Kazushi Sakuraba - A Legendary Confrontation Against the Gracie Clan

He popularized Brazilian jiu-jitsu among martial arts as a member of the Hoyce Gracie clan when he won several UFC tournaments in the early 1990s, where he fought in different styles and countries. As a result, fighters around the world have become much more focused on studying the struggle in the parterre.
But today the protagonist will not be the legendary Hoyce Gracie or his brothers, but the Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba, who has an unusual connection with this clan. He was nicknamed "The Gracie Hunter" for defeating four members of the Gracie dynasty. He also fought the longest fight in Pride history with Hoyce Gracie, which lasted 1.5 hours
#mma

[@jarlaxle2421]

Sakuraba smoked cigarettes and played video games in the locker room before his matches. Hell of a fighter

[@bangelo8067]

😂😂😂

[@peposo7]

Relaxing before a fight.

[@danfors1333]

Haha, good warmup to smoke ciggs prior to a 90 minute fight. Maybe Hoyce knew about his habit and wanted to win by stamina or cigarette break submission.

[@peposo7]

...unless he was playing a Souls game. He would be xtra pumped entering that ring.

[@bmlgym383]

Yes you can imagine his level if he had a better life style

[@sniperwipers]

Word on the streets is Gracies' great grand children are still trying to legitimately beat the now 97 year old Sakuraba.

[@andrewvincent7299]

Yeah it's a joke, it took a juiced up Royce and young Ralek to defeat an older and beat up Sakuraba.

[@CarlosDavidbjj]

@@andrewvincent7299 just one question, a “juiced” Royce, what make you believe that Sakuraba didn’t took some juice back then in Japan? Don’t take me wrong Saku is a legend but back then everybody on Pride used to take some shit because wasn’t illegal!

[@DinosaurRyan21]

Haha

[@docwolfe77]

@@CarlosDavidbjj 😆 ok

[@jojack1234567890]

@@CarlosDavidbjj Then why did Royce only pop for roids? Are you calling conspiracy, if so then you need to prove said case.

[@user-ks3ol3lw3b]

Sakuraba never gets mentioned when the greats are discussed. No one wants to mess with the Gracie legend.

[@taylorrenee4880]

He lost 17 fights. The greats don’t lose 17 fights. And he’s called the “Gracie Hunter”, not “Gracie Legend”. Goofball. Casuals kill me

[@JoseMartinez-ll7vo]

Gracie fan right there lol. They all shutter when Sakuraba is mentioned

[@brysonz]

His record wasn’t remarkable but I think he is one of the greats. He figured out how to beat the jiu jitsu guys. He beat some legends in the sport. He also brought those kicks into the game that made his fights exciting.

[@Blainet14]

@@taylorrenee4880he figured out how to beat bjj masters 😂 he can be called “Great bjj hunter”

[@BedroomPianist]

Imagine destroying an entire martial art lmao insane fucking legend

[@prestonakin6618]

Loved watching Sakuraba destroy a "dynasty"

[@MitchClement-il6iq]

It's crazy he trained to use the gui against the gracies... his game when someone was on there back with low kicks are awesome.

[@niledunn4641]

Sakuraba is a legend, he exposed the gracies that you can't just rely on bjj alone you need to stand aswell. It applies to today aswell

[@silveriver9]

"Bruce Lee is the Father of MMA" - Dana White

[@johnathangreay987]

"If you put water in a cup it becomes the cup. If you put water in pot it becomes the pot. Be water my friend." -Bruce Lee

[@jims512]

Nile Dunn - That is obviously true for the sport of mma, especially today. The Gracies got into competition only to show the effectiveness of Gracie JJ, which they unquestionably succeeded in doing. Once more athletic and well-rounded fighters learned their art and once rules were altered to move mma away from a street fighting expedition and toward a sanctioned sport, then the Gracie dominance was over, but not before they accomplished what they originally set out to do. If it weren’t for the Gracies then perhaps martial arts would still look like a bad movie from the 70s rather than what we see today. More importantly, regular people interested in self defense would still be under the spell of impractical striking-only arts

[@bohemenper1636]

I have him as GOAT. Fought anyone. Even took fights with blown up knees later in career

[@waynemanoffaith34]

Exactly!

[@crismorgan6756]

I love Sakuraba's style. He was not a joker, he went right straight to the point. Those low kicks were brutal. He was also very smart, he knew exactly how to defeat jujitsu fighters. 👏👏👏

[@generalkayoss7347]

He very much was a Joker in the ring, his antics were hilarious. But more importantly, they were effective.

[@kickinwinghotboi883]

One reason why I love Catch Wrestling. I know it wasn't the only reason he was so dominant with the Gracie's, but I know for a fact that it played a big part in nullifying any BJJ attacks they tried to throw at him. Catch is very similar to BJJ when comparing pins/submissions but as we know, Catch is more geared towards causing the most pain and discomfort possible, it's also much more dominant than BJJ. Totally not related at all, I guess it could be since I was comparing BJJ to Catch Wrestling, but, I would also pick Greco-Roman Wrestling as a fair and worthy opponent for Judo. While it doesn't obviously beat Judo as easily as Catch vs BJJ, Judo and Greco-Roman share some throws and other techniques. Actually, it would probably take a combo of Greco-Roman and Freestyle Wrestling to successfully and comfortably challenge Judo by itself. Attacking the legs would be crucial and pure Greco-Roman would be useless in that department, which is where the Freestyle Wrestling would come into play, although even with mixing the best parts of Greco-Roman and Freestyle, I still think Judo would give them some trouble

[@CarlosDavidbjj]

He did train jiujitsu as well bro!

[@scott7684]

damned right cac beats that systems ass too

[@scott7684]

sakuraba in old age an still whoop Ryans ass

[@DonSwain]

"but fights always go to the ground!" :) Sakuraba is a beast! He looked like he was playing with them at various points during the fights. Demolished their legs. His opponents needed to change their techniques in order to even stand a chance and at least in one case needed to take steroids. Not to mention he wasn't in the same physical conditioning as his opponents. Supposedly was a chain smoker and even smoked before his matches. Good lord. Dude is a real fighter.

[@brysonz]

Those leg kicks were brutal. Sakuraba in that time period was definitely ahead of the pack in MMA. His ground game and striking was so good.

[@pvshka]

His takedown defense and reversal were awesome as well, so ahead of the time

[@ZakEmber]

Dude's a legend. And I think he's a huge reason why the younger Gracies ended up improving so much. BJJ exposed big holes in traditional martial arts gameplay, but Sakuraba was one of the primary sources that exposed the big holes in BJJ. It's now 2023 and he's still a legend.

[@zf5656]

The older Gracie’s didn’t look like they had the genes to throw a proper punch athletically. It was pathetic.

[@chrlpolk]

He left the Gracie’s on their backs like upside down turtles. And instead of falling for the trap and getting close where he could get grabbed in, he kicked them about the legs and thighs. Totally exposing their flawed art. Turtle Power? Not this time, cowabunga!

[@alanguages]

@@chrlpolk Now I want to eat some pizza.

[@TheGrmany69]

More like their technique degenerated... the gracies come across as too stiff to do newaza, something the patriarch didn't have, he was supple. Sakuraba has great flexibility and neigong, he read the chi sort to speak, can reason in techniques correctly, that's more important.

[@kennethrogers1129]

Bjj isn’t a traditional martial art ?

[@ncf1]

he didn't just beat the Gracies, he humiliated them... never thought what happened would, or could ever happen. Was an amazing time!

[@user-sg8kq7ii3y]

Maybe so, but you gotta give HUGE RESPECT to Royler. Royler is very small. Much, much smaller than Sakuraba. He's only about 5'7" and 150-lbs. Yet he didn't quit. And he didn't tap to that nasty Kimura that Sakuraba applied. Royler is a warrior.

[@J3unG]

@@user-sg8kq7ii3y Royler's a straight kawnt. The Gracies controlled every aspect of that event and gave their POS relative every advantage. Sakuraba knew it and just said fuck it anyway. I bet he talked to the Shamrocks, Bill Wallace and others who saw the way the Gracies run their enterprise and knew what was up and decided he would just do it without breaking a sweat.

[@user-sg8kq7ii3y]

@@J3unG Nah, Royler is a warrior. He's WAY smaller than Sakuraba, yet he still had the courage to get in the ring to do battle with him. Royler is 145-lbs and 5'6" or 5'7". Sakuraba is 180 to 200-lbs, and probably around 6-ft. So Royler has courage.

[@sl0wh4nd81]

​@@user-sg8kq7ii3yyeah he got courage to get humiliated

[@oldironsides4107]

C Sure royler did it once. Sakuraba did it countless time. 180 lvs fighting hw and wanderlei 3 times. Royler would be beaten to death worse than Saku laid it on him.

[@VincentK.McMahon]

The gracie killer. This one dude completely dismantled the entire bravado and superiority they used to peddle like they owned the mma world. He wrecked one gracie after another exposing them all and they hated him for it 😂😂

[@self-parternerd8661]

- The reason why Sakuraba is such a legend (besides the obvious ones) is that in Japan, just in case you didn't know, martial arts are a serious thing (almost sacred) so there was legit hatred for the Gracies who learned Judo in Japan then went back to Brazil and started calling it Bjj and proclaimed it the superior form of martial arts.

[@The_Gallowglass]

That's why a lot of guys broke off from BJJ, because BJJ relies too much on laying on the ground and on the GI to help lock in chokes and holds. Sakuraba refused to play their game and he won. That Gracie BJJ shit won't save you in a street fight or a brawl, especially if someone can strike or has a knife.

[@generatorx]

I noticed in the fights, many of the family members look pretty confident when the fight begins, but it changes to a look of fear and confusion.

[@leroybrown9605]

You are so wrong about that. The Japanese love both Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock who are the first legendary MMA fighter in the eyes of the world since Luta Libre, Vale Tudo and other no holds barred tournaments were not known outside Brazil. Back in those early UFC days Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie have cartoon characters like super hero in Japan. Some Japanese complain that juijitsu was renamed Brazilian Juijitso or Gracie Juijiso but generally the Japanese love the world attention brought on a martial art form that they originated. When the Gracies go to Japan they were treated like celebrities and they have a lot of Japanese fans specially Royce's brother Ricson who had won several Pride tournaments. And also the well proven and accepted version of the story is not about the Gracie going to Japan to learn Judo. It was a Japanese Juijitsu Master who went to Brazil and befriended the Gracies and started training them on the Japanese art which proved to be more practical and more efficient than the existing martia arts in Brazil.

[@BreathEmpowerment]

​@@leroybrown9605 you're closer than the other fellow but still not totally correct on the origins. The famous Judoka Maeda (who traveled the world and even had an exhibition match with Teddy Roosevelt) taught judo to the Gracie family. The decided to focus more on the Newaza (ground) aspect, but this is why they share so many similarities. If judo is (approximately) 90% standing 10% ground, BJJ is the opposite. There is even a Gi company named Maeda in his honor, I used to have one

[@BreathEmpowerment]

I don't know where you got this complete nonsense but here's a quick history lesson. The famous judoka Maeda (who traveled the world and even had an exhibition match with Teddy Roosevelt) taught judo to the Gracie family while in Brazil. The decided to focus more on the Newaza (ground) aspect, but this is why they share so many similarities. If judo is (approximately) 90% standing 10% ground, BJJ is the opposite. There is even a Gi company named Maeda in his honor, I used to have one

[@johnpauljones9310]

That there is no such thing as Sakuraba demanding special rules for every fight is proof he's the GOAT.

[@brucemckeand2427]

Exactly

[@synthonaplinth5980]

The Gracies did the same thing with both capoeira AND catch wrestling.

[@FirstnameLastname-bn4gv]

@@synthonaplinth5980 The Gracies *did* demand special rules when fighting catch wrestlers, and they still lost plenty of the time.

[@synthonaplinth5980]

@@FirstnameLastname-bn4gv Tell me more.

[@FirstnameLastname-bn4gv]

@@synthonaplinth5980 Go research some of the early Gracie fights in Brazil. They constantly lost to Judokas and Catch wrestlers.

[@jonathanpang1837]

During these years, Gracie family fighters came across as entitled, classless, whiny crybabies, which they demonstrated by spitting on opponents, complaining about judging, and getting arrested. It was extremely satisfying to see Sakuraba dismantle Royce, despite Royce having his ridiculous fight demands met. I suppose that greatness in fighting comes certain characteristics...

[@johnb4467]

Yeah, a lot of people really revered the Gracie's (for good reason) at the time, but a friend of mine [at the time] was from Brazil and told me how over there a lot of people simply do not like their family...for the exact reasons you mentioned. She definitely used the word "bullies", and not lightly. Listening to interviews from them , especially the sons, you can definitely tell that was [at the very least] partially true. That failed drug test of Royce's definitely showed that the family wasn't as 'squeaky clean' as they tried to make it appear.

[@usergobble3259]

Gracie family is a disgrace to the fighting world. Should be called the Disgracie family

[@Bart_starr]

Brazil exported women getting oozed in the ass and burning down the rain Forrest

[@theneedfulniche]

Didn't the Gracies get the early UFC rules set up in their favor? And have a history of adding additional terms to big fights that gave them an advantage?

[@jerryhowe790]

Try to find the interview of Bill "Super Foot" Wallace who was the first commentator at UFC 1. He lists some very interesting facts about the first championship. @@theneedfulniche

[@ciAMkia]

Sakuraba is a legend, though I have no first hand experience with him. With Royce Gracie, I do have one on one experience. I took lessons way back before there was a UFC and the man who was on the mat with me was Royce Gracie. I'd signed up with Rorion Gracie who was the kindest, nicest man. His manners were impeccable. Royce, was all business on the mat. He never smiled. By that time, my nose had been broken 4 or 5 times, then Royce added at least 3 more breaks to my total nose breaks. Regardless, I learned Gracie Jiu-jitsu techniques quickly, I had to or I would have died on those mats in Torrance, California. Not really, Rorion would've saved me, I was a paying customer!😅 After that, I never lost another fight. Not in military combat, nor in the streets. It's not like I was some big dude either. I'm built like the Gracie clan, tall and slim. I have a ton of respect for the Gracie Clan. They have taken their system a long way and it's given them a good life, but it's been hard d@mn work, believe me. I know, I was there. Oh, and no, I was never some black belt in Gracie Jiu-jitsu. In fact, I was only ever a white belt. The only reason I ever got more than a white belt in Judo was that I kept beating guys in tournaments that were brown belts. So, they had my Sensei *award * me a *black belt *. I didn't deserve it at all and sure enough, within a year, I began getting my buttv kicked. It wasn't the fault of any Gracie techniques, it was my fault. My wife and I were having issues, etc. I quit after my divorce and went on to become an internet engineer. I'm retired now. Married, happily to my second wife and living peacefully on a farm in the middle of nowhere. I like to shoot guns, at targets and try to abate a decade long migraine. Good luck folks!😅 And many thanks to Rorion, Rickson, and especially, Royce Gracie. I had a H3LLUVA great time with them all!

[@dondarko4072]

The most satisfying video I’ve ever seen, love seeing those arrogant Gracie’s get demolished.

[@Jason-gj1pu]

They are makin money.

[@The_DEN_of_FIGHTS]

Sakuraba is a legend! he was not afraid of anyone and fought only with the best

[@erickerekes605]

Tt

[@erickerekes605]

U

[@AlexGarcia-ze4yg]

Do you think he beat up the Brazilians for cultural appropriation?

[@bohemenper1636]

he would #submit# or break ricksons arm

[@crismorgan6756]

Very talented and smart.

[@silveriver9]

One man by the name Kazushi Sakuraba single-handedly exposed the entire multi-generational Gracie family. Sakuraba is an absolute legend!

[@markedwards7721]

Imagine you are one of Gracie's sons. Your whole life is now screwed, because you have to fight every guy in the world trying to defend your Dad's name. And what are the odds that any given Gracie is going to be a world champion fighter? It is a tough act to follow on command of your Dad, that is for sure. I'm amazed that half of them don't insist on doing something else.

[@chadsmith66]

The Gracies deserve respect, I dont think they have ever said nobody can beat me

[@silveriver9]

@@markedwards7721 That's a very good point. Kron had immense pressure and he knows he doesnt have the desire nor the ability to become champion. The Gracies have become victims of their own hype. So in many ways, Sakuraba actually did the new generation Gracies a favor by lowering expectations.

[@malakatan3235]

His father name? His father also got his ass whooped by Japanese

[@TheHailstorm77]

@@chadsmith66 you must be smoking something or never watched the old UFCS like I have. In the 90s, Hoyce (Royce) made public claims that their BJJ could beat anybody and any martial arts. There is a documentary that revealed they were a fraud. Their brothers went to jail for robbery and extortion. They are a piece of shit. UFC was originally created by the GRACIEs. They rigged all the fights and cherry pick fighters. Bill Wallace AKA “Superfoot” undefeated World kickboxer legend was a former UFC commentator came forward and revealed that they are a huge scam. He couldn’t say much and said they were rigging fights and made fights that only apply to their rules. Even Ken Shamrock said the same thing that their fights were heavily fixed. Hoyce (Royce) went to K-1 and got beat up so bad by real fighters cuz his stand up sucks that he tried to learn Muay Thai and then still lost lol. There is a documentary out there about their legacy. The GRACIEs are a complete fraud. A lot of you watch this BJJ crap and think it’s the best ever. It’s called propaganda. Gracie’s have been beaten many times but they tend to delete those videos of them being beaten and only upload one KZbin like RENZO does of beating up fake martial artists. They were trying to exploit their fighting style to get more memberships, videos and pure marketing money involved.

[@turdferguson2982]

Laying on your back and kicking while trying to goad someone into attacking you is the most Brazilian thing ever.

[@bmlgym383]

My first trip to Japan I turned on the TV and by chance watch the match I was sooo amazed by the talent of Sakuraba I was like who the hell is this guy ??!! What an amazing fighter Great timing, techniques, accuracy of the strikes … Will remain for ever in my heart as one the greatest MMA fighter ever …

[@Levi-em6ym]

This man was a legend, age and injuries caught up with him. Several controverisal losses dimmed his greatness. Samurai.

[@creativestudio101]

Amen. Samurai.

[@Michael-vo8eu]

He is in fact, Bushido!

[@normalnick9693]

he didnt even have to train constantly with total focus to be on top. when he was in shape he was almost unbeatable. tough as nails too

[@TheVanillatech]

Ronin.

[@geraldoferreira4595]

Arona did it. Anyways... I'm a Brazilian who absolutely love and respect Sakuraba, such a warrior!

[@l1qu1dm3t4lIV]

I love how you can tell Sakuraba feels nothing from Royce's punches. He just smiled and laughed them off, making them look soft. Royce on the other-hand almost always looks devastated to be hit..

[@SirRorschachJack]

Well they probly spend most their time on the ground not being hit so they're not as used to punches as others.

[@logans4214]

@@SirRorschachJack skill issue

[@eastcoastshine2009]

To be fair judging by the poor way Royce delivered those shots he wouldnt even hurt Amanda Nunes

[@oldironsides4107]

In a later interview he said he was cum drunk I thought he meant become drunk but he said he was cum drunk He never said if it was man or animal.

[@brandonellisFLman]

In most BJJ schools strikes are not allowed. Take for instance the best pound for pound grappler in the 🌎 Gordon Ryan... He said on Joe Rogan that even tho he's black belt in BJJ he's at a white belt level when it comes to strikes 👊 🦵

[@alexevans6792]

A great fighter!!!! Respect to Kazushi!!

[@josephraymondpadua5758]

Sakuraba! I miss this guy!❤

[@booooo-urns]

Sakuraba was like… toughest dude to ever do it. The beatings this guy would take were other worldly

[@thumper9633]

I trained (for a day) with Oleg Taktarof in the 90's -- his UFC fights were pretty brutal.

[@booooo-urns]

@@thumper9633 Oleg was the man

[@lisabbb2324]

@@booooo-urns , agree

[@MrMementoMori]

Sakuraba was an amazing fighter in his day.

[@iROChakri]

Sakuraba low key understood how important Muay thai low kick is and he applied it well. The counter knee was beautifully executed too. If he trained Muay thai longer, his shins would become even more refined and stronger. Hilarious that on the 3rd match, they both were mostly doing stand up kick boxing intead of Wrestling and BJJ lol

[@UrMom-yf2nr]

I’ve been saying that for decades too. A pure mt fighter that specializes in kicks would’ve destroyed the entire family with low kicks alone. Try to survive the round and they’ll beg to take the fight standing up. But can they fight standing up when 90% of their style is on the ground? Lmao

[@iROChakri]

@@UrMom-yf2nr Btw this is exactly why every grappler trains basic striking. Whenever I see a Muay thai or any stand up vs BJJ or Wrestling or any grappling, the grappler uses a striking stance. They have to. Otherwise the same thing shown in this video would happen.

[@MGJDMNJ]

Such an amazing time to follow the sport. Nothing will ever compare

[@dkeener13]

Sakuraba is my favorite MMA fighter ever. so much skill, creativity, heart, humor and respect shown in every fight.

[@11Eighty8productions]

😂

[@jasonwilliams8321]

This was the fight where Royce's one dimensional fighting finally caught up with him.

[@Luckie337]

He only knew how to Strangle his opponent!

[@BW022]

There's always counters to each martial arts style -- strikers can be countered by grapplers, can be countered by leg kicks, etc. Yes, BJJ is probably one of the best on the ground, but these fights show its fatal flaw... it's darn hard getting someone to the ground by just dropping to guard or using leg takedowns. A bit of wrestling experience and all you do is put yourself in these awful positions where your opponent stands over you and kicks you while you pull guard to the air. In such cases, you are better off with Judo so that you have throws sufficient that you can land on your opponent after the throw. Yes, also hard to pull off in MMA, but you have some chance of actually landing past guard, stunning your opponent, or at least ending up with an arm in your hands after the takedown. It's isn't that BJJ is bad, it is just easier to counter and dropping to guard in MMA (or a street fight), is just a bad idea.

[@jasonwilliams8321]

@@BW022 Totally agree.

[@bohemenper1636]

worse striking in mma. Some women mma are probably worse but damn

[@waynemanoffaith34]

So true!

[@adamfreeman2348]

sakuraba the modern day samurai. his strategy reminds me of miyamoto musashi the legendary swordsman. ballsy, highly skilled, unorthodox and very tough.

[@pablosanhueza5290]

Watching the video, you can see how ahead of the mental game sakuraba was from the gracies. even when there wasn't any action inbetween rounds, you can come to the conclusion that he was letting the pain set in with those hard kicks he landed earlier, slowly wearing them out. He actually could have won many times earlier, but he wanted to entertain the crowd and humiliate the gracies. Hard to fight someone who not only kicks like a 200 pound mule, but thinks 10 to 20 moves ahead of you.

[@yermomdotcom1]

Sakuraba is my favorite fighter ever. His leg-kick destruction of Vitor at his peak was truly epic.

[@Douglasbonet]

Auge? Vitor no auge mataria Sakuraba ! Vitor atingiu o Auge no ufc!

[@teleguy5699]

His foot bones must have been like steel.

[@ItsaVibe22]

Im a fan of Kazushi because of this. Gracies were incredibly boring to watch and i relished in every connecting strike. Super satisfying to see him pulled by is arms and man handled like that. Thanks!

[@kirkcavenaugh758]

Sakuraba lives forever

[@danfors1333]

I agree. I always despised Hoyce especially. A one trick pony who had no standing game whatsoever. Just shooting for the takedown, then laying on ground and hugging forever until he finally gets the submission and acting cocky afterwards. Effective but horribly boring.

[@stevesalkas9128]

@@jeffreymaldonado7223 they done shit just showing of bjj nothing else and never will e v e r

[@stevesalkas9128]

Couldn't of said it better

[@chuckfinley6747]

@@jeffreymaldonado7223 is that why they had to have special rules before all their matches?

[@johnnixon4085]

When he was addressing the crowd after he beat Royler, he pointed to Royler and said "That's an appetizer..." then he pointed to Rickson and said "That's the main course". And Rickson never would fight him.

[@ismaelbill9656]

Sakuraba é lendário

[@scarletmacaw]

Gracie: “come Sakuraba, sit down with me and let’s talk things over Sakuraba: “nah, that’s okay Gracie, I think I’ll just stand and kick you in the head repeatedly if it’s all the same to you”😂🤣

[@Realmasterorder]

Huge Respect to Sakuraba,while not taking anything away from the Gracies,Sakuraba was on a level of his own in many areas.There had to be time limits at that fight like in all modern fighting sports,1hour should be more than enough.Then the Judges should decide by score,in Sakurabas case there was no contest,he was light years ahead in points from all the hits landed throughout the match while Gracie just lay there..

[@kirkcavenaugh758]

watching him beat up those fools is so satisfying

[@usergobble3259]

Gracies are overrated

[@b3nt0t]

Royce took steroids just to beat sakuraba, how can you respect Gracie's, especially that clown Royce.

[@Aih1616]

Golden age of MMA. Had great mix of sports and entertainment.

[@007diego2]

That first Gracie took a world class beating, wow

[@ballshippin3809]

Good thing we had someone like Sakuraba to embarrass the Gracie clan. If he wasn't there then the Gracies would have been promoted to demigod status as being impossible fighters to defeat

[@efisgpr]

Royce was 1-1-2 in pride between his Sakuraba fights

[@user-bo6ol2bs2x]

櫻庭徹底粉碎及打敗了葛雷西神話，真是讚啦！

[@vikingrobot4179]

Sakuraba seemed to have a magnetic stance on his feet. Incredible balance and strength.

[@l3ftie578]

he's like a sutrdy tree lol he looks really hard to bring down

[@c.h.r.i.s2253]

I never get tired of watching Gracie's getting beaten so well

[@kinar4510]

sakuraba is a legend. i saw that fight on tv, and i started to like mma. of course became a sakuraba's fan

[@childofnight0001]

Gracie's learned make their own martial arts from japanese then make it more popular than the japanese jiujitsu Then it only took a japanese to expose it's weakness What a twist

[@JA-ru3il]

Exactly, I don't think they get enough credit for doing that. Despite what people say BJJ is still a very common tool in MMA fights today.

[@docwolfe77]

@@JA-ru3il bjj is judo

[@Pleebian94]

​@@docwolfe77 I agree, a variant to say the least.

[@edwardrichard2561]

Carlos lost a match to a catch wrester back in the day. By losing I mean he quit the match and walked off. About a year later the three brothers jumped the wrestler beat him with a pipe, then they held the man down and hyperextended his limbs. They spent 3 years in prison but because of the family affluence they were pardoned and were released early.

[@cloudsculptor1]

Source of this information?

[@negativezero3107]

The catch wrestler also fought him in a full suit lol, beat him so bad he stormed off and wouldn't come back in the ring, it is widely known Gee Em.

[@jsimo1431]

@@cloudsculptor1 Rufino Dos Santos - kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3TEmmNmhqd4opY

[@lucaptron99]

@@cloudsculptor1 look up rufino dos santos

[@filippocorti6760]

If true, they were dishonorable to do that.

[@privateuploads5397]

Sakuraba just reminded the GRACIES where the Jiu Jitsu came from lol

[@wishinkansai]

My favorite part?? 13:09. Look at how Saku manhandled and totally humiliated Royce DisGracie by pulling him up by his gi like that! Prior to that, nobody had manhandled Royce so badly...it was such a joy to watch Sakuraba humble this cocky, bad-mannered and arrogant jerk. :P

[@michaelidarecis]

Watching Sakuraba kicking the Gracies who wanted to play on the ground is like punishment. "Get off your back". LOL

[@stevesalkas9128]

There other places for lying on back ....w u p

[@RajinderSingh-wt7ww]

The judges and referees did everything to help the Gracie family. Gracie fighters are born cheaters whereas Sakuraba is a Legend.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

Yeah...

[@TalesfromVirginia]

Anytime before a fight they make 100 rules so it tips the fight in their favor. The first 3 ultimate fighting no wrestler or wrestling shoes were allowed because it too BJ advantage away.

[@Canadianvoice]

@@TalesfromVirginia in a real fight where these martial arts are claimed to be used. There are no rules, BJJ fighters are entitled, all it takes is one good punch to the face to help them remember that they only know one certain way to fight.

[@mmmmm1113]

I noticed they on they’re back a lot… I can see maybe there are some instances where this is an advantageous position… but it’s mental gymnastics…

[@mmmmm1113]

Sakuraba has this whole family’s number… Like Patton said of Rommel… “I READ YOUR BOOK!!!”

[@eh.meh.493]

Holy shit man…royler Gracie can endure an amazing amount of punishment !! Sakuraba is definitely one of my top 5 fighters ever…I’d seen Highlights from that fight in multiple places but watching this I realize they cut the good shit out….I hadn’t gotten many clear looks at Sakurabas face until now and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him fight that angrily 😤!

[@chrisfly9]

Its Not About The Fighting Style Its About The Fighter Who Uses The Fighting Style To Its Full Advantage.

[@johnathangreay987]

I just love how Sakuraba reclaims his cultures martial art of jujitsu from the Gracie's. The funny part is that jujitsu was created by the samurai. Way before Brazil was even a country. They might have gotten Sakuraba twice. But he got the Gracie's 4 time's. It's worth a classic martial arts movie.

[@indiangum4691]

They got him only after he was old and not only that the Gracie guy who finally defeated him failed at drug test and was suspended

[@johnathangreay987]

@@indiangum4691 also the last guy had his youth as well. Meaning more strength.

[@digital2701361]

@@johnathangreay987 Too bad no one knows who that japanese guy is and the Gracie family is super famous around the world. I bet that makes you mad. hahahah

[@johnathangreay987]

@@digital2701361 huh ? You think the Gracie's are famious on their own? I don't even care. Sakuraba exposed the gracie lie.

[@johnathangreay987]

@@digital2701361 oyeah because nobody remembers the winners getting defeated by their opponent. Kazushi sakuraba is a national icon and is a national hero in Japan. A hell of a lot better then fame world wide.

[@dtmaxx6557]

To lose by your own rules would be embarrassing.

[@calogerogriffin861]

For real

[@lukerichardson2404]

The Gracies are good at that

[@Spychopunk2077]

the gi was really stupid though ......

[@Canadianvoice]

When people tell me Gracie Ju Jitsu is the best in the world. I simply send them this video.

[@UrMom-yf2nr]

The gracies sleep standing up cause they’d have low kick nightmares when sleeping on the ground

[@FullcircleZA]

I attend a Gracie academy, and I must say doing only one martial art and then joining mma is stupid. Sakuraba really showed this in a amazing way

[@parisiennemoonlight6650]

Sakuraba didn't have a single belt in any form of martial arts and yet beat the Gracie's family. Can anything top that?

[@railroadtrash09]

Correction, he embarrassed the Gracie's.

[@leoalcaraz6153]

He was a wrestler goes to show you belts aren’t everything

[@jrtunderground]

@@railroadtrash09 they do a good job of that on their own...

[@railroadtrash09]

@@jrtunderground The best one was when Judo Gene Lebell pissed off the Gracie's and Royce challenged him. Gene said he was 50 years older than Royce, so he'd fight Helio with no time limit.... Crickets lol.

[@richardwestwood8212]

Sakuraba would have lost big time to Rickson Gracie, who fought over 400 matches with 0 losses. That's a fact, please check it out before you @ me

[@williamprice1844]

The Gracies picked their fights with people they thought they could defeat not ones who really was a challenge.

[@karlball42]

The Gracie's were far too overrated IMO. Matt Hughes said he wasn't impressed with Brazilian jiu-jitsu and then proved American wrestling bests their Brazilian jiu-jitsu🤣

[@purplestuff]

They loved to demand special rules too.

[@johnathangreay987]

The Gracie's always made the rules in their favor. I like that Shamrock tied with them.

[@jims512]

@Karl Ball - Matt Hughes is a welterweight legend but he was only able to win his fight against Royce because of his understanding of Gracie JJ. His understanding of it neutralized Royce and allowed Matt’s superior athletic ability to take over. People miss this obvious point when they compare these two fighters, especially in light of the fact that they squared off with each other. Matt is essentially a BJJ black belt. Maybe he never spent time in a BJJ school and earned official rank, but he knows the techniques and applied it to his wrestling. If Royce choked out the much larger and stronger wrestler Dan Severn, who was ignorant of BJJ and only set out to smash, then why do you think he wouldn’t have done the same to Matt (who was only 175 lbs in that catch-weight fight) if Matt wouldn’t have been proficient in BJJ?

[@purplestuff]

@@jims512 All of Royce and the Gracies techniques exist in other arts. You don't need to learn bjj to beat it. There's a reason the Gracies avoided challenging certain dojos and that was because they couldn't sandbag against people who didn't know how to fight on the ground. Gracies are grifters.

[@soutoabn]

Sakuraba sempre foi pedreira! Lenda do octógono e destruidor de Gracies!

[@brunoricardo2133]

Sakuraba no auge venceria Jon Jones?

[@soutoabn]

@@brunoricardo2133 outros tempos jones já é mais completo, mas sakuraba acho que tentaria levar para o chão. Pryde era doidera

[@brunoricardo2133]

@@soutoabn uma pena que Rickson fugiu da luta contra Sakuraba.

[@harrintino]

I love youtube and this channel. I have heard of the Gracie hunter but to get to see it all with the in depth walk thru is great. I subbed. Good shit.

[@mbfenner]

Sakuraba has the best poker face of any fighter I've ever seen.

[@JackBarrett7]

Royce's victory against Shamrock should be overturned. They refused to let Shamrock compete with shoes as that would count as "equipped", but allowed Royce to compete in his gi, which he used to choke Shamrock with. Thats not to say he could or could not have beaten Shamrock without it, but it was still used.

[@universaljiujitsu6816]

It was a rear naked choke, what are you talking about

[@JackBarrett7]

@@universaljiujitsu6816 If you dont know the bout, watch it then comment (and putting jiu jitsu in your screen name means nothing if you know nothing.)

[@universaljiujitsu6816]

Here is a breakdown of the fight. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYS2anarqrWph8k

[@bonholio0o]

Knock it off with the whining excuses, I felt bad for Ken until I watched this video. This Japanese dude basically made it clear he also used it as weapon to those guys just watch this guy trapped Hoyce. He used it to pick him up, they were exposed using this komodo was dumb. The 3rd Gracie realized it was indeed dumb so that guy stopped wearing komodo. Hoyce even stopped wearing it in this second challenge too! Nah man, I don't buy Ken's whining. Stop making excuses for him man. Ken was more juiced up and lost - it was his fault.

[@JackBarrett7]

@@bonholio0o Kid, go away. Theres a difference between an excuse and a reason. That you cannnot understand doth not make it untrue...(anyone else just LOVE how this kid wants people to think he knows what he's talking about when he says they wore "komodos"? lol. Poor lil dumb dumb).

[@ujayet]

Thank you for bringing Sakuraba more into the light.. paddy pimplet wore those Sakuraba shorts 🩳 for a reason.. Saku is truly a legend.

[@jennifers6055]

I love that the kimura does it again and again. Super respect to Sakuraba and the Gracies.

[@othertwishart]

I know we're only seeing highlights here, but there's a shocking amount of respect between these fighters - they're both in it for the same thing. UFC now just seems to be pre-match trash talk; who has more swagger. It's entertaining, but there's something noble about the fighters of the last generation.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

I mean, you're kinda right. But i wouldn't say that the old Gracies had any respect for their opponents, let alone Sakuraba.

[@Bulmas_Panties]

@jestfullgremblim8002 Renzo had a ton of respect for him. In fact, after their fight he actually hung a poster of Sakuraba in his dojo as a daily reminder to stay humble and keep improving.

[@jiujitsustudent604]

The Gracies proved to the world that if you can’t grapple, you are an incomplete fighter. Then the world showed the Gracies that if all you can do is grapple, you’re an incomplete fighter. Hence, modern mma athletes.

[@jims512]

@JJ Student - That is a fair assessment. Too many people rag on the Gracies because modern MMA and modern MMA athletes caught up to them. That attitude is incredibly ignorant. By and large the Gracies were not great athletes and merely set out to prove that their art works and if you can only know one thing then JJ is the best single thing to learn for self-defense….especially if you aren’t strong and athletic. Even if you wanted to put a hyperfocus on the sport of MMA, you still have to be extremely proficient in BJJ if for no other reason to not be defeated by it.

[@johnathangreay987]

@@jims512 Nope. It's because the Gracie's have no humility. And they don't give credit where it's due. And they always change the rules in their favor. Plus they call it Brazilian ju jitsu. Unless a samurai somehow ended up in Brazil before Brazil was even a country it's kinda obvious they tried to steal what wasn't theirs. You talk about ignorance. Bet you don't know jujitsu actually comes from the samurai. Almost a 1,000 years ago. And the Gracie's failed at keeping up their lie. Kazushi Sakuraba unveiled them.

[@digital2701361]

@@johnathangreay987 Your bias against the Gracies is super obvious and invalidates anything you say.

[@johnathangreay987]

@@digital2701361 how are these facts bias? You can't even point one out. I'm betting none of you had to deal with multiple attackers. Thats where it all fails for you and the Gracie's clan. The full guard. I'd just land on you. Side guard same thing. But when you guys like going behind me to choke me out. Another easy one. Just fall back on you while you're struggling to breath. They even have stupid rules in those tournament's that DQ you from the using those strategies. So again how are these facts bias?

[@johnathangreay987]

@@digital2701361 So you're with the Gracie's huh. Understand this then. Every new move they come up with in jujitsu was more then likely done in Japan. Nothing the Gracie family does is theirs. Why? Because their not Japanese. Which was where the whole concept of jujitsu came from. And from the samurai. Don't get mad because of you're lack of intelligence and you're failure to do your own research. And I'm not looking for you're validation either. I can think for myself. As should you too. But I can tell you won't want too.

[@yakuza01]

Gracie's: "All fights end on the ground" Sakuraba: "meh, I am just going to stand up and kick your legs"

[@jt4199]

Outstanding video. Simply outstanding.

[@PCTechVince]

A legend! Low kicks Gracie’s weakness.

[@parapoliticos52]

Hoyce still wakes up in the middle of the night with cold sweat running down his face screaming Kazushi

[@UrMom-yf2nr]

Hoyce needs to be sleep standing up instead of laying down lmao

[@jabbadabbajew6035]

Dude slides around on his back when he goes to the shops.

[@lilgamo3502]

Sakuraba was one of the best martial arts teacher I ever trained with ! he had very impressive techniques and skills that can destroy fighters in seconds ! it broke my heart seeing him lose in the last fight with the gracies that's why when I fought the gracies in 2005 tournament I broke the gracies hands and legs In the fight It felt great like I achieved greatness i avenged sakuraba and when I saw his smile and his happiness it felt great and complete 💯..

[@TypicalIndian1981]

Bro In which alternate universe did u break the Gracie’s leg and bones

[@johnraina4828]

Keep dreaming

[@samsungs9802]

thanks for the summary. good job😊

[@emanuelfigueroa5657]

Its worth noticing that as rivalry progressed Gracie family stopped relying only on BJJ, and started adding other styles, till the last fight barely involves BJJ use by the Gracie guy.

[@jkranites]

By that point Sakuraba was already old and beat up

[@drakedraven6961]

They realized their BJJ couldn't win anymore with the ground game, they have to adapt other form of art to stay on top. This why Bruce Lee is a LEGEND when it comes to his philosophy and martial arts teaching.

[@teleguy5699]

@@drakedraven6961 also when people say Bruce wasn't a badass because he'd lose to BJJ. First he did train in ground techniques, and he was so fast and his true style was low kicks like Sakuraba, that with modern understanding of the fighting style, I would fear the little dragon. He was too lightweight to beat everyone, but in his weight class I'm sure he'd be formidable.

[@ninolama]

The Gracie Hunter

[@powerair9993]

I liked Sakuraba. He is tough and nice kicking ❤

[@nagone11]

One of the greatest of all time, and was a totally modern era fighter with great stand up and perfect ground fighting skills.

[@flabbybum9562]

I've always felt a fighter with pre-fight demands, about what cannot be done, are kind of conceding weaknesses either in themselves, their system, or both. Obviously, there's an exception for the most out-and-out dangerous moves. I just wonder, if Gracie didn't give up something psychologically, before that fight. There's such a thing as trying to be too clever.

[@GabrielGarcia-eu6vr]

Sakuraba is a perfect example of a sport adapting to its reigning hegemony of champions that were the Gracies.. it was only a matter of time before someone would come and topple the legacy.. everyone talks about how much the styles carry the fighter and catch wrestling beats BJJ or BJJ beats Judo whatever, but forget that it's the fighters who carry the style and Sakuraba went in to the sport looking to do exactly what he did and he modeled his game to defeat those guys.. absolute genius!

[@usergobble3259]

Jiu-jitsu originated in Japan. That's why Brazilian Jiu-jitsu has the word "Brazilian" in it.

[@badtrekee4348]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4nCipyYhrqBhpo

[@badtrekee4348]

Catch fighters are huge dude. Lets see a normal sized catch wresrler beat a Jiu Jitsu guy. And every fight they lost was due to a leglock

[@uriuuishida]

O juiz fez certinho em parar a luta. Sakuraba não quebrou o braço dele porque ficou com pena de puxar além do extremo limite, ficou aguardando alguém parar a luta.

[@TheCrow960]

I love the Sakuraba of how he dominated the Gracies

[@greedisbad9890]

Also a good reminder that early UFC days is just BJJ promotion That's why they don't have an actual wrestler or a judo guy because that can ruin their promotion

[@crazyralph6386]

Kimura was the OG Gracie Hunter/killer. The dude destroyed Helio on his own turf.

[@psychedashell]

He gets his acknowledgment every time someone pulls a Kimura submission.

[@Kitajima2]

@@psychedashell It's still called gyaku ude-garami in Japan from judo, but I get your point

[@CT2507]

Wow! A 1½ hour fight! That takes resilience and knowing how to conserve ones strength.

[@felipesb2]

Anything hits Royce while he's standing -> falls on the ground wishing to start that jiu jitsu bullshit.

[@afadingdream9675]

It looks so pathetic sitting on the floor like that while Sakuraba is standing there. It looks like something you'd see in a parody.

[@eduardoduran834]

Gracies are the most aggrogant cheaters and rebranded jui jitsui....Japanese created it. Gracies never win in mma anymore. Sakuraba put them in there place. Sakuraba is a true legend

[@homersamson6170]

Sakuraba was promoting Japanese style Jiu-jitsu without even realizing it? All in all, Jiu-jitsu does work 👍

[@kenh.5903]

there is no ultimate fighting style, only ultimate fighting men.

[@donaldduke2233]

In the beginning of the UFC, Royce Gracie was defeating all comers with the Gracie JuJitsu system invented by his family. During that time my son and I would watch the fights and as we watched, I would point out the super duper Gracie JuJitsu technique he used and show it to my son on the pages of the Judo book I learned from, "MY METHOD OF JUDO" by Mikonosuki Kaiwaishi, written BEFORE Gracie "Invented" the technique.

[@fcktherich6913]

Yeah they have largely controlled their own narrative and even now that there are people who have taken jujitsu further they're still able to be relevant. Marketing is a hell of a drug

[@abrahemsamander3967]

Sounds like a great book.

[@buyerofsorts]

The Gracies were shit bags. Helio Gracie and his buddy attacked a guy with pipes because the guy beat him legit in the ring and Helio couldn't deal with it. True story. Helio went to prison for it too.

[@seanreynolds7369]

@@abrahemsamander3967 I do karate and I've started reading some of the old books the masters wrote that I can find as PDFs, and they really do help a lot with understanding what's happening and why things happen. You couldn't successfully learn something out of a book but paired with practical learning it's amazing, so many things just start to click

[@MrJeremytaz]

Yeah in the beginning the Gracie’s hand pick the competitors! They didn’t allow anyone with a wrestling background. Watch the interview with Bill super foot Wallace. Called how the Gracie’s fooled everyone.

[@1sirgrandmastermrkingrober216]

Interesting. I only watched a small bit of this film footage, but of the small amount of Judo I saw a bit of, it was cool how only a teeny bit was shown, & the rest of the footage was more highlights of bouts with not much technique(s) showing. This School of Martial Art(s) is good at that, guarding our technique(s) & so not much else to say but, effective. ✌️✊🌈✌️📀🔒🔐

[@djo3637]

(6:30) He defeated him using fists and kicks. Proving that fights are not always defined on the ground

[@johnathangreay987]

I agree. Because some of my fights holdly ever went to the ground. I hated the ground. Even though they bjj people love to do the thing they call full ground. All do is fall forward making them the pillow. Get back up and start kicking them. Then they try the choke from behind. All you gotta do is fall back on them. Get back up and start kicking them again. It's like their asking for it.

[@l3ftie578]

@@johnathangreay987 fighters like that or "guard pullers" will always get smashed by strikers, if you want to use bjj you have to learn how to take someone down too.

[@johnathangreay987]

@@l3ftie578 I never needed bjj. I stuck with wrestling and judo. All my challenges in college always thought "bjj" was the best. They funny part. They didn't know it's originally from Japan. The "bjj" people always try to rive up everyone thinking their going to take on the world. They have no humility. And when they loose, they loose everything.

[@l3ftie578]

@@johnathangreay987 well yes the original jiu jitsu was made in japan, but we can't shoulder throw people directly onto their necks or strike them during a friendly grappling competition. Jiu Jitsu was originally an art meant to be used on the battlefield where there are no rules

[@johnathangreay987]

@@l3ftie578 Created by the samurai almost 1,000 years ago. You still grapple in Judo. I learn in Judo what "bjj" people won't learn. Which is why I never lost one match to them. And that's humility. Not one place in north America does the "bjj" people teach humility. They don't even wave Japan's flag in their dojo's if you can call it that. Once Kazushi sakuraba showed the "bjj" people who they really were. All bets were off.

[@hristomanev8563]

Sakuraba Is a Legend!!!! Very Smart Fighter

[@libertyandjusticeforall6435]

So Royce needed sauce to "beat" Sakuraba in their second fight. And then Ralek had help from the referee when Sakuraba was in a dominant attacking position with an attacking submission. The stupidity of some referees is unmatched

[@ndotl]

Gracie was at a disadvantage wearing the easily grabbed over heating Gi. He is not the only martial artist whose devotion to tradition cost then dearly in the ring.

[@BobPapadopoulos]

It had nothing to do with tradition. It had to do with the fact Royce could use it in a pinch in situations where he otherwise wouldn't have had an option. It fucked him against Saku.

[@MrScalilou]

Sakuraba was a true sportsman and a respectful gentleman.

[@11Eighty8productions]

😂

[@rdeh1678]

But what is not talked about is during the first ufc event the old man refused to let high level wrestlers compete , as well as some sombo fighters as he wanted to show how bbj was better yet I level wrestling still is a huge issue and Sakuraba was so much better then any gracie

[@bombergun]

Well said bro

[@Dualities]

and the winner of ufc 3 later become shadow leader of ufc. got his win without even needing to climb up the laddder. that Hawaian guy should win ufc 3. all other guys had 3 fight at the same night but he only need 1 fight to win wtf is that

[@rdeh1678]

@Dualities the winner of ufc 3 Steve Jennun was from Nebraska and he was a back up fighter who replaced Ken Shamrock as Ken was unable to continue

[@thewraith6360]

one of the most satisfying videos ever

[@stefank7144]

I had the pleasure to train way back with Renzo Gracie when i lived in NYC, he is such a nice guy, we used to joke around, he called me big guy, i am 6'3" . His best pupil that time was Matt Serra, he was just blue belt when i was there but you could tell this guy will be good one day, he basically lived there. If i didnt have that serious injury there, which required C 6, C7, C8 vertebrae to be fused i would still be training, its dangerous for sure, injury happened in a flash

[@michaelzoran]

Very disturbing the way Royce Gracie was found in confirmed violation of steroids, but was allowed to get away with it. The steroids violation should cause Royce Gracie to be removed from any Hall of Fame he exists in.

[@TruongNguyen-eg8po]

Sak fought bigger and stronger fighter. What a tough guy !