- Full Name: Ryan Gracie
- Birthday: August 14, 1974
- Affiliation: Ryan Gracie Team
Ryan Gracie was a renowned Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter and trainer. He was a member of the Gracie family and grandson of one of the founders of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Carlos Gracie. Born on August 17, 1974, Ryan died a 4th degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu on December 15, 2007. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend fought in the Middleweight division as he weighed 84kgs/185lbs, and was 5 ft 9 in tall. Throughout his career, Ryan was also known by other names, including; The Pitbull, Bad Boy Gracie and Crazy Brutal.
Personal Life
Ryan was the youngest son of Robson Gracie, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu Master. He had three brothers, namely; Charles, Renzo and Ralph Gracie. He only had one son, Rayron Gracie, who was born on December 8, 2002.
Career
Ryan grew up in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world. His grandfather, father and elder brothers were all jiu-jitsu fighters. It’s no surprise, therefore, that he ended up being a martial artist. From the early stages of his career, Ryan trained with his elder brothers, Renzo and Ralph Gracie. During some of his fights, Renzo served as Ryan’s cornerman. Over the years, Ryan was involved in several street fights, which earned him the nick name “bad boy” of the Gracie family.
Ryan had a total of seven fights in the PRIDE organization. He won five of those fights, two by knockout, two by submission and one by decision. Throughout his career, he only lost one fight through knockout. The only other fight he lost was by decision.
During interviews conducted in the year 2004, Gracie expressed a lot of interest in fighting the “Gracie Hunter”, Kazushi Sakuraba, who had defeated several members of the Gracie family. Sakuraba had also defeated Ryan in the year 2000 by decision.
Before his demise, Ryan Gracie was the head of Gracie Sao Paulo, which is also one of Brazil’s largest jiu-jitsu associations. The academy has churned out several world champions thanks to Ryan’s leadership and training as well as support from Renzo Gracie and two cousins Daniel Simoes and Carlos Russo.
Death
The history of Ryan Gracie is characterized by many run ins with the police, but the last encounter led to his death. On December 15, 2007, at around 1:30 AM, Gracie had been arrested for stealing a car, crashing it and attempting to steal a motorbike to flee from police. Unfortunately, the owner of the motorcycle hit Gracie on the head while other cyclists who witnessed the incident detained Gracie until police arrived to make the arrest. Gracie tested positive for cocaine, marijuana and an unidentified anxiety drug. At 7:00 AM in the morning, Gracie was found dead in the Sao Paulo jail where he had been booked.
