Rorion Gracie

Brazil
Born 1952-01-10, Rio de Janeiro
7.7

Description

Brazilian-American Jiu-Jitsu grandmaster and the eldest son of Hélio Gracie. He introduced Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to the United States, opening the first American Gracie Academy, and co-founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with Art Davie in 1993. He holds a 9th-degree red belt, promoted by his father in 2005, and is the founder of the Gracie Diet and Gracie University.

Teachers (1)

  • Hélio Gracie
    sports_martial_artsBrazilian jiu-jitsu Confirmed
    Confirmed
    The official Rorion Gracie biography states he is the eldest son of Hélio Gracie, was introduced to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu before he could walk, and trained under his father's supervision from childhood; the Royce Gracie Lifestyle article corroborates the father-son training relationship
    The evidence establishes the claim: it is sufficient and consistent, and any conflicting evidence is resolved.
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    2 sources expand_more
    fact_check
    The official Rorion Gracie biography states he is the eldest son of Hélio Gracie, was introduced to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu before he could walk, and trained under his father's supervision from childhood; the Royce Gracie Lifestyle article corroborates the father-son training relationship
    visibilityFirst-hand
    “Rorion Gracie, the eldest son of Grand Master Helio Gracie, was introduced to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu before he could walk. Trained under his father's watchful eye, he was raised to become a master of the art.”
    — Rorion Gracie. About Rorion (Rorion Gracie Official)link history info
    “Back in Brazil, Rorion spent the 1970s preparing for his return. He enrolled at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and earned a law degree while continuing to teach jiu-jitsu at his father Hélio's academy.”
    — Royce Gracie Lifestyle. (2026). Gracie Spotlight: Rorion Gracie — The Man Who Built the UFC (Royce Gracie Lifestyle)link history info

Lineage

Ranks (1)

  • sports_martial_artsBrazilian jiu-jitsu
    receipt_longRed belt, degree 9 Confirmed
    Confirmed
    The official Rorion Gracie biography states he was promoted to 9th-degree red belt by his father Hélio Gracie in 2005, corroborated by the Royce Gracie Lifestyle article and Wikipedia
    The evidence establishes the claim: it is sufficient and consistent, and any conflicting evidence is resolved.
    BJJ Ranking System (2005)
    granted by Hélio Gracie
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    3 sources expand_more
    fact_check
    The official Rorion Gracie biography states he was promoted to 9th-degree red belt by his father Hélio Gracie in 2005, corroborated by the Royce Gracie Lifestyle article and Wikipedia
    visibilityFirst-hand
    “In 2005, Rorion was promoted by his father to the 9th-degree red belt, making him the highest-ranked Gracie Jiu-Jitsu expert in the United States.”
    — Rorion Gracie. About Rorion (Rorion Gracie Official)link history info
    “Rorion Gracie is one of only a handful of people in the world to hold a 9th Degree Red Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—the highest rank attainable through time in grade.”
    — Royce Gracie Lifestyle. (2026). Gracie Spotlight: Rorion Gracie — The Man Who Built the UFC (Royce Gracie Lifestyle)link history info
    “Rank 9th deg. BJJ red belt”
    — Wikipedia contributors. Rorion Gracie (Wikipedia EN). Wikipedia (English)link history info

Students (1)

  • Richard Bresler
    sports_martial_artsBrazilian jiu-jitsu Probable
    Probable
    Single source.
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    (1979)
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    2 sources expand_more
    fact_check
    Single source.
    visibilityFirst-hand
    “I started training in July 1979 in Redondo Beach.”
    — Drysdale, Robert. (2023). The Rise and Evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: From Vale-Tudo, to Carlson Gracie, to its Democratization info
    “is a sixth degree black-belt under Rorion”
    — Drysdale, Robert. (2023). The Rise and Evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: From Vale-Tudo, to Carlson Gracie, to its Democratization info

Sources

visibilityFirst-hand
Rorion Gracie. About Rorion (Rorion Gracie Official)link history info
Royce Gracie Lifestyle. (2026). Gracie Spotlight: Rorion Gracie — The Man Who Built the UFC (Royce Gracie Lifestyle) link history info
Wikipedia contributors. Rorion Gracie (Wikipedia EN). Wikipedia (English)link history info
Silva, Gustavo. (2016). A vida e obra de Rorion Gracie, mito do jiu-jitsu brasileiro, por ele mesmo (GQ Brasil)link history info

Identifiers

https://martial.is/entity/01KZ1TRSW0VJJTMCJ7NK8WWRF0
Wikidata

Cite and reuse

CC BY-SA 4.0expand_more
Plain text
Muñoz, Frederico (YEAR_PLACEHOLDER). Rorion Gracie. In Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage Database. https://martial.is/entity/01KZ1TRSW0VJJTMCJ7NK8WWRF0 - CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER.
BibTeX
@incollection{martialis_01KZ1TRSW0VJJTMCJ7NK8WWRF0, author = {Muñoz, Frederico}, title = {Rorion Gracie}, booktitle = {Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage Database}, year = {YEAR_PLACEHOLDER}, url = {https://martial.is/entity/01KZ1TRSW0VJJTMCJ7NK8WWRF0}, urldate = {ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }
data_object JSON-LDdata_object Turtle

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