Ralph Gracie

Ralph Gracie (the Pitbull;^[2] born May 25, 1971) is a Brazilian martial artist who has competed in mixed martial arts.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]} He is the son of Robson Gracie and brother to Charles Gracie, Renzo Gracie and the late Ryan Gracie of the Gracie family.^{[9][9][10][11] [12]}

Mixed martial arts career

Ralph's 1995 American debut was featured in the short-lived Battlecade Extreme Fighting events.^[12][13][14] Gracie won fights versus Makoto Murauko, Steve Nelson, and Ali Mihoubi, the longest of which lasted a minute and thirty-four seconds. In sharp contrast to the typical "passive" Gracie approach, Ralph's aggressive and often brutal approach earned him the nickname of "The Pitbull".^{[2][12][12][15][16][17][18][19]}

In 2003, Ralph ended his absence from fighting to pit his skills against modern MMA fighters, earning a decision win over Dokonjonosuke Mishima.^[20][21][22] The following year, he suffered a loss to Takanori Gomi, who stopped Gracie in six seconds with knee strikes to the head in what would be Gracie's last MMA fight.^{[12][23][24][25]}

Upon retirement, Gracie held a record of six wins and one loss in sanctioned fights. He holds a fifth degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and has won several BJJ tournaments. Ralph also owns and operates a series of martial arts academies in California (specializing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) and has been doing so for over a decade.

Academies

Ralph Gracie currently has four academies in the San Francisco Bay Area (San Francisco, Mountain View, Berkeley, and Dublin) and two in Orange County (Anaheim and Chino Hills); the largest of these being the San Francisco Academy. Kurt Osiander, who has been studying under Ralph Gracie for 17 years, is currently head instructor at the San Francisco Academy.^[26] Notable instructor, and 4th degree black belt, Luis Eduardo Fraga, has been head instructor at the Berkeley Academy since 2007.^{[27][28][29][30][31]}

Gracie taught former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion, BJ Penn, when he first came to California from Hawaii.

Mixed martial arts record

References

External links

• RalphGracie.com Official home page
• Professional MMA record for Ralph Gracie from Sherdog