Kron Gracie
“Ice Cream Kron”
Source: bjjheroes.comRickson Gracie's youngest son won ADCC gold in 2013 by submitting all four opponents, then took the same finishing game into MMA.
Biography
Sources for this profile
ADCC, official results page for the 2011 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2011 ADCC World Championship, the -77kg podium was Marcelo Garcia first, Leo Vieira second, Kron Gracie third and Claudio Calasans fourth.
Where in the source: Division block "-77kg" in the results table, all four places read together
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Wikipedia, "Kron Gracie" (English), read 2026-09-20.(opens in a new tab)
Kron Stavik Gracie was born on 11 July 1988 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and submission grappler who holds black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo. His teacher is given as Rickson Gracie.
Where in the source: Infobox rows "Born", "Nationality", "Rank" and "Teacher"
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Wikipedia lists Kron Gracie as 2006 IBJJF World Champion at purple belt and 2007 IBJJF World Champion at brown belt, and as European Champion in 2009, World Championship silver medallist in 2011, Pan American silver medallist in 2009 and Pan American bronze medallist in 2012 at black belt.
Where in the source: Section listing BJJ and grappling achievements, black belt and coloured belt subsections
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Kron Gracie’s professional MMA record is five wins and three losses. All five wins came by submission: Kim Hyung-soo by armbar in December 2014, Asen Yamamoto by triangle at Rizin in December 2015, Hideo Tokoro and Tatsuya Kawajiri both by rear-naked choke at Rizin in 2016, and Alex Caceres by rear-naked choke at UFC on ESPN 1 in February 2019. The three losses are decisions to Cub Swanson in October 2019 and Charles Jourdain at UFC 288 in May 2023, and a knockout by Bryce Mitchell at UFC 310 in December 2024.
Where in the source: MMA record table, all eight rows read in sequence with the result, method, event, date, round and time columns intact
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Gracie became known as "Ice Cream Kron" because of his calm demeanour when fighting.
Where in the source: Section "2008–2010: Black belt, European champion, ADCC medallist", final sentence, beginning "Gracie became known as"
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Kron Gracie was born in 1988.
Where in the source: Infobox row "Born", year component of "July 11, 1988"
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Kron Gracie holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Where in the source: Infobox row "Rank", value "Black belt in BJJ and Judo"
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Wikipedia states that Gracie relocated to Montana to open a new jiu-jitsu school, in connection with the COVID-19 period.
Where in the source: Article body, sentence on the move and the new school
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In January 2021 Gracie announced that he was closing his longtime academy and relocating to Montana to open a new jiu-jitsu school, in response to the COVID-19 restrictions then in place in California.
Where in the source: Section "Personal life", sentence beginning "In January 2021, Gracie announced"
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Wikipedia records that when not competing Gracie taught jiu-jitsu at his school in Culver City, California, and helped run his father’s association.
Where in the source: Section "Personal life", first sentence
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In 2024 Gracie released his first online jiu-jitsu instructional, entitled "Fundamentals of Guard-Passing".
Where in the source: Section "Personal life", final paragraph
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Gracie was scheduled to return to mixed martial arts against Tom Picciano at Victory Fighting League 3 on 12 December 2025, and withdrew from the bout.
Where in the source: Section "Post-UFC / 2025", both sentences
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BJJ Heroes, "Kron Gracie", fighter database entry (undated).(opens in a new tab)
Kron Gracie was born in 1988 in Rio de Janeiro but lived most of his life in Los Angeles, California. He is the youngest son of Rickson Gracie and a grandson of Helio Gracie, and was involved in jiu-jitsu from his toddler years.
Where in the source: Section "Kron Gracie Biography", first paragraph
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BJJ Heroes states that a very young Kron Gracie can be seen playing jiu-jitsu with his father in the Rickson Gracie documentary "Choke", which it dates to 1995.
Where in the source: Section "Kron Gracie Biography", first paragraph, sentence naming the documentary
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BJJ Heroes records Kron Gracie’s first competitive medal in 1998, aged 10, when he took first place in the yellow belt division of the American International Championship.
Where in the source: Section "Kron Gracie Biography", first paragraph, final sentence
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In December 2000 Kron Gracie’s older brother Rockson Gracie died. Kron was 12 at the time. BJJ Heroes writes that Rockson was already an important member of the family and that his death caused great distress in the household, and that Kron then became the centre of media attention as the one expected to carry the family name on the mats.
Where in the source: Section "Kron Gracie Biography", second paragraph, opening sentences
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BJJ Heroes lists Kron Gracie as IBJJF World Champion at purple belt in 2006 and at brown belt in 2007, CBJJO World Cup champion at purple belt in 2006, and IBJJF Pan American champion at purple belt in 2005 and at brown belt in 2007 and 2008, the 2008 title in both weight and absolute.
Where in the source: Data block, section "Main Achievements (Colored Belts)", with the footnote key "** Weight and absolute"
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After Kron Gracie won both his weight division and the open weight at the 2008 Pan American championship, submitting every opponent, his father promoted him to black belt, and he competed at the 2008 World Championship as a black belt.
Where in the source: Section "Kron Gracie Biography", third paragraph, opening sentences
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In his first match as a black belt, at the 2008 World Championship, Kron Gracie was submitted by Sergio Moraes with an arm-in ezekiel in the first round. BJJ Heroes writes that he had gone in as an American fan favourite and that the defeat came as a blow both to the fans and to Gracie himself.
Where in the source: Table "KRON GRACIE FIGHT HISTORY", first row: Sergio Moraes, L, Arm in Ezekiel, World Champ., 82KG, R1, 2008; and the third paragraph of the biography
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Kron Gracie won the 2009 IBJJF European Open at 82kg, beating Pedro Bessa by guillotine in the semi-final and Yan Cabral by a choke from the back in the final. BJJ Heroes writes that this came two days after the death of his grandfather, Helio Gracie.
Where in the source: Table "KRON GRACIE FIGHT HISTORY", European 82KG SF and F rows for 2009; and the third paragraph of the biography
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At the 2011 IBJJF World Championship at 76kg, Kron Gracie beat Leandro Lo by a choke from the back in the quarter-final and Michael Langhi by referee decision in the semi-final, then lost the final to Gilbert Burns on points, 9-2.
Where in the source: Table "KRON GRACIE FIGHT HISTORY", the four consecutive 2011 World Champ. 76KG rows read together: Sergio Rodrigo RDS, Rafael Barbosa RDS, Leandro Lo 4F, Michael Langhi SF, Gilbert Burns F
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On the way to that 2011 ADCC bronze Kron Gracie beat Jason Manly by guillotine, beat Murilo Santana on penalties from 0-0, lost the semi-final to Marcelo Garcia 2-0 on points, and won the third-place match against Claudio Calasans by guillotine.
Where in the source: Table "KRON GRACIE FIGHT HISTORY", the four consecutive 2011 ADCC 77KG rows
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Kron Gracie won every match of the 2013 ADCC -77kg division by submission: Andy Wang by rear-naked choke in the first round, Garry Tonon by rear-naked choke in the quarter-final, JT Torres by armbar in the semi-final and Otavio Sousa by guillotine in the final.
Where in the source: Table "KRON GRACIE FIGHT HISTORY", the four consecutive 2013 ADCC 77KG rows, R1 through F
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BJJ Heroes records Kron Gracie’s grappling record as 29 wins and 11 losses, with 23 of the wins by submission, most often the guillotine, and gives his favourite position as the closed guard.
Where in the source: Sections "KRON GRACIE GRAPPLING RECORD" and the data block row "Favorite Position/Technique: Closed Guard"
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Kron Gracie submitted Otavio Sousa by armbar at Metamoris in 2012 and Shinya Aoki by guillotine at Metamoris 2 in 2013, both in superfights.
Where in the source: Table "KRON GRACIE FIGHT HISTORY", rows marked Metamoris ABS SPF for 2012 and Metamoris 2 ABS SPF for 2013
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BJJ Heroes writes that Kron Gracie began his MMA career in 2014 and spent much of his fight training with the California group known as the Scrap Pack, known for Nick and Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez.
Where in the source: Section "Kron Gracie Biography", final paragraph
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BJJ Heroes records Kron Gracie’s nickname as "Ice Cream Kron", and notes it is not known when it started.
Where in the source: Data block, row "Nickname", value "“Ice Cream Kron” (unknown as to when it started)"
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ADCC, official results page for the 2013 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2013 ADCC World Championship in Beijing, Kron Gracie won the -77kg division, with Otavio Souza second, JT Torres third and Leo Vieira fourth.
Where in the source: Division block "-77kg" in the results table, all four places read together; event header "ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 2013", Beijing, 19 October 2013
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Wikipedia, "UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez", read 2026-09-20.(opens in a new tab)
At UFC on ESPN 1 on 17 February 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona, Kron Gracie beat Alex Caceres at featherweight by rear-naked choke at 2:06 of the first round, and was one of two fighters awarded Performance of the Night.
Where in the source: Results table row for the featherweight bout, and the bonus awards list, "Performance of the Night: Kron Gracie and Luke Sanders"
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Bloody Elbow, "UFC removes trio of featherweight fighters from roster including Kron Gracie", 5 June 2025.(opens in a new tab)
In June 2025 the UFC removed Kron Gracie from its roster together with two other featherweights, after a UFC run of one win and three losses that ended with the loss to Bryce Mitchell at UFC 310.
Where in the source: Article headline and opening, naming the three fighters removed
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BJJ Eastern Europe, "Kron Gracie Says His Father Doesn’t Understand The Current State Of Martial Arts", 5 February 2024.(opens in a new tab)
Gracie has said that a single martial art is no longer enough at the top level: "You can’t just be good at one martial art and be very successful against everybody who’s at the highest level." He added, "My dad doesn’t understand that. My grandfather wouldn’t understand that. This generation is already completely different", and described his own approach as "Martial arts, for me, is Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, and Judo. When I say I’m a martial artist is because I built my own formula and I appreciate all the martial arts."
Where in the source: Article body, quoted passages
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BJJ Eastern Europe, "Kron Gracie Says Rickson Didn’t Speak With Him For Years: A Lot Of Tension", 13 May 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Gracie has described a long silence between himself and his father over how he fought. He is quoted saying his father told him "You got to do the front kick like it’s 1995 and clinch", that during the fight he concluded "he’s tripping and I got to box or else I’m going to get really messed up", and that afterwards "My dad didn’t talk to me for a couple years for that". He described the dynamic as "an ultimatum with him. If you do boxing, we don’t have to talk", and his father as "stuck in an age where he can’t get over the fact that it’s MMA".
Where in the source: Article body, quoted passages
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The article that carries Gracie’s account of the silence frames it, in its own voice, as following his loss to Cub Swanson: it opens by saying he spoke about his relationship with his father "and how it was impacted following his loss to Cub Swanson", and returns to the fight again in the body. It also quotes him on the instruction itself: "He was trying to tell me to not box. I started boxing with Nate [Diaz] and stuff and he’s like: ‘Don’t box. Don’t box.’"
Where in the source: Article body, opening sentence and the paragraph beginning "However, things began to shift after his loss to Swanson"
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Kron Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, official site, "About" page, read 2026-09-20.(opens in a new tab)
Kron Gracie’s own site says he was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1988, that he is the son of Rickson Gracie and grandson of Helio Gracie, that he began training under his father as a child, and that he received his black belt in 2008 at the age of 19.
Where in the source: Page "About", opening paragraph
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Gracie’s own site describes his coloured-belt career as including two IBJJF World Championships, three IBJJF Pan American Championships, and "a staggering 51-match submission streak".
Where in the source: Page "About", section "Jiu-Jitsu Career", first paragraph
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Gracie opened his own jiu-jitsu school in Culver City, California, in 2011.
Where in the source: Page "About", section "Jiu-Jitsu Career", second paragraph
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Gracie’s own site calls 2013 his last year of active jiu-jitsu competition and the ADCC gold his most iconic accolade, and notes that he had entered ADCC twice before, in 2009 and 2011, and been beaten both times by Marcelo Garcia.
Where in the source: Page "About", sections "Jiu-Jitsu Career" and "Kron Gracie Highlights"
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Gracie’s own account of the 2013 ADCC final names his four opponents in order - Andy Wang, Garry Tonon, JT Torres and Otavio Sousa - and the four submissions: rear-naked choke, rear-naked choke, armbar and guillotine.
Where in the source: Page "About", section "Kron Gracie Highlights", the four sentences describing the run
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Competition results
| Year | Event | Result | Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | ADCC 2013Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified | 1st place | -77 kgNo-giVerified |
| 2011 | ADCC 2011Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified | 3rd place | -77 kgNo-giVerified |