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The Gracie Challenge — the series of open-mat fights that changed martial arts forever. But were all of them as “real” as the legend suggests?
In this video essay, we dive deep into the truth behind the early Gracie Challenge matches — separating myth from marketing. From dojo fights in Brazil to televised showdowns in Japan and the US., we explore how these encounters built the Gracie name, influenced the creation of the UFC, and shaped the rise of modern MMA.
Were the fights genuine tests of jiu-jitsu… or carefully staged demonstrations?
Discover the story behind the legend — only on the MMA History Podcast.
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Rorion didn’t have to orchestrate any hullabaloo. He would walk right into a bad mofo’s dojo and show him how it was going to be. Rorion may be a lot of things but a coward isn’t one of them, he didn’t need to manufacture results, they occurred naturally
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Carlson should be the key focus….
I bet that faggot Luke Thomas could give us his take
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Just watched, fucking awesome, great job guys!!!
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Any chance dis guy talking a lot of booosheeetz about the Zhoooojitsu ?
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The wrap up was fair and makes the entire presentation seem generally fair/accurate.
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Thanks Pepper
Before the UFC, the grappling arts weren’t popular. Most people willing to step up and take the challenge would have been stand-up fighters.
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The Gracies knew that but also Art Davie said the Gracie family didn’t have a million dollars to fulfill their end of the deal?
I haven’t watched it yet but I’m looking forward to it.
The problem is the tuff and post crowd can’t conceive of a world pre bjj
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early ufcs i thought the gracies invented chokes and joint locks
i didnt know it existed in judo, wrestling, sambo n stuff already
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