Issue 105

September 2013

The UFC middleweight and multi-time BJJ champ discusses living up to the Gracie name, giving away 60lb on his MMA debut and dreams of dining with a boxing legend

BEST ADVICE TO A YOUNGER YOU?

“I would tell myself to continue to do the things I am doing. I would do everything I’ve already done again. In one way it’s hard because you don’t want to make mistakes, but I think it’s what makes you who you are. It’s about learning and improving from your mistakes, that’s what really makes a person who they are. I’ve learned from all the mistakes a younger Roger Gracie made in the past.”

BEST INSPIRATION?

“I have a really strong will coming from inside of me to really be the best fighter I can be. I have a lot of will and raw determination. Everybody trains hard but how long do they really push themselves for? Everybody dedicates themselves to jiu-jitsu or MMA, but how many hours do they put in? Those who really put the hours in have great careers. That’s my motivation.”

BEST MEMORY OF DEBUT?

“My best memory from my first fight was being able to fight against Ron Waterman who was much bigger and stronger than me. He was massive and outweighed me by something like 30kg, and this was when I was much younger and skinnier, so to just go through that challenge was great.”

BEST OPPONENT?

“In MMA my hardest opponent is always my next one because the more I fight, the harder the opponents they give me and the challenges only get bigger. Whereas in jiu-jitsu the hardest opponents I’ve ever faced I fought them seven or eight times so there wasn’t just one time.”

BEST JOB BEFORE FIGHTING?

“This has actually been my only job (laughs). Fighting professionally and teaching people to fight is all I’ve ever known.”

BEST DINNER PARTY GUESTS?

“I would have to say my uncle Rolls Gracie, who I didn’t have the pleasure to meet as he passed away when I was a young child. I would also like to invite to dinner my grandfather, Carlos Gracie, because when I was born he was already quite old. And last but not least, I would have to say Muhammad Ali, having him around the dinner table would be great too.”

BEST GUILTY PLEASURE?

“Sweets (laughs). I really love sweets. Anything sweet I’ll have, whether it’s candy, drinks or desserts. I love it all.”

BEST LIFE LESSON?

“Fighting is the best life lesson you can be handed because it shows exactly who you are. There’s nowhere to hide, there’s no way to avoid anything, you have to face your fears. There’s no way around it, you just have to do it and come through it.”