You see a big difference here between the guys who’ve spent enough time around Jiu-Jitsu to have met the people involved, or heard them talk shop, vs. those who just saw MMA on TV.
Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, and a self-defense system, and a sport, but it’s also a business.
From the very beginning, the main purpose for the UFC was as a form of marketing which would create demand for Jiu-Jitsu schools. The inventor of the UFC (Rorion) told you straight up exactly what he was trying to do.
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is also a family business, like Ford Motor Company. Not everyone who works for Ford is a member of the family, but the family still controls a huge share of the voting stock. The Gracies still maintain control of their family business through the IBJJF (Carlos Jr).
Rickson was not a modern MMA fighter who saw MMA on TV and decided he wanted to do it. Rickson did not chose his job. His job was chosen for him by others. Other Gracies wanted the job more than Rickson, but Rickson had the job because he was better at doing it. Rickson never once asked for the job. He had to do it because everyone agreed he was the best.
People here are comparing Rickson to Renzo. Most people don’t realize that Renzo was another guy who didn’t chose his job, but rather, had his job chosen for him by someone else.
Craig Kukuk was the first American blackbelt in BJJ. He wanted to open BJJ schools on the East Coast that would be on the level of what Rorion Gracie was doing on the West Coast. He also knew that if he opened them under his own name, Rorion would attack the legitimacy of a non-Gracie Gracie Jiu-Jitsu school.
So Kukuk went to Brazil to find the Gracie with the most energy and grit. Not the most technical Gracie necessarily, but the one who would happily teach the most classes, and fight anyone anywhere. Kukuk recruited Renzo, and set up the school in the largest city on the East Coast, New York City. If Kukuk didn’t recruit him, Renzo might still be in Brazil.
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So people who don’t know the history are on here arguing that Renzo likes to fight more than Rickson. Yes of course. The business selected each of them for their roles.
Understand also, that the real money for the business is in the schools, not the MMA. The MMA is advertising for the business. Just like racing is advertising for car companies. Racing can improve the reputation of a car company; but the ideal is if you can become so successful that you don’t need the advertising anymore.
Consider Ford vs. Ferrari. If the Ford F-40 can beat Ferrari consistently, then Ford doesn’t need to waste the money on racing anymore, because they proved their point.
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Just like Rorion told you at the time he was doing the UFC for advertising, Rickson told you at the time, he was done fighting to prove himself, and would only fight for large amounts of money, or for honor. When Yoji Anjo showed up at Rickson’s school in 1994, Rickson had to fight him or risk the brand reputation of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
To have Royce’s run in the UFC followed by a past his prime 40 something Rickson fighting every young lion in MMA was more risk than reward for the Gracie brand. So that’s why it didn’t happen.
