Royce Gracie, Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and actor
Royce Gracie (Portuguese: [ˈʁɔjsi ˈɡɾejsi]; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family, he is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA). He also competed at PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1's MMA events and at Bellator.
Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Between 1993 and 1994, he was the tournament winner of UFC 1, UFC 2 and UFC 4, which at the time was an openweight single-elimination tournament with minimal rules. He was also known for his rivalry with Ken Shamrock, whom he beat in UFC 1 and then fought to a draw in the Superfight Championship rematch at UFC 5. Royce would later compete in PRIDE Fighting Championships, where he is most remembered for his 90-minute bout against Kazushi Sakuraba in 2000, and a controversial "Judo vs Jiu-Jitsu" mixed rules match against olympic gold-medalist in Judo Hidehiko Yoshida at Pride Shockwave in 2002.Royce Gracie popularized Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (also known as Brazilian jiu-jitsu) and revolutionized mixed martial arts with his results contributing to the movement towards grappling and ground fighting in the sport. In 2008, Gracie was ranked by Inside MMA as the third-greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time.