Fair Play: ROOOOYCE GRACIEE!!!!!
I NO LONGER remember who that guy was, but his was the first mixed-martial arts fight I ever saw.
He also instantly joined my list of fighters “who get embarrassed by talking too much.”
It was one of the early editions of the UFC event and me and my boardmates were awed by all the actions in this unique contest.
That was 10 years or so ago, when our biggest worry was whether to skip a meal for a few beers, or skip the beer and have the meal.
Unlike the “boxing-like” setup today, the UFC event then used a tournament setup—to get to the finals, fighters had to win their first two (or was it three?) preliminary bouts.
That talkative guy made that finals and had he been able to, he would have announced it on a billboard.
He was to face someone who looked more at home singing with a church choir than joining mixed-martial events.
Prior to the event, that mean-looking-guy-you-wouldn’t-want-to-mess-around-with was interviewed. I think he was asked whether his fighting-style was what got him to the finals.
His reply was a classic.
“Easy opponents,” the guy who bragged too much said, were the reason he got to the finals. It would also be the reason he would win the title against Choirboy and he wanted everybody to know.
I didn’t see the previous matches of Choir Boy so I thought guy-who-talked too much would easily win the bout.
Boy was I ever wrong.
Choir Boy turned out to be one of the fiercest MMA fighters and it showed.
“Tan-awa iya mata,” said one boardmate as Choir Boy looked he’d readily have Talkative Guy for lunch.
And when it was over—and it was really over quickly—Talkative Guy didn’t know what hit him.
We didn’t know what happened either.
In what seemed to be an instant, Choir Boy had him in a lock—I still can’t tell a leglock from a padlock—and boom, he tapped out.
The guy who bragged he beat “easy opponents” going to the finals, got beat, easily.
Save for a few creases in his gi, Choir Boy looked like he just went out for lunch instead of having just manhandled a bully.
For days after watching that UFC event, and every time we got to see a mixed-martial event, my boardmates and I would yell at each other, for no apparent reason, Choir Boy’s name.
“ROOOYCE GRACIEEE!!!!”
Even if the Brazilian legend wasn’t seeing action, we’d just yell his name. We probably seemed like nuts, but it didn’t matter.
“ROOOYCE GRACIEEE!!!!”
We were fans of the legend.
Though he lost a few fights later, and he’d dropped the gi in favor of the conventional trunks in one of his fights, for me—and maybe for a few fans—the Brazilian legend will always define mixed-martial arts.
And mixed-martial arts will always be ROOOYCE GRACIEEE!!!
My boardmates have all scattered in all parts of the globe, but for you MMA fans, here’s a rare treat.
Gracie will be here, tomorrow.
Yup, the legend himself will be in Cebu.
He will be at the CJRS gym, located above The Loft, (hey, that’s a description I never thought I could use) at the IT Park at 10 a.m. on Sunday and will have a meet-and-greet with fans at Bistro Ecila at the Ayala Terraces later that day.
This is a rare chance no MMA fan should miss.
I wonder what the legend would do if I sneak up behind him this Sunday and yell:
“ROOOOYCE GRACIEEE!!!!!!!”
He’d probably padlock—er have me in a leg lock—before I could make a step. Wouldn’t that be something? To be able to wear a shirt that says, “Royce Gracie had me
in a leg lock and I’m still alive!!!”
“ROOOOYCE GRACIEEE!!!!!!!”
He also instantly joined my list of fighters “who get embarrassed by talking too much.”
It was one of the early editions of the UFC event and me and my boardmates were awed by all the actions in this unique contest.
That was 10 years or so ago, when our biggest worry was whether to skip a meal for a few beers, or skip the beer and have the meal.
Unlike the “boxing-like” setup today, the UFC event then used a tournament setup—to get to the finals, fighters had to win their first two (or was it three?) preliminary bouts.
That talkative guy made that finals and had he been able to, he would have announced it on a billboard.
He was to face someone who looked more at home singing with a church choir than joining mixed-martial events.
Prior to the event, that mean-looking-guy-you-wouldn’t-want-to-mess-around-with was interviewed. I think he was asked whether his fighting-style was what got him to the finals.
His reply was a classic.
“Easy opponents,” the guy who bragged too much said, were the reason he got to the finals. It would also be the reason he would win the title against Choirboy and he wanted everybody to know.
I didn’t see the previous matches of Choir Boy so I thought guy-who-talked too much would easily win the bout.
Boy was I ever wrong.
Choir Boy turned out to be one of the fiercest MMA fighters and it showed.
“Tan-awa iya mata,” said one boardmate as Choir Boy looked he’d readily have Talkative Guy for lunch.
And when it was over—and it was really over quickly—Talkative Guy didn’t know what hit him.
We didn’t know what happened either.
In what seemed to be an instant, Choir Boy had him in a lock—I still can’t tell a leglock from a padlock—and boom, he tapped out.
The guy who bragged he beat “easy opponents” going to the finals, got beat, easily.
Save for a few creases in his gi, Choir Boy looked like he just went out for lunch instead of having just manhandled a bully.
For days after watching that UFC event, and every time we got to see a mixed-martial event, my boardmates and I would yell at each other, for no apparent reason, Choir Boy’s name.
“ROOOYCE GRACIEEE!!!!”
Even if the Brazilian legend wasn’t seeing action, we’d just yell his name. We probably seemed like nuts, but it didn’t matter.
“ROOOYCE GRACIEEE!!!!”
We were fans of the legend.
Though he lost a few fights later, and he’d dropped the gi in favor of the conventional trunks in one of his fights, for me—and maybe for a few fans—the Brazilian legend will always define mixed-martial arts.
And mixed-martial arts will always be ROOOYCE GRACIEEE!!!
My boardmates have all scattered in all parts of the globe, but for you MMA fans, here’s a rare treat.
Gracie will be here, tomorrow.
Yup, the legend himself will be in Cebu.
He will be at the CJRS gym, located above The Loft, (hey, that’s a description I never thought I could use) at the IT Park at 10 a.m. on Sunday and will have a meet-and-greet with fans at Bistro Ecila at the Ayala Terraces later that day.
This is a rare chance no MMA fan should miss.
I wonder what the legend would do if I sneak up behind him this Sunday and yell:
“ROOOOYCE GRACIEEE!!!!!!!”
He’d probably padlock—er have me in a leg lock—before I could make a step. Wouldn’t that be something? To be able to wear a shirt that says, “Royce Gracie had me
in a leg lock and I’m still alive!!!”
“ROOOOYCE GRACIEEE!!!!!!!”
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