Robson Gracie

Robson Gracie learned martial arts from his father, Carlos Gracie, and his uncle Helio Gracie.[3] In the 1950s, Robson competed in Vale Tudo competitions. His début mixed martial arts fight was against Artur Emidio in April 1957. During the fight, Gracie submitted his opponent but refused to release him until the referee pulled them apart. Despite his small stature, incidents like this were to characterize Gracie's professional life as a tenacious fighter. Gracie lived and taught in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he was the president of the Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Rio de Janeiro.[3]

In the 1960s, Gracie served as a bodyguard to Leonel Brizola, the brother-in-law of the then President of Brazil, João Goulart.[4] His political affiliations placed him under the scrutiny of the military regime, following the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état. His assistance to the Marxist guerrilla organization Ação Libertadora Nacional led to his arrest, and the arrest of several members of his family, by the Brazilian Secret Service. Gracie's wife, Vera Lucia, made representations to the Brazilian military government to release her husband which resulted in her own arrest; however, she was quickly released.[4]

On 25 October 2018, shortly before the second round of the 2018 Brazilian general election, Robson Gracie handed an honorary black belt to the future President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who has never trained in jiu-jitsu.[5][6] (In 2023 the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court barred Bolsonaro from running for public office until 2030 as a result of his attempts to undermine the validity of Brazil's 2022 democratic election, as well as for abuse of power with regards to using government channels to promote his campaign.)[7]

Gracie died in Rio de Janeiro on 28 April 2023, at the age of 88.[8][9]

• Carlos Gracie: O Criador De Uma Dinastia, Relia Gracie, 2009, ISBN 8501080756 (in Portuguese)