![royce gracie]()
49 year-old BJJ and MMA legend
Royce Gracie has stated that he may fight at least one more time in the sport. Gracie's controversial win over
Ken Shamrock at
Bellator 149 in February was his first MMA bout in nine years.
The formative years of mixed martial arts in the USA are synonymous with the name of Royce Gracie. Weighing just 180lbs, he entered the first UFC fighting all comers, of all styles, and of all sizes. In one evening he defeated a boxer (Art Jimmerson), a submission wrestler (Ken Shamrock) and a Karateka (Gerard Gourdeau), to claim the first ever UFC title.
Gracie would go on to win the UFC openweight tournament format three times in total, but it was on that first evening that the way people thought about combat and the martial arts changed forever, sewing the seeds of the modern sport of MMA.
It would not be unkind to say, however, that the game has moved past him. And, at 49, most found his most recent win against Shamrock an unedifying spectacle. Despite a TKO victory that followed the Brazilian landing a couple of hard low-blows- bizarrely unseen by the referee- the view of spectators was unanimous that elite MMA was something now far beyond both veterans.
However, speaking with Brazilian sports outlet
Combate, Gracie seemed more impressed with his last outing at Bellator than most and, if anything, it appears to have reignited his fighting spirit. According to a translation of the interview from
Bloody Elbow, he said:
"Man, I'm trying to leave this game," said Gracie. "I'm not retired. I'm on a break, but it's hard to quit, because I like to fight. When you like something, it's not work, it's a pleasure. Everyone wants to fight me. It's a long list. That's good, it shows there's demand. I'll face whoever the promotion puts in front of me. I never picked an opponent...
...Sean Sherk, Dan Severn, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, everyone wants to fight me. The old guys are showing up."
Ken Shamrock has also called for a forth fight, obviously angry at the outcome of their last bout, but drug violations may have put paid to that, at least in the USA. Sherk has gone on record as saying he'd like the fight, and Severn might be tempted out of retirement by a rematch.
The idea of Don 'The Dragon' Wilson making an MMA debut at the age of 61 seems more than unlikely, however. The former champion kickboxer was a commentator at UFC 7.
