FanNation

Juice1698 said 05/15, 11:13 PM
Yes, Gracie is a Pioneer of the UFC, the UFC with no holds barred that basically resembled bar room brawling outside of his own true discipline...but it is not Royce who I refer to, rather it is Rorion Gracie who convinced a friend of his with money to spend to invest in an alternative to boxing and wrestling. It was a venue for martial artists to come and see how they matched up against various other martial artists of varying disciplines. Yes, Royce was the first member of the family to fight in the UFC so that makes him a pioneer. The man not only helped create the UFC, but beforehand he created his own version of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and that was another big reason he wanted the invention of the UFC to occur, so he could showcase his own brand against all the others that had been around for many more years then he had been alive. He would invite new students whose previous instructors thought that Gracie Jiu Jitsu was 2nd rate to bring them to have a little exhibition where he proceeded to kick the ever loving crap out of them by using only what he taught. www.GracieAcademy.com

Juice1698 said 05/15, 11:34 PM
Pioneer, not fighter.....but since the UFC was all but dead I will go elsewhere with my pick.....Chuck Liddell or Randy Couture. As the Ultimate Fighter was a last ditch effort to get the UFC back up and actually making money rather then just being another defunct name people randomly heard of. Either one of those two were the first two coaches on the Ultimate Fighter and their personalities and coaching styles captured peoples' attention and made them realize the UFC wasn't a bunch of so called martial artists participating in a Tough Man Contest going under a different name. You ask anyone and surely they can tell you who Chuck Liddell or Randy Couture is...how many can tell you who Royce Gracie is??? Royce was the pioneer of the UFC B.C. (Before Chuck or Before Couture) but that UFC as anyone who knew it or loved it died....the New UFC, a UFC without a Gracie for several years is more popular and better understood today thanks in part to people like Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Dana White, etc.

Juice1698 said 05/15, 11:56 PM
I named two who were pioneers of the NEW UFC...I never said they weren't pioneers. Royce was a pioneer of the Tough Man Contests of modern day where you can choke and/or gouge the other guys eyes. The UFC was dead and buried for a few years and then they rose like the phoenix from the ashes and caught on with people between the ages of 18-35 thanks to the Pioneers who hoisted the torch up high for everyone to see and raised the bar for competition. It is NOW the Ultimate Fighting Championship...before it was Street Fighter and the actual fighter back then probably helped fuel the creators of the game Street Fighter to make new characters. See the bottom line is this...your talking Old Testament and I am talking New Testament...both exist but which one are more people familiar with? Alot of the Old is replaced and overruled by the New. In this case, the Gracies ditched the UFC when it decided to try and get legalized in other states by implementing rules and regulations and that is fine because it still died because it didn't have the right backing from its' owner. He sold it and the new owners lost money until they molded something from the clay that was left, the new UFC!!