As the UFC closes in on its 30th-anniversary event inside Madison Square Garden, the promotion’s first-ever champion, Royce Gracie, is sharing his pick for the greatest fighter in combat sports history.
Whether you’re relatively new to the sport of MMA or have been a die-hard fan since 1993, you likely know the name Royce Gracie. The submission grappling superstar introduced fight fans to ‘The Gentle Art’ of Brazilian jiu-jitsu by putting his skills on display and dispatching three larger opponents to win the inaugural UFC tournament. Gracie went on to win the UFC 2 and UFC 4 tournaments the following year.
Royce Gracie is a pioneer of combat sports and is considered by many to be one of the greatest competitors of all time.
Since Royce Gracie’s time at the top, a slew of other world-class martial artists have come and gone in MMA. Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, Khabib Nurmagodmedov, and Conor McGregor are all often heralded as the greatest fighter(s) of all time.
Royce Gracies Dubs His Father as The Greatest
However, the 56-year-old Gracie looked past every one of them when making his pick for the best of the best. Instead, he named his father, Helio Gracie, as his surprising…
