This Started It Off... Ultimate Gracie

[Helge Båtstad]

so his grappling up to that point is pure wresling ?

[Lindsey Loewen]

Matt Hughes is a ridiculously good grappler, as amazing as Royce is, I dont think it was a match of opposite styles as much as legend/veteran vs. genetic mutation and ADCC quality grappler Matt Hughes. Remember, Royce's whole mission was to show that submissions are a viable way to finish a fight.

[Lindsey Loewen]

Matt Hughes has always had BJJ as part of the H.I.T. squad, so its not like its all that big a deal that a athlete and champion groundfighter could get the ups on a older, skinnier grappler. Even Helio Gracie was vocal about how Jitz has limits to the technique and everyone has someone that they cant quite beat. Helio's was Kimura, Royce's was Matt Hughes, an impressive limit.

[JeffRace727]

I don't think Royce is as good of a grappler as everyone thinks he is.
When UFC first came around, yeah, he was killing it.
But the game has evolved so much now that he is out of the flow.
I still give him credit though, I probably wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for him.

[Lindsey Loewen]

Royce is a badass grappler, I rolled with him and he treated me like a little girl, he is super flexible and damn strong. Plus who else has the massive balls to step into a NHB fight with monsters like Severn? He is probably out of his prime but him and his family's mastery is nothing to be overlooked. Nowadays we have all of these championships which showcase grapplers who could probably give him a run for his money in his prime (MG vs 25 year old Royce?) but you still cant say he is less than a BJJ master.

[Jeff V]

Royce was way ahead of his time and helped usher in the BJJ craze that inevitably got me interested in grappling. I wanted to see if there was anyone out there respected in the BJJ world who has commented on Royce's level of BJJ and I found this excerpt from a Marc Laimon Interview...

MMAyou.com: How would you rate Royce’s BJJ and MMA skills?

Laimon: It’s pretty poor. It’s actually sh** if you want to not mince words, it’s pretty awful. Matt Hughes SMASHED him on the ground. Took him down, passed his guard, took his back and mounted him. I think Royce is maybe like a good blue belt, maybe a purple belt. I don’t think he’s very good at Jiu Jitsu at all. He happened to be doing it at a time when the level was so low, having Jiu Jitsu was like having a weapon. It was like having a gun or a knife in a fight. People don’t know what’s going on, they didn’t know what to do, they get caught in stuff. Once people started to study the game, video tape doesn’t lie, once you start studying footage, and understanding the principles and concepts of Jiu Jitsu, you realize it’s nothing magic. It’s just you gotta know where to put your arms and what to do.

You see Matt Hughes a guy from the Midwest, who’s a wrestler, basically made Royce look like a white belt. I just think his level of Jiu Jitsu is very very low.


Has anyone else heard another BJJ black belt express this same opinion?

[Ric]

The question I always have about Royce is whether or not he has added new techniques to his game. Like 10 years ago Butterfly Guard wasn't that popular but today it is. I recall one of Helio sons, Relson Gracie stating on the Fightworks podcast that his students don't do the Butterfly Guard because is something that Helio didn't use. In the classic Gracie style it seems you passed the guard and went to mount. Today more people seem to ignore the mount and try for side control.

I wonder if Royce has moved on to new stuff, or if he just practices classic Gracie Jiu Jitsu. When I saw him doing the full splits in that Ultimate Gracie special, I couldn't help but think how good he'd be at stuff like Invisible Collar, Jailbreak, etc.