Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA

How did Jiu-Jitsu become popular in Brazil?

Gracie Challenge

The challenges were the way the Gracie Family found to prove the superiority of their martial art. Other fights, such as boxing and capoeira, had more practitioners in the country and, to attract students, teachers created advertisements in the newspapers with proposals for fights.

^{(Helio Gracie applying a shoulder submission)}

The emergence of the Gracie Challenge is seen as the beginning of MMA, in which athletes from different martial arts face each other in the rings and octagons. Carlos was the first to represent the family in the challenges, but it was Hélio Gracie who was most responsible for the popularity of Jiu-Jitsu.

In 1932, at just 19 years old, Hélio competed in his first MMA fight, against boxer Antônio Portugal, and won in 40 seconds. However, it was in November of that year that Jiu-Jitsu appeared in the newspapers and the legend of the Gracie Family was born. The confrontation was against wrestler Fred Ebert, from the United States.

What is the relationship between Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the UFC?

The challenges of the Gracie Family turned its members into celebrities in Brazil. The next step was to conquer the world. It was with this objective that Rorion, Hélio's eldest son, embarked for the United States in 1978. The way of presenting the sport was the same: marketing and challenges.

After creating the first gym in North America and establishing himself there, Rorion participated in the creation of the first edition of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), alongside Art Davie. The idea was to field eight athletes of different styles in a tournament held on the same night.

The clan's representative was Royce Gracie, who was slighter than Rickson (his brother and the family's greatest representative at the time). His participation would be proof that, with Jiu-Jitsu, the weakest could beat the strongest, which is what happened. In November 1993, he won three fights and became the first UFC champion.

^{(Royce Gracie controlling Ken Shamrock on UFC 1)}

Undefeated in 12 fights and with three titles, Royce Gracie was the first MMA legend and opened the doors for other well-known figures. In 2001, UFC was sold and is currently one of the most relevant sports companies in the world — and due to the influence of Jiu-Jitsu.