After the success in Brazil and Japan, the documentary “From the Samurai to MMA, 500 years of fighting” is finally available in Amazon Prime video to the USA and UK (version with subtitles or dubbed).

The series traces the history of Jiu Jitsu from feudal Japan, through the revolution started by Jigoro Kano, Mitsuyo Maeda and then by the Gracie family in Brazil, to the popularization of the sport around the world through the creation of UFC.

Divided into 5 chapters of 30 minutes, the story is narrated by protagonists and renowned historians. Royce Gracie, Marco Ruas, João Alberto Barreto, Art Davie, Rodrigo Minotauro, Renzo Gracie, Demian Maia, Reila Gracie, Pedro Valente, Royler Gracie, Fabio Gurgel, Mo Jassim and Yuki Nakai are among the 54 characters interviewed in the documentary.

Created by the journalist Marcelo Alonso to Combate channel, the serie shows in detail the importance of the Gracie Dynasty and its main disciples and opponents in the construction of Jiu-Jitsu and MMA.

“I have no doubt that It´s the most complete documentary ever made about the origins of Jiu-Jitsu and MMA”, said master João Alberto Barreto, red belt of Helio Gracie, after the cinema release premiere in Brazil on 2023. First UFC champion in middleweight division, Murilo Bustamante, were also present. “Anyone who lives from Jiu-Jitsu or MMA must learns about the origins of the sport”.

Dominyka Obelenyte

In a sea of Brazilians, a little more than a handful of American black belts have written their names in world championship history. The competition was always very hard, but they have strived to be among the best. Here’s a brief reminder of how they got to the top.

BJ Penn

The Prodigy’s story at the Worlds started really in 1998, when a certain Jay Penn finished second in the blue belt featherweight division. As a matter of fact, that year, the spotlight was directed to BJ’s brother, Reagan, who won six matches and conquered the lightweight division of the blue belt. Two years later, already a black belt and now part of Nova União, BJ made history when he became the first American to win an adult male black belt division at the Worlds. in the final, he beat Edson Diniz 5-0 with a sweep and a guard pass. It would take five years for another American to repeat Penn’s accomplishment.

Robert Drysdale

Born in Provo, Utah, in 1981, Drysdale moved to his mother’s home country of Brazil when he was just six years old. It is true that Drysdale did all his training in Brazil since he was 17, but that does not erase the fact that he is a natural born American. In 2005, he became the second man born in the USA to win a gold medal at the adult black belt division of the Worlds. he won the heavyweight division after a final against Fernando Marques. Drysdale went on to have one of the most accomplished careers in history.

Rafael Lovato Jr.

Lovato became the third American man to win a black belt division at the Worlds when he beat Luiz Theodoro in the ultra-heavyweight final in 2007. A black belt under the Ribeiro brothers, Lovato is also a No-Gi world champion, among several other accolades. He is also the only male American to hold a gold medal in the black belt division of the Worlds after the championship moved to California.

Lana Stefanac

The first non-Brazilian athlete to win a gold medal in the adult black belt open class division of the Worlds was brown belt Lana Stefanac. In 2009, at 33 years old, she won both the heavyweight division and the absolute. On her way to the groundbreaking open class gold, she beat Gabi Garcia in the semifinal and then Kyra Gracie in the final. It would take another six years for a non-Brazilian to repeat Lana’s accomplishment.

Hillary Williams

Hillary went all in in her Jiu-Jitsu journey. Just to learn the techniques and become one of the best competitors of her generation was not enough. She decided to learn the language most Jiu-Jitsu practitioners speak, so she self taught herself to speak Portuguese. Then, she travelled to Brazil and trained at a bunch of different academies and competed in different events. She learned the rules so well, she became one of the first female referees in the IBJJF roster. In 2010, still a brown belt, she rose to the occasion and won the middleweight division at the Worlds, after a tought battle against Caroline De Lazzer. Soon after she got her black belt and then withdrew from competitions to go after a Medical Degree, which she got in 2015.

Keenan Cornelius

Keenan first made the headlines in 2013, when he won double gold at the Jiu-Jitsu grand slam (European, Pan, Brazilian Nationals and Worlds), conquering his weight division and the open class in all four events as a purple belt. Known for his highly inventive style, Cornelius kept rising to the status of superstar within the Jiu-Jitsu community with solid results all throughout the brown belt division, even after a tumultuous move from Team lloyd Irvin to Atos JJ. As a black belt, Keenan is still looking for his first gold medal at the Worlds, but he already has the title of first non-Brazilian ever to place in the open class podium, with a third place in 2014. Still young, at 24, who can say what he can achieve.

Mackenzie Dern

At first, she was the daughter of the famous Wellignton Megaton, the only black belt to compete in all editions of the Worlds. With time, her results shifted that title and today Megaton is widely know as the father of female superstar, Mackenzie Dern. A world champions in all belts since 2007, as a juvenile blue belt, Mackenzie won her first gold as a black belt in 2015 after choking Michelle Nicolini. It was exactly the year her father celebrated his 20th appearance at the Worlds. She still after the open class gold medal, a really tough mountain to climb as a featherweight, but there’s no doubt she will continue trying.

Dominyka Obelenyte

Ok, she was technically born in Lithuania, but came to America when she was only 6. Dominyka did all her training in the USA, so we’ll consider her an American talent in BJJ. Just like Mackenzie, she made her first podium appearance at the Worlds as a juvenile. As a matter of fact, they were in the same lightweight division in 2008, as blue belts, and mackenzie won that final. Then, in 2010, she won the blue belt lightweight divison and hasn’t stopped since. In 2011, she finished second in the middleweight and won the purple belt open class. Two years later, she was the brown belt medium-heavy champion. In 2014 she won the heavyweight division still as a brown belt and finished second to Monique Elias in the open class. The big moment came in 2015, at 19, Dominyka had an outstanding campaign to win double gold in the heavyweight and have her revenge against Monique in the open class.

Will Americans write another chapter of their story at the 2016 Worlds?

Don’t forget to register for the 2016 Worlds until May 24.

Click here to sign up now.

Gabi Garcia​ tells all, Rolls Gracie, Romulo Barral, Rafael dos Anjos, Jacob Harman and Wrestling Lessons, Why I Roll?, Nutrition Facts and much, much more…

Rolls Gracie Photo: Family archives

Rolls Gracie would be 64 years old if he was still with us.

One of the most influential members of the Gracie family died in a paraglide accident in Rio de Janeiro, on June 6th 1983, when he was only 31.

Despite that, Rolls was able to leave his mark imprinted in Jiu-Jitsu history with his performances and his teachings.

He was responsible for the formation of many important black belts that later went on to build their own lineages.

Masters like Romero Cavalcanti, founder of Alliance; Mauricio Gomes, father of Roger Gracie; José Henrique Leão Teixeira, among many others.

Rolls is known as one of the greatest Jiu-Jitsu innovators, introducing new techniques and training methods.

Because of his incredible technical skills, he was a very accomplished competitor, even in other sports, like wrestling and sambo.

The website launched March 28 and is the work of his son and Jiu-Jitsu black belt Rolles Gracie.

“The idea is to maintain his memory and legacy alive. I’ll keep on updating it with pictures, videos and stories from the people who were influenced by him” says Rolles.

If you want to know all about one of the icons of the gentle art, visit now rollsgracie.com

Here are the answers for the 19 pictures you saw on page 74 of GRACIEMAG #218.

“I proved how technique is what matters most. I felt really proud of what Jiu-Jitsu could do for us.” With that phrase, Royler Gracie analyzed his performance at the 1997 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship black belt open class division.

After winning the featherweight division for the second year in a row, where he fought four times and finally got gold after a battle against Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, Royler decided to try his luck in the absolute against the big guys.

Luca Atalla reported on Royler’s odyssey on the pages of GRACIEMAG #11. Here is an excerpt:

“With his known speed, Royler opened the fight with a beautiful takedown in Arthur Ignarra, the ultra-heavy runner-up, who then managed to get the top position, but was unable to undo the score achieved by Royler early in the fight. Then he faced Leo Dalla in the quarterfinal. The fight began favorably for Jorge Pereira’s black belt, who was able to keep the top position. Incredibly, Dalla gassed out before Royler. So the Gracie scored with a lot of technique and power to manage a sweep and a guard pass. He kept on going and ended the fight on Dalla’s back, trying to finish.”

The next opponent would be Amaury Bitetti, the previous year’s absolute champion and favorite for the back-to-back title. We go to Luca’s report once again:

“On one side, with 67kg (147 pounds), entering the seventh fight in the competition, Royler Gracie, the black belt who has perhaps the greatest sports curriculum in the history of Jiu-Jitsu. On the other side, with 87kg (191 pounds), Amaury Bitetti, defending the title of absolute world champion. The fight was much anticipated. Royler’s idea was to make it a rematch of the fight the two had five years ago (1992), when Bitetti was decided to be the winner in a controversial decision. Well, the fact is that the Gracie tried another tactic this time. He went for a standing game with the absolute champion. It started badly for Royler, who suffered a takedown and saw two points being scored against him. The two continued standing, and the better opportunities were still Amaury’s, who did not fall at any time and got his spot in the final. Royler said goodbye to the dispute and was highly acclaimed by the public as one of the main (fighters) responsible for the show of Jiu-Jitsu witnessed by the crowd.”

Want to know how much of a big deal Royler’s bronze medal in the absolute was (and still is)? Know that in the 15 editions that went by since that podium, no other athlete as light as Royler was able to equal his performance. The Gracie still stands as the lightest competitor to have ever conquered a medal in the black belt open class in a World Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Amaury vs. Gurgel at the 1997 Worlds

And so there was the final, once again a duel between Amaury Bitetti and Fábio Gurgel. It was the same final of the year before, in the first ever World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, held also at Tijuca Tenis Clube, in January 1996.

In fact, the Bitetti vs. Gurgel matches were a classic of early competition Jiu-Jitsu. The two faced each other countless times. The fights were always highly anticipated, as all matches between two great competitors are, but not always thrilling. Being so skilled and having competed so many times against each other, both Gurgel and Amaury knew each other’s games very well and were capable of neutralizing with efficiency.

Here is how Luca described the 1997 Worlds absolute final:

“The confrontation between the two was worthy of the title of a black belt absolute final. Exciting, but somewhat slow. Beautiful, but too tense. Close to call, but with a slight advantage for Amaury, who played on top and actually tried to pass Fabio’s guard, even trying a cartwheel. Gurgel almost got Bitteti out of balance once or twice and the tough job to pick the winner was left to referee Adilson Bita. He eventually drew tears from Bitteti when he raised his arm. The goal for the hard training had been completed. The absolute champion was once again Amaury Bitetti. With strategy, honor and merit.”

Why “one bullet Bitetti,” you may ask? Because earlier that day the soon-to-be champion decided not to compete in the heavyweight division. He said to Luca: “The weight category was not that hard, but I decided to risk it all in the open class. It all went according to the plan. I was full of gas and also very well trained once I trained with everybody for this championship. I trained with my master Osvaldo Alves, with the guys from Carlson Gracie Academy, with Ricardo Libório, Bebel Duarte and also with the people from Nova União, like Vitor Shaolin and Ricardo Charuto.”

To close it up, two videos.

First the full match between Bitetti and Gurgel.

And then the historical celebration of the title with Master Osvaldo Alves’ flight over Bitetti.

After reliving another thrilling chapter of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, don’t waste time and register today for the 2013 Worlds.

Click here to enroll now!