In a recent interview, Royce Gracie shared his observations about modern combat sports, touching on everything from his UFC origins to contemporary athletes. Among his most pointed remarks were his comments about Brazilian athletes and their approach to training.
When discussing current MMA stars, Gracie expressed admiration for Charles Oliveira, acknowledging that the Brazilian star surpassed his submission record.
“Man, he’s amazing, isn’t he? And he represents Jitsu very well within MMA. I like him,”
Gracie said.
However, his praise extended even more enthusiastically to MMA stars from Dagestan, particularly those from Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s team.
“The guys from Dagestan, the guys from Khabib’s team, those boys are good, they’re good and they’re dedicated, they have a lot of discipline. What that team doesn’t lack is discipline,”
he stated.
This led Gracie to his central critique of Brazilian athletes.
“That’s what many combat athletes lack today. And not just in competing, but in football as well. Our Brazilian soccer team, man, they have several players there, they’re one of the top 10 in the world, but they lack discipline. Discipline goes out to the party, you know?”
He contrasted this with the Dagestani approach.
“Like I said, the guys from Dagestan, man, they don’t have that kind of thing, they have discipline, no birthdays, no parties, no ‘today is Sunday, I can rest’ attitude. It’s about waking up and training every day.”
These observations reflect Gracie‘s own philosophy, shaped by his father Hélio Gracie‘s teachings. Throughout his career, Gracie maintained strict personal standards.
“I’m an athlete all the time, not just occasionally, not just to say I’m an athlete, not just during a season. It’s all the time,”
he explained.
When concluding the interview, Gracie emphasized this principle once more.
“Everything is possible, you just need the discipline to get up and do what you have to do. Talent, it all ends. You have to have the discipline to get up and do what you have to do.”
