BJJ News — rorion-gracie

Ed O'Neill was 45 when he walked into the Gracie Academy in Torrance, California, for the first time. He trained under Rorion Gracie for sixteen years.

Ed O'Neill started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 1991. He had one of the highest-rated sitcoms on American television.

Three weeks ago, on April 10, Rigan Machado walked into the Combat Submission Wrestling World Conference in Los Angeles and walked out a 9th-degree red belt. Rorion Gracie tied it on him.

That's what Rorion Gracie walked away from. Robert Drysdale laid it out on the Jiu-Jitsu Revolution podcasthttps://bjjdoc.com/2026/04/12/adcc-veteran-questions-if-gracies-ever-believed-in-mma-as-a-sport-they-sold-ufc-the-first-chance-they-got/ last week, and the numbers are the kind that keep you aw

Robert Drysdale went on the Jiu-Jitsu Revolution podcast this week and said the quiet part out loud. Rorion Gracie, the man who founded the UFC, never actually believed in MMA as a sport.

Rorion Gracie promoted Rigan Machado to 9th-degree red belt at the CSW World Conference on April 10. The IBJJF's own database had listed Machado — a Pan Am champion, ADCC medalist, and 40-year veteran — as just a 3rd-degree black belt.