I am a pretty big UFC fan. I foresee UFC ratings surpassing Boxing if it already hasn't. Not because of the violence, but because of the strategy involved in the fighting. Mixed martial arts in many ways as just as mental as physical. Nothing makes me happier to see a smaller guy take on a musclebound striker and win the fight through a submission. No fighter exemplifies this more than the greatest fighter to ever fight inside the octagon ever--Royce Gracie.

Gracie (in his prime) fought back when there were no weight classes, no gloves over your knuckles, no one card fights, and back when there were virtually no rules. The first Ultimate Fighting Championship had eight combatants who did not only have to win one fight like their UFC counterparts of today. But then had to return later in the night to defeat two more opponents to be the champion (tournament style). I agree as the sport has evolved that format would not work these days, but that format provided some of the best fights I have ever seen, and put Gracie Jujitsu not only on the map, but made it the capitol of mixed martial arts.

Royce's fighting style is Gracie Jujitsu, invented by his father Helio Gracie. The art form was perfected in Brazil where no rules combat (Vale Tudo) is more prevalent than in the U.S. Gracie Jujitsu is well known for using leverage to accommodate for a larger opponent. At 175 pounds, Royce was outweighed by nearly all of his early opponents as he won 11 straight fights over four events. He is listed as having one loss at UFC 3, but Gracie never fought Harold Howard in his 2nd round fight due to injuries and dehydration sustained from his incredible fight against Kimo Leopold in the first round. Kimo was twice the size of Gracie and seemingly had Gracie beat with all his strength and size. For nearly fifteen minutes, Kimo trounced Royce all over the octagon dominating the fight. It truly looked like Royce Gracie could do nothing to stop Kimo. Then magically, near the end of the 3rd round, pinned against the octagon fence and not even easily viewable by the tv cameras, Gracie grabbed one of Kimo's arms and forced him to tap out (or surrender before getting his arm broken). That fight of UFC 3 is my favorite of all time and definitely worth a look next time you're at Blockbuster. After not being able to finish UFC 3, Gracie returned in UFC 4 to once again mop up the field. In UFC 5, his last appearance in his prime, Ken Shamrock and Gracie fought to a draw as they battled for 35 minutes with no clear winner. This was the last time we'd see Royce in battle except for UFC 60 in which a much older Gracie was brought back to fight in what seemed more of a publicity stunt by the new owners of the UFC, but this was not the same fighter as he was in 1993-1995.

Royce Gracie was honored by the UFC in 2003 by being admitted the the UFC Hall of Fame along with veteran fighter Ken Shamrock. I however feel that the UFC owes much more to him. I notice I never see his face on the walls, they have all their new stars: 'The Iceman' Chuck Liddell, Randy 'The Natural' Couture, Matt Hughes and other more marketable types. However every single fighter that steps into the octagon now is forced to train with some jujitsu, some more then others, and a large portion of the fights continue to end in a submission that Royce Gracie made so popular. I still think the UFC is the future, especially when compared to Boxing, but I think they should honor the warrior who built the Octagon they fight in every day.