Sherdog’s Top 10Sherdog’s Top 10: Overachievers
Number 9
9. Royce Gracie (14-2-3)
Gracie is MMA’s original overachiever. When he burst onto the scene at UFC 1 in 1993, it was hard to believe that Gracie -- a skinny guy in a gi -- could really be a representative of the most badass fighting art on the face of the planet, but the fashion in which he carved his way through a succession of bigger, stronger and more athletic competition in the early no-holds-barred events fully underlined the effectiveness of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Gracie’s lack of size and physicality was precisely the reason he was chosen to represent the family at the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event. Unlike Rickson Gracie, who was by consensus the toughest Gracie around, he was relatively small and un-athletic, and it was thought that his victories would highlight Brazilian jiu-jitsu as an art instead of the practitioner himself.
Obviously, Gracie succeeded, defeating Art Jimmerson, Ken Shamrock and Gerard Gordeau to claim the first UFC tournament; he returned to defeat such fighters as Kimo Leopoldo, Patrick Smith and Dan Severn at subsequent events. The later stages of Gracie’s career did not turn out particularly well; the fact that his rematch with Kazushi Sakuraba is still officially a win despite his positive steroid test is a travesty of the highest order, for example, and he was obviously overpowered by then-UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes.
Now retired, Gracie travels the world promoting the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and teaching seminars, but he is a living testament to what an inferior athlete armed with great art can accomplish as a fighter.
Number 8 » What makes him an overachiever is the fact that he did not embark on a career in MMA until he was 30 years of age, along with the ridiculous level of competition he has faced since his debut and the completely unforeseen late-career improvements that led him to an interim title bout in the UFC at the tender age of 40.
More Top 10s
