Master Robson Gracie dies at 88

sports legend

Red Belt rescued the old TV show “Heróis do Ringue”, from 1959

the world of Jiu Jitsu is mourning the death of Robson Gracie. The former fighter died this Friday (28), but the cause of the death was not disclosed by the family. The news was given through the Instagram of Kyra Gracie, the former athlete’s granddaughter.

In the post, the fighter defined her grandfather as “one of the most important people in my life”. “Today, jiu-jitsu says goodbye to Grand Master Robson Gracie, patriarch of the Gracie Family and red belt,” she wrote on the social network.

At 88, he was the oldest living member of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu royal family. Second son of Carlos Gracie, Robson was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1935 and was president of the Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Rio de Janeiro.

Historic

Together with his father, uncle and brothers, the former fighter was one of those responsible for creating the Brazilian jiu-jitsu modality, as well as for the emergence of Vale-Tudo, which gave rise to MMA, an acronym in English for Mixed Martial Arts. .

At Vale-Tudo, Robson debuted beating Artur Emídio and, throughout his career, he beat Valdo Santana, brother of Valdemar Santana. He is survived by his children Charles, Renzo, Keila, Ralph, Flávia and Robson Gracie Jr, as well as Ryan Gracie, who died in 2007.

“If I fall dead in the street tomorrow and am taken to the Instituto Médico Legal, the coroner will be in for a very big surprise. Guys, the corpse was smiling!”, once fired the great master Robson Gracie, full of wisdom. “I would die satisfied, happy as hell for everything I saw and lived”.

Born on January 16, 1935, Carlos Robson Gracie was the second son of grandmaster Carlos. He was a spirited boy who climbed the curtains of the Gracies’ house, to the dismay of Uncle Helio, considered his second father. Synonymous with bravery in the rings, as a teacher he didn’t spare any efforts to make children learn the essence of Jiu-Jitsu. “All it took was a basic slap-in-the-face defense class with Robson,” says nephew Marco Gracie Imperial, “and I’ve never been slapped again in my life. One of the great teachers in the family, his lessons were unforgettable.”

Robson Gracie’s MMA debut took place in April 1957, against Artur Emídio, with a stunning victory by submission. He also faced Valdo Santana, the lighter brother of Valdemar Santana – a notorious archrival of his uncle Helio and his brother Carlson.

His notoriety as a Jiu-Jitsu specialist led him, in the 1960s, to be hired as a bodyguard for Governor Leonel Brizola. He became president of FJJ-Rio, Rio’s Jiu-Jitsu federation, in the 1980s.

In 1999, the red belt rescued the old TV show “Heróis do Ringue”, from 1959, and started to command it on the CNT channel. As a presenter, he popularized several catchphrases, such as the famous “Who has bottles to sell?”.

*With information from Extra and Northwest Journal

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