Early career During his teenage years, after training with his uncle Rilion Gracie, Gracie started competition. then the following year Gracie won the 2000
Pan American Championship followed by the
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship both in the medium-heavy blue belt division. Training in the UK with his father and in Brazil with his uncle
Carlos Gracie, Jr., Also in 2001 after receiving his brown belt he won the Brazilian Nationals for the second time. In 2002 as a brown belt Gracie won both the heavyweight division and the open class becoming double world champion for the first time. Competing at the 2003
ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship taking place for the first time in
São Paulo on 17 May, Gracie arrived third in the - category, after defeating
Mário Sperry and
Rigan Machado but losing to
John-Olav Einemo (2–0). In 2003 at age 22, Gracie received his black belt from his uncle Carlos Gracie Jr.
2004–2005: First IBJJF titles, ADCC world double gold At the
2004 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Gracie won the super heavyweight division but lost the final of the Absolute in a controversial match, after his opponent
Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza refused to tap out after getting armbared, got his arm dislocated as a result, then stayed away from Gracie with his broken left arm tucked into his belt, to keep his lead on points and win the match. In May 2005 Gracie competed in the
ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship taking place at the
Walter Pyramid in
Long Beach California. Gracie won all 8 of his matches, both at the super heavyweight and at the absolute weight classes, That same year Gracie won the
2005 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship with silver in Absolute, then double gold at the 2005
European Open Championship winning the ultra heavyweight division and defeating Ronaldo Souza in the Absolute.
2006–2007: Pan Am champion, ADCC superfight champion In April 2006 competing at the Pan American Championship taking place at
California State University, Gracie won silver in the super heavyweight division after losing by points to
Xande Ribeiro, the fourth loss of his career; he then won gold in Absolute after submitting the same Ribeiro in a triangle within 30 seconds. Gracie won another world title in 2006, at the
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship taking place in Rio de Janeiro, after defeating
Robert Drysdale in the super heavyweight final, Gracie then won silver in Absolute, after losing by points against Xande Ribeiro, in the last few seconds of the fight; In 2007 Gracie won both divisions, earning double world championship gold for weight and absolute, submitting all his opponents except Fernando Pontes "Margarida"; At the 2007 ADCC world championships in
Trenton, New Jersey, Gracie fought and won by points, a superfight against
Jon Olav Einemo, one of only four men who had managed to defeat him in the past, Gracie became in the process the first ADCC triple crown winner.
2008–2010: Tenth world title, retirement from competition The following year Gracie became the
2008 World Champion but lost the Absolute final against Xande Ribeiro after the clock ran out. At the
2009 World Championship Gracie submitted all of his opponents, in the super heavyweight and in the absolute weight class, with a "cross choke from mount", winning double gold again. In 2010 Gracie fought his last world championship, Gracie won both divisions, winning 8 fights with a "choke from the back", defeating Ricardo Abreu by points in the Super Heavyweight final, and winning the Absolute without fighting, after
Romulo Barral forfeited due to an injury. Gracie became the first athlete to win 3 Open weight titles at black belt level. Gracie announced leaving BJJ competition to focus on his mixed martial arts career.
Superfights Gracie vs. Buchecha In 2012, Gracie returned to grappling competition for one night only at
Metamoris 1, a submission only superfights event, to face
Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida "the new 22-year-old heavyweight jiu-jitsu sensation', the bout was ruled a draw, while the match, which lasted 20 minutes, was noted by some as "one of the greatest grappling matches ever recorded".
Gracie vs. Buchecha II On 23 July 2017, at
Gracie Pro jiu-jitsu an event taking place at
Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro, Gracie faced Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida for a 15-minute superfight dubbed "the most-anticipated rematch in jiu-jitsu history", at that point both fighters held 10 world championship titles and were considered the greatest competitors in the sport. In the five previous years Gracie only fought one match against Rodrigo Comprido while Buchecha fought seventy matches winning more world championship titles than any other fighter at the time. Gracie submitted Buchecha with a lapel choke at the 6:52 mark of the match, right after his win, Gracie announced his final retirement from BJJ competition.
Recognition Having never been submitted in 20 years of competition, holding 14 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship titles (10 as black belt), with three gold and five silver in the open weight division, Gracie is regarded by many as the greatest jiu-jitsu competitor of all time. On 14 November 2021, Gracie became the first person to be inducted into the
ADCC Hall of Fame, owing in part to his two gold medals at the 2005 ADCC world championship and his superfight victory in 2007. In July 2022 Gracie received his 5th Stripe on his BJJ black belt from his father, Mauricio Gomes. == Mixed martial arts career ==