Roger Gracie

He grew up in Rio de Janeiro; his father, Mauricio Motta Gomes, a Rolls Gracie black belt, opened a jiu-jitsu academy in the United Kingdom in 1998, and Roger soon followed him there. He said that at about 16 he decided to forgo college and devote his life to jiu-jitsu.⁠[1]

He recalled that everything changed when, as a teenager, he spent a summer training and running on the beach with a cousin; he lost his first competitions before he started winning.⁠[2]

He is a black belt under Carlos Gracie Junior. In the 2004 Worlds absolute final, Ronaldo Jacaré resisted his armlock and won despite a dislocated left arm, a bout many consider the best in Worlds history; he also lost the absolute finals of 2006 and 2008 to Xande Ribeiro.⁠[3]

At the 2005 ADCC submission wrestling world championships in Long Beach he won the 98-kilo division and then took the absolute title by submitting every opponent, including 87-kilo champion Ronaldo Jacaré.⁠[4]

At a BodogFIGHT event at the PNE Agrodome in Vancouver he won his professional MMA debut by submitting veteran Ron Waterman with an armbar on his second attempt; afterward he said Renzo Gracie had been shouting at him to go for the arm.⁠[5]

At the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship on June 6–7, 2009, he stepped onto the mats of the Long Beach Pyramid nine times and won every match with a choke from the mount, taking both the super-heavyweight and absolute titles and beating Romulo Barral in the absolute final.⁠[6]

The IBJJF later described it as arguably the most dominant performance ever at the World Championships, embodying a classical style of jiu-jitsu: achieving top position, passing the guard, mounting and then attacking submissions.⁠[7]

After UFCUFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Las Vegas, United States. It began in 1993 as a no-holds-barred fighting tournament and gradually entered the mainstream after the Fertitta brothers’ Zuffa bought it for $2 million in 2001; it was sold for about $4 billion in 2016 to a consortium led by WME-IMG, and in 2023 it merged with WWE to form the publicly traded TKO Group Holdings, where as of 2026 it is one of the largest businesses by revenue.Open the full entry welterweight champion Georges St-PierreGeorges St-PierreGeorges St-Pierre (GSP) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who twice won the UFC welterweight title and set the division record of nine consecutive title defenses; after winning the middleweight title in a 2017 comeback he retired, and he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.Open the full entry visited his London academy, the two began working together: Gracie helped St-Pierre prepare for his 2010 fights, and St-Pierre traveled to London in January 2011 to help Gracie prepare.⁠[1]

At Strikeforce’s “Heavy Artillery” event he dropped Kevin Randleman with a knee and then submitted him with a rear-naked choke.⁠[8]

He was the headline name of the 2010 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, becoming the only three-time absolute world champion.⁠[9]

At Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Cyborg” at the HP Pavilion in San Jose he submitted Trevor Prangley with a rear-naked choke at 4:19 of the first round, staying unbeaten at 4–0.⁠[10]

At Strikeforce “Barnett vs. Kharitonov” he was knocked out by Muhammed Lawal, who said afterward that his strategy had been to turn the fight into a brawl.⁠[11]

In 2012 he fought Marcus Buchecha to a draw in a 20-minute jiu-jitsu match at Metamoris I.⁠[12]

At Strikeforce “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” he took full mount in the second round and submitted Anthony Smith with an arm-triangle choke at 3:16.⁠[13]

In his UFC debut at UFC 162 he controlled the first round with clinches and takedowns, but Tim Kennedy turned the fight in the second and third rounds with leg kicks and pressure against the fence and won a unanimous decision.⁠[14]

At the first IBJJF Hall of Fame ceremony at the Hilton in Long Beach he was the last inductee called, as a seven-time weight-division and three-time open-class world champion, and said that training and competing in the gi was what he loved most and that he would return to it.⁠[2]

In August 2014 he signed with ONE FC, saying he planned two or three MMA fights a year while still taking jiu-jitsu superfights, and that he expected to retire by 36 or 38.⁠[12]

He returned to MMA in Manila, nearly caught by a James McSweeney high kick in the first round before taking control in the second; in the third a low kick hurt McSweeney’s right knee and Gracie won by TKO.⁠[15]

As of 2015 he had won the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship ten times, seven in his weight division and three in the open class, and was the only black belt to submit every opponent in a single edition; he named perseverance as his greatest quality.⁠[16]

In May 2016 in Singapore he submitted Michal Pasternak with a kata-gatame to win the ONE Championship light heavyweight title.⁠[17]

ONE Championship’s profile says the win made him the inaugural ONE light heavyweight world champion over a previously undefeated opponent and the first Gracie of his generation to win an MMA world championship.⁠[18]

At Gracie Pro in Rio de Janeiro he met fellow ten-time world champion Marcus Buchecha in a rematch, pulled him sideways to the ground, took his back and forced the tap with a choke at 6:52, ending his competitive jiu-jitsu career.⁠[19]

In October 2017 he announced his retirement from MMA with an 8–2 record, saying MMA no longer motivated him enough to dedicate himself fully to an athlete’s life and that winning the ONE belt had been his most special fight.⁠[20]

He said he would continue as a jiu-jitsu teacher, growing his London-based team and teaching techniques online through Roger TV.⁠[21]

He appeared on episode 343 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, whose description calls him a legendary jiu jitsu competitor and MMA fighter; topics included the moments before a match, confidence, Renzo Gracie, the cross-collar choke, the mount, progressing in jiu jitsu, MMA versus jiu jitsu, Gordon RyanGordon RyanGordon Ryan is an American submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who won multiple ADCC World Championship titles and submitted André Galvão in the 2022 superfight, and is regarded by many as one of the finest no-gi grapplers; he announced the end of his competitive career in February 2026.Open the full entry, John DanaherJohn DanaherJohn Danaher is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA coach who grew up in New Zealand, taught for many years at the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York, served as Georges St-Pierre’s jiu-jitsu coach, and is known for his leg-lock system and the “Danaher Death Squad” grappling team; from late 2021 he headed the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team in Austin, Texas.Open the full entry and advice for beginners.⁠[22]

As of October 2026 he is a Brazilian fourth-degree black belt; ONE Championship’s profile states that he has not been submitted in competition since he was a blue belt.⁠[18]

He teaches with his father, Mauricio Gomes, at the Roger Gracie Academy in Hammersmith, London, passing on the Gracie family’s jiu-jitsu system together with associated schools in the UK and abroad.⁠[23]

Roger Gracie Academy: Official website: https://rogergracie.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[22]

Roger Gracie TV: Official website: https://rogergracietv.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[22]

ONE Championship: Official website: https://www.onefc.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[18]