJJ results. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  11. ^ gracielegacy. "Royler Gracie inducted into inaugural IBJJF Hall of Fame!".
  12. ^ "Royler Gracie Becomes Latest Inductee to ADCC Hall of Fame". December 28, 2021.
  13. ^ Academia Gracie de Jiu-Jitsu Archived October 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. URL accessed on June 8, 2009.
  14. ^ Pinheiro, Guilherme (September 14, 2011). "Ueda Retires Gracie, Ishii Robbed Against Filho at Amazon FC". Sherdog.com. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  15. ^ "Metamoris 3: Bravo vs. Gracie Results". mmanuts.com. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  16. ^ Holland, Jesse (March 29, 2014). "Draw! Metamoris 3 results recap from last night (March 29) for 'Bravo vs. Gracie 2' in Los Angeles". MMAmania.com. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  17. ^ dickhouse productions. "dickhouse". Jackassworld.com. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  18. ^ Gracie, Royler; Gracie, Renzo (2001). Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique. Invisible Cities Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-1-931229-08-1.
  19. ^ Gracie, Royler; Peligro, Kid (2003). Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Submission Grappling Techniques. Invisible Cities Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-1-931229-29-6.
  20. ^ Gracie, Royler; Gracie, Helio (2007). Gracie Submission Essentials: Grandmaster and Master Secrets of Finishing a Fight. Invisible Cities Press. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-931229-45-6.
  21. ^ "Instagram". Archived from the original on December 24, 2021.
  22. ^ Royler gracie vs kazushi sakuraba. December 23, 2012 – via YouTube.[dead YouTube link]
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