The son of late PRIDE veteran Ryan Gracie has officially closed the door on a potential mixed martial arts career, choosing instead to focus entirely on Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a reimagined vision of what it means to carry the Gracie legacy forward.
Rayron Gracie, who turns 24 this December, represents a generational shift in how the legendary martial arts family approaches competition and success. Unlike his predecessors who felt compelled to prove jiu-jitsu’s effectiveness in the cage, the young black belt sees his role differently.
“In the past, victory meant proving jiu-jitsu was the most efficient martial art and that’s already been proven many times,” Rayron told Guilherme Cruz. “Now we see there’s no longer a need to prove it, it’s written in history. Our sense of victory is evolving. It’s no longer about winning a tournament or proving superiority but about personal development.”
This represents a significant departure from his earlier ambitions. Back in 2017, as a 16-year-old blue belt training under his uncle Renzo Gracie in New York, Rayron had different plans entirely. At the time, he expressed clear intentions to pursue mixed martial arts before earning his black belt, viewing it as a natural progression from grappling competition.
“My goal now is to win as many world titles as I can in jiu-jitsu but for sure in the end I’ll have a career in MMA,” he said then. “Renzo always says and I believe that MMA is an upgrade from jiu-jitsu.”
Seven years later, that perspective has transformed completely. The decision wasn’t made lightly—Rayron admits he seriously considered the transition for quite some time.
“I did [think about it]. A lot,” he acknowledged. “But once I understood that shift in purpose, that there was no longer a need to defend jiu-jitsu in MMA, I decided to dedicate myself to this new perspective. I’ll keep competing but in other ways, through other paths.”
The multiple-time IBJJF champion credits his family’s extensive history in martial arts for helping him arrive at this conclusion. Surrounded by relatives who have achieved remarkable success across various disciplines, Rayron had a unique vantage point to evaluate what truly mattered.
“I’m lucky to have so many people in my family who’ve achieved great things,” he said. “I could see the final result of a life of dedication and struggle. I literally saw their footsteps. That contact with family members from all walks of life gave me this new sense of victory.”
Rayron’s journey to this moment has been marked by both tragedy and triumph. Born in São Paulo on December 8, 2001, he moved to Rio de Janeiro as an infant to live with his grandmother. His father Ryan Gracie passed away in 2007, just a week after Rayron’s sixth birthday, leaving the young boy to navigate childhood without the father figure who had introduced him to the martial arts world.
Despite the Gracie name and legacy surrounding him, jiu-jitsu didn’t immediately capture Rayron’s passion. That changed dramatically when he moved to New York City in 2015 as a teenager. Working at Renzo Gracie‘s Manhattan academy transformed his perspective entirely, igniting a competitive fire that would lead to remarkable success.
As a colored belt competitor, Rayron established himself as one of the premier young talents in the sport. His dedication culminated in a black belt promotion on June 18, 2023, awarded by his cousin Kyra Gracie, herself a former ADCC and IBJJF World Champion. Since then, he’s added a bronze medal at the 2024 IBJJF European Championships to his growing list of accomplishments.
His decision to focus exclusively on jiu-jitsu comes at a time when the art’s importance in mixed martial arts remains undeniable. With thousands of Gracie schools worldwide continuing to spread the family’s teachings and MMA stars with limited ground skills finding themselves at a severe disadvantage in modern competition, jiu-jitsu’s legacy seems secure without requiring another generation of Gracies to prove its effectiveness in the cage.