Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Robson Gracie, 88, dies – 04/29/2023 – Sport

The legendary fighter Robson Gracie, one of the greatest references of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, died this Friday night (28). He was 88 years old.

The news was confirmed by the eight-time world champion of the modality Kyra Gracie, Robson’s granddaughter, in a publication on social networks. The cause of death was not revealed.

“Today, jiu-jitsu says goodbye to Grand Master Robson Gracie, patriarch of the Gracie Family and red belt. I say goodbye to my eternally beloved grandfather who is one of the most important people in my life”, wrote Kyra.

The body will be veiled this Sunday (30), at the City Palace, in Rio de Janeiro, in a ceremony open to the public.

Born in 1935, Robson was the second son of Carlos Gracie, founder of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In the 1950s, he followed in the footsteps of other family members in the sport and stood out in Vale-Tudo. Robson held the jiu-jitsu red belt, which is the ninth and highest degree in the modality.

An outstanding athlete in the category, he was invited to work as a bodyguard for Leonel Brizola, former governor of Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul, at the time federal deputy of the state of Guanabara, between 1963 and 1964. arrested during the military dictatorship due to his involvement with Brizola, who was the brother-in-law of former president João Goulart.

Robson was one of the greatest defenders and popularizers of the fighting modality and sports. In the 1980s, he became president of the Rio de Janeiro State Sports Superintendence (Suderj). Later, he also assumed the presidency of the Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Rio de Janeiro (FJJ-Rio).

In 2016, he was honored by the Ministry of Sport during the launch of a campaign to publicize jiu-jitsu and promote its potential as an Olympic sport.

“I’m honored. The Gracie family has 30 members performing in this fight, and if it weren’t for you, jiu-jitsu wouldn’t be where it is. It’s wonderful. It’s thanks to this crowd, to these brothers who are here and bring love and fight in their kimonos, that our dreams are possible”, declared the honoree on the occasion.

“Despite its oriental origins, jiu-jitsu is currently known throughout the world as a Brazilian sport, due to our history of victories, great fighters, and the Gracie family, which changed the sport in Brazil”, stated then minister Leonardo Picciani .

Robson is survived by his children Charles, Renzo, Keila, Ralph, Flávia and Robson Gracie Jr (in addition to Ryan Gracie, who died in 2007), plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was the oldest living member of the “royal family” of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.