I never put a 'last one' tag on my fights because you never know.
Royce Gracie
In a street fight situation, there's no weight division, there's no time limits.
Face life's challenges with confidence, dare to pursue your dreams and live to the fullest just as my father did.
Kids wake up in the morning and say, 'I want to be a UFC fighter one day,' just like they do in baseball.
I never drank, never party, Carnival, none of that.
I follow a very strict diet.
I have fought all my life, that is easy for me.
My brother, who created the UFC, had a vision. He knew that people wanted to see who was the best fighter. People have curiosity, what style was the best? Boxing, wrestling, Gracie jiujitsu? It was a quest to find out.
Mike Tyson is a good boxer, but he is not the best fighter. I am the best fighter.
My second fight at UFC 1, I fought Ken Shamrock. In the fight I choked him. As soon as he tapped, I let go. He tried to continue, but the ref got kind of stuck like, 'should I let it go or stop the fight.' That's when I looked at the ref and I said, let it go, we're going to continue.
I live a very healthy lifestyle.
I enjoy traveling, teaching and fighting. It's in my blood.
I travel all over the world and teach people.
I love to travel and I love to teach, so I combined the two.
If I'm home, just hanging around with the kids.
In any professional level competition, soccer players, you've got to know when to stop.
Everyone wants to fight me. It's a long list.
My father had nine kids, seven boys and two girls, and my uncle had 21 kids, 11 boys and 10 girls. They had the opportunity to teach the art of Gracie Jiu Jitsu and that's how we got involved from a young age. It's in the blood.
Fighting is about a strategy. MMA is not all about brutality.
When Scott Coker first mentioned to me that Ken Shamrock wanted to fight I said, 'Thank you.' I played a little hard to get, but for sure I knew we had to do the third fight with Ken; there was no doubt. He still insisted on fighting me. I guess the guy cannot sleep for 22 years.
It's always good to have more promotions, give more fighters work.
My grandfather was doing business with a Japanese man. In exchange of good relationship the man taught my uncles the art of jiu jitsu. My father couldn't do it because he was very weak, he couldn't do one press-up, so he just sat back and watched, and memorised. What he did was add leverage into the moves.
There's so much talent in Brazil, so many guys that will probably never get discovered.
My father didn't make us fighters, he made us teachers.
I'm a MMA fighter, man. I'm a MMA fighter, all the way.
Werdum is good, is a smart fighter. He knows how to set up a beautiful strategy.
If I had doubts, I would've never walked into the ring.
If Teila Tuli won the first UFC, everybody would have been learning sumo.
I believe in pure jiu-jitsu. That's what I've done in the past.
That's why I like Demian Maia and Fabricio Werdum. Demian will take you down and do his game. Werdum learned the stand-up to know what's coming, but he never stopped using his jiu-jitsu. He will clinch, take you down and submit you.
You know the 80s music is something that no one wants to admit liking, but once then start playing everyone is into it.
Bellator and Viacom want to give fans exciting fights and enable fighters to continue to grow and most importantly provide for their family, and it's something I want to be a part of.
Wouldn't you love to see Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield go one more time? It's not like just one of them has aged. They've both aged. They're both icons.
I did a seminar once in Pennsylvania when there was big snow, road construction, a big flood and just one person showed up. I said, 'No problem, I'll do it.' If there's one or 100 on the mat, the juice is still there.
I'm a fighter. We come from the beginning, no gloves, no rules, no time limits.
Martial arts in general were not made for a tournament, for points system. Martial arts were made to defend yourself in the street fight situation, not to score points.
The art of Gracie jiu-jitsu is to learn how to defend yourself in any situation, not to score points, not for tournament style. It's for a street-fight situation.
I am a product of my father's work.
I get stopped at the airports by just everyday people that are not even fans of the MMA and they say how they have seen me fight. Its very humbling and also rewarding.
My Jiu Jitsu is with the gi. It's the real style of Jiu Jitsu, it's with the gi and I fight MMA.
Do this rubber guard stuff and I'll punch you in the nose.
Yes, I do Jiu Jitsu for a living.
The greatest tribute you can to pay to my father is to continue to train and share Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, remembering to never lose sight of the fact that what you do off the matt counts more than what you do on the matt.
I don't drink, I don't smoke.
My father created this whole MMA thing.
I've never had a fight in the street.
I fight because I want to not because I have to.
I take all the opportunities that come my way and I am thankful that I have them.
I'm a vale-tudo fighter.
I'm not a fighter to score points of fight with time limit.
