Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie began his Jiu-Jitsu training at a very early age, being taught by his father who was an instructor at an academy in Brazil. By the age of 18 he was a black belt and moved to California with his brother where they taught Jiu-Jitsu out of their garage to make ends meat. They went on to open the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy which remains to this day one of the largest academies in the country. In 1993 Gracie began his UFC career and went on to win UFC 1, UFC 2, and UFC 4. Between those three events, he set the UFC record for winning 11 straight fights and is the only man in the world in no holds barred matches to win 4 fights in one night. He made a name for himself for agreeing to fight against opponents much larger than himself but finding no problems in defeating them. The Jiu-Jitsu master went on to revolutionize modern MMA with his grappling abilities and the idea of cross-training in the sport. He became the first ever inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2003 after a 14-2-3 record in his MMA career.