Rolles Gracie — son of Rolls Gracie, grandson of Carlos Gracie, MMA fighter, and 4th degree BJJ black belt — was able to claim the title BJJ promoter last week to his seemingly endless list of titles.
Gracie recently announced that he will be involved in the creation of new jiu-jitsu tournament called KASAI.
The Jiu-Jitsu Times was curious to know why, with so many tournaments out there, Rolles felt the desire to start his own.
Rolles told us via email:
As a professional fighter with personal experience competing in high-level tournaments around the world spanning multiple martial arts including jiu-jitsu, submission grappling, freestyle wrestling, and MMA, I have always wanted to provide the same experience for other professional and amateur combatants as a means of giving back to the sport that provided the best moments of my professional life. I see many young talents each day who are hungry for success and committed to carving out a career of their own in competitive jiu-jitsu. By creating a promotion in New York City, a strong media market and globally accessible location, I believe our team can help more people chase their dreams in the same way that I’ve been fortunate to live mine.
That may still leave readers wondering what makes KASAI so much better than any of the other tournaments out there.
For Rolles, it’s about the expertise his team brings:
We’ve built this venture with some of the most decorated names in martial arts, each bringing specialist expertise from the worlds of jiu-jitsu, business development, broadcasting, and live event production. We’re not a fly-by-night team; we have credibility and are here for the long-run to provide a great experience for all competitors. As an athlete and competitor myself, I understand not only what athletes want, but what they need. KASAI will work hard to provide them with this.
Our professional events will showcase athletes from all around the world, while providing a more accessible organization for competitors in the local New York City, tri-state and East Coast areas. Participants will compete in exciting eight-man, round-robin tournaments, while our events will also include a handful of stand-alone feature matches and an undercard stacked with elite next-generation prospects.
You can read more about Rolles Gracie and KASAI here:
