Do you think Royce Gracie, when he was first fighting, could beat the top fighters now?

Question

I mean, I don't really follow UFC anymore, however, I've seen the incredible winning streaks that Gracie used to go on. I think he's fought recently and lost, just wanna know people's opinion on it.

Answer 1

I do not think so because that is a totally different time and the fighters now are just different from the fighters back then. If he was to fight Matt Hughes when he was in his prime he would give Hughes a fight but he would lose.

Answer 2

No the gracies are all just a name (except Rickson that guy really is a legend) all the other Gracies did well when it was style vs style only because no one knew submission escape techniques. They are overrated and besides the UFC bringing back Royce back to get embarrassed no other gracie have been brought into the UFC because they demand big paychecks because of their name but dont provide any results.

Cesar Gracie 0-1
Renzo Gracie 11-6-1
Royler Gracie 5-3-1
Royce Gracie (after UFC) 2-2-2
Rhalan Gracie 0-1
Crosley Gracie 2-2

Not very good records

Answer 3

There are two things working against Royce (three if you consider age). I think Royce could win if headbutts and knees to the head of a downed opponent were allowed and no stand ups for stalling on the ground... and no time limits. GJJ is based upon patience, and Royce is very good at that. These are all rules that have been added since the first UFCs.

That said, the guys now are so well rounded. It's not uncommon to see a blackbelt in BJJ who is also accomplished in other striking arts like MT or boxing. So, the answer is no, Royce couldn't beat the guys now, but he's still a tough dude.

Answer 4

I don't think it's a fair comparison. You can't look at things like that. They were pioneers of the sport and the new MMA fighters could not have reached these new levels without learning from the past, its an evolutionary process. Plus theres all sorts of new rules. The early UFC there were no rounds, they just rang the bell and fought until someone got really ****** up. There was no restarting fights standing because of lack of action on the ground, once it hit the ground the fight usually stayed there. There was hair pulling, head butting, kicking downed opponents, and importanly Gracie could use his Jujitsu rope, which he used to tap out many opponents. The new UFC is made for strikers, I believe there are some really good fighters in the world that would never fight in the UFC because the rules work against them. Plus he would be in his own weight class which they did'nt have back then, anyone that fails to consider all these aspects are full of it.

Answer 5

I do see where you are coming from on this. Instead of looking at who he fought think more about what he accomplished through his fighting. Another thing to think about is what would an event like the UFC had looked like with out the Gracie influence. Pretty much everyone else who joined were brawler with little martial arts influence on how they fought. The first event would have gotten any proceeding events banned because of its violence. People could look right to the champ (Royce) and point out skill, technique, hard work and determination. Arguments about how it was nothing more than mindless thug were quickly thwarted by just the mention of Royce. It is because of his accomplishment we have the UFC and discrediting him for it would be sickening to any MMA fan. That said, he tarnished his own legacy by steroid use and lost respect from a lot of people. The use of the roids is stands against everything GJJ, that he helped promote worldwide. Still his legacy is more about what he accomplished for other and not himself...isn't that a mark of a real martial artist

Answer 6

Simple answer, no. When Royce Gracie was competing in the old UFC days his family had a large part in the UFC. They wanted to help build on the Gracie name in the US so they put Royce in with a bunch of hand-picked opponents. Not to diminish his accomplishments, but most were unskilled fighters or had no prior MMA experience. After he left the UFC he was inactive for 3-4 years but upon his return he was defeated by Kazushi Sakuraba,Hidehiko Yoshida, and 143 lb fighter Hideo Tokoro. He also had a draw with Yoshida and defeated Akebono. Royce was great in his day as the NES was great in it's day. The best of his time, but not compareable to todays model of fighter.

Answer 7

No. Why? thats easy fighters these days train way harder and are more dedicated than fighters back then. They are way more skilled and back then Gracie used to fight with old UFC rules and unskilled fighters Matt Hughes proved that Royce is way over his time and that he should of never came back. A pathetic loss for Royce and great win for Hughes.

Answer 8

No, because he was a one dimensional fighter....back in the day he fought other one dimensional fighters, but jiu jitsu seemed to be better than pure striking....but nowdays,. every fighter has some sort of jiu jitsu knowledge, so they know how to counter some of his moves....but on the flipside, gracie doesnt have any other real skills, so he can get outboxed and ground n pounded.

Back then, no one besides gracie did jiu jitsu so they had no clue how to stop his moves...but now, other fighters have the same knowledge as him, but with more strength and in some cases more skill.

Answer 9

i think the gracie's are just arrogant bullies. i really didn't like royce as a person. he was a good fighter back in the day beating people like shamrock who had like 80 pounds on him. but with todays rules and street fighting techniques he wouldn't stand a chance. i'm glad hughes beat him. they did develope one hell of a martial art though.

Answer 10

i think he was good at grappling when he was alot younger but now hes just too old.one thing i noticed about him was he always wanted to get them down on the ground & submit them somehow with an elbow lock or whatever.he could never stand toe to toe with anyone because hes actually a wuss,& afraid to get hit,he even admitted this once.