A member of the Gracie family of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he is the son of 9th deg. BJJ red beltRickson Gracie and a grandson of BJJ co-founder Hélio Gracie. Training jiu-jitsu from a very young age Gracie became a two-time IBJJF World champion and four-time Pan-American champion before receiving his black belt at the age of 19. By 2008 Gracie held a record of 51 consecutive matches won by submission at high level tournaments. After medalling at the Pan-American championship, Gracie became European champion in 2009, World championship silver medallist in 2011 and in 2013 ADCC Submission Fighting World Champion.
Early life
Gracie was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil the youngest son of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) master Rickson Gracie but lived most of his life in Los Angeles after his father moved to California in 1989. He began his BJJ training under his father as a child, winning his first competition as a yellow belt at the age of ten. Kron is the youngest of four children to Rickson Gracie and grandson of the late Helio Gracie. He has two older sisters Kauan and Kaulin, his older brother Rockson died in 2000.[5]
Brazilian jiu-jitsu career
2005–2007: First world and Pan Am championships titles
At the age of 16, competing as a blue belt in the Adult lightweight division, Gracie won the 2004 IBJJF American National Jiu-Jitsu Championship.[6] After receiving his purple belt Gracie won the 2005 Pan Championship then in 2006, Gracie won both the IBJJFWorld Championship and the CBJJO World Jiu-Jitsu Cup. Competing in grappling Gracie won the 2006 NAGA Championship in the Adult Lightweight Division. The following year as a brown belt, he became world champion for the second time and Pan American champion for the fourth time winning double gold, in his division and, after defeating Tom DeBlass, in absolute (aka open class).[4] At that point Gracie held a record 51-match submission streak.[7][8]
2008–2010: Black belt, European champion, ADCC medallist
In 2008, at the age of 19, Gracie was promoted to black belt by his father a week before the World Championship,[9] however Gracie was submitted by Sergio Moraes in the first match of the middleweight division.[8] In 2009 Gracie won the European Championship after defeating Yan Cabral in the final, a few days after the death of his grandfather, Grandmaster Helio Gracie,[4] he then won silver at the 2009 Pan Championship in the middleweight division after losing by points in the final against Lucas Leite.[10] At the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) grappling competition in Barcelona, the most prestigious grappling tournament in the world, Gracie lost the 77 kilograms (170 lb) Quarter-final after being submitted via mounted guillotine choke by Marcelo Garcia.[11] Two years later Gracie won bronze at 2011 ADCC World after losing again to Marcelo Garcia in a close match after Garcia won by points.[12] Gracie became known as "Ice Cream Kron" due to his calm demeanour when fighting.[13][14]
2011–2013: Superfights, ADCC World champion
Gracie won silver at the 2011 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, in the lightweight division, submitting Leandro Lo then losing 9-2 to Gilbert "Durinho" Burns in the finals.[15] At 2012 Pan Am, competing under Rickson Gracie BJJ team, Gracie won bronze in middleweight and bronze in absolute after losing in the final against ultra heavyweight Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida;[16] that same year he became World Jiu-Jitsu Expo Superfight champion[7] after defeating Victor Estima in a tight match won by advantage at the World Jiu Jitsu Expo in Long Beach, California.[17] In October 2012 Gracie participated in a Gi Superfight at Metamoris 1 in San Diego, submitting Otávio Souza at seventeen minutes of Round 1 by armbar.[18]
In June 2013 Gracie participated in a No-gi Superfight at Metamoris 2 in Los Angeles, defeating Japanese MMA star Shinya Aoki by guillotine choke in seven minutes.[19] In October 2013 Gracie won his division of the ADCC World Championship in Beijing submitting all his opponents including Garry Tonon in the Quarter-final, JT Torres in the Semi-final and Otávio Souza submitted by guillotine choke in the Final.[20][21]
Mixed martial arts career
2014–2016: Japanese debut, Rizin Fighting
On February 24, 2014, Gracie announced his intention to pursue an MMA career.[22] Gracie chose to cut down weight to compete at 155 pounds (70 kg) instead of his usual 170–180 pounds (77–82 kg) jiu-jitsu and grappling weight class.[23] He started training for his first MMA bout with the California based Scrap Pack,[23] a group of fighters comprising Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu students Gilbert Melendez, Nick and Nate Diaz.[4][24] Gracie made his mixed martial arts debut on December 23, 2014,[25] facing fellow South Korean wrestler Hyung Soo-Kim at Real Fighting Championship: Real 1 at a catch weight of 161 pounds (73 kg).[26] Gracie won the fight via armbar, sixty-five seconds into the first round.[27]
Gracie fought on December 31, 2015 at Rizin Fighting Federation World Tournament.[28] He faced Asen Yamamoto and won the fight by submission via triangle choke in the first round.[29] Gracie fought Hideo Tokoro on September 25, 2016.[30] He won via rear-naked choke in the first round.[31]
Gracie faced MMA veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri at the Rizin Fighting Federation Grand Prix: Final Round event on December 31, 2016. He won via rear-naked choke in the second round. This improved his professional MMA record to 4-0.[32][33]
Gracie faced Cub Swanson on October 12, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 19.[38] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[39] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night bonus award.[40] Many people were confused at Gracie's decision to strike with Swanson instead of taking the fight to the ground where he was predicted to have the advantage. In the years since, several members of the Gracie family have spoken about his loss and criticized his decision to avoid grappling, including his father Rickson[41] and uncle Relson Gracie.[42]
2023
After a four year hiatus, Gracie made his return at UFC 288 on May 6, 2023 against Charles Jourdain.[43] Gracie lost the fight via unanimous decision.[44][45] Gracie was criticized for his performance by UFC president Dana White, viewers, and fellow fighters, with White saying that Gracie "came in very limited tonight."[46][47][48]
2024
Gracie faced Bryce Mitchell on December 7, 2024 at UFC 310.[49] He lost the fight by knockout via ground elbows in the third round, leading to the first loss via stoppage in his MMA career.[50][51]
Personal life
When not competing, Gracie taught jiu-jitsu at his school in Culver City, California[52] and helped run his father's association.[53] In January 2021, Gracie announced that he was closing his longtime academy and relocating to Montana to open a new BJJ school in response to the COVID-19 restrictions in place in California.[54] Gracie has stated to various media that he believes in the flat Earth conspiracy theory.[55][56][57]
In 2024, Gracie announced the release of his first ever online Jiu-Jitsu instructional.[58] It was entitled Fundamentals of Guard-Passing and was met with positive reviews.[59]
