This week, the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), the governing body for the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, inducted 10 athletes into the inaugural class of the IBJJF Hall of Fame. Representing the new and old school, these athletes have each won at least 4 world championships, demonstrating their unparalleled skills on the mat and consistently setting an example for the rest of the world. Leading this group was our leader, Royler Gracie – 4 time World Champion, 3-time Abu Dhabi Champion and multiple time Pan-Ams and MMA champion.
Royler was joined in the inaugural class of Hall of Fame inductees by:
- Fabio Gurgel – The “General” of perennial powerhouse team, Alliance, and an incredible competitor of his time, Fabio represented Jiu-Jitsu in the famed ‘Jiu-Jitsu’ vs ‘Luta Livre’ battle of the 90s.
- Bruno Malfacine – An active competitor today and considered by many as the best roosterweight of his time, besting Omar Salum’s (Gracie Humaitá) record of gold medals in the roosterweight category of the Worlds.
- Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles – Along with Rafa Mendes, Cobrinha is arguably the most dominant featherweight in the world of Jiu-Jitsu today. A 4-time World Champion, he exhibits an elegant and acrobatic style of Jiu-Jitsu that has influenced a generation.
- Marcelo Garcia – Perhaps the most consistent finisher of modern Jiu-Jitsu, Marcelo is an active competitor and one of the most talented and driven fighters on the scene today. He is unmatched in his performances at the Abu Dhabi submission grappling World Championships and has matched these feats with the gi as well.
- Robson Moura – The most prolific medal winners of his generation (and the ones after, in all honesty), Robson has more IBJJF gold medals than there are days in the working week. Nobody has been as consistent a winner for as long a period of time, having won his division (not all in the black belt category) in 96, 97, 98, 99, 00 and again in 2007.
- Saulo Ribeiro – Prodigy of Royler Gracie, Saulo is perhaps the greatest strategist in the history of the sport. Intensely driven as a competitor, Saulo has won 5 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 1 bronze medal in the World Championships ACROSS FIVE WEIGHT CLASSES. Starting as a middleweight and moving up to challenge the best of all weight classes through super heavyweight, Saulo never backed down from a challenge and is unmatched in his results.
- Xande Ribeiro – Another student of Royler’s and younger brother to Saulo Ribeiro, Xande is an EIGHT-time World Champion. Having won as a purple belt and brown belt in 1999 and 2000 respectively, Xande first reached the top of the black belt podium in 2004. Today, Xande is a 4 time black belt heavyweight World Champion and also is one of the very few athletes to have won the Open Weight category twice. The greatest rival to 10-time World Champion, Roger Gracie, Xande continues to represent the art well both on the mat as well as in the ring.
- Roger Gracie – The most dominant sport Jiu-Jitsu champion of any era, the giant Roger Gracie is the only person to have won the Open Weight category of the World Championships three times. Having won a gold medal in the Worlds a record 10 times, he is a 7-time Black Belt world champion in his weight class.
- Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes – A pioneer of Jiu-Jitsu, Roleta was the first athlete in the sport to develop an unorthodox style of Jiu-Jitsu. So confusing was his form and so unpassable his guard, that many dubbed his style “Esqui-Jitsu” (Weird-Jitsu). Roleta was proof positive that you could be in control from any situation or any position. Retired today from competition, Roleta inspired many generations of guard players after him (incl. champions such as Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz and Eduardo Telles).
A bit about Royler’s accomplishments:
For years before the IBJJF (and its predecessor, the CBJJ) was even created, Royler Gracie dominated the competition scene. The featherweight category of Jiu-Jitsu could have been stamped “PROPERTY OF ROYLER GRACIE” for the years he was active, as no other athlete’s record could compare. Year after year, Royler competed against the toughest competitors, besting the most talented competitors of 3 generations. From Ricardo de la Riva and Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes in his earlier years, to younger fighters like Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, Leo Santos and Leo Vieira, Royler’s opponents worked, to no avail, to dethrone the champion for years.
Upon retiring from sport Jiu-Jitsu, Royler walked away as the most dominant champion in the sport’s history, winning 4 consecutive World Championships (1996 – 1999), 3 consecutive Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championships (1999 – 2001) and even distinguished himself as the lightest fighter to place in the Open Weight category of the World Championships by winning the bronze medal in the 1997 Worlds (losing only to eventual champion, Amaury Bitetti, after having fought 6 grueling matches, versus Amaury’s two, to reach the semi-finals).
It would take nearly a decade for Royler’s feats to be matched by the likes of Marcelo Garcia and Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles.