Creator credit recorded on the linked source page: Chris Hutt · CC BY 3.0
Renzo Gracie
Renzo Gracie founded a New York jiu-jitsu academy, won ADCC under-77 kg gold in 1998 and 2000, and taught fighters including Matt Serra.
Biography
Sources for this profile
Renzo Gracie Academy, “RGA® Instructors,” undated, retrieved 2026-09-12.(opens in a new tab)
Renzo Gracie Academy's instructor page identifies Renzo Gracie as born on March 11, 1967, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Where in the source: RGA® Instructors — Master Renzo Gracie, first biographical paragraph.
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The academy's instructor page says Renzo Gracie founded Renzo Gracie Academy in New York City during the 1990s.
Where in the source: RGA® Instructors — Master Renzo Gracie, paragraph beginning “Renzo has fought all over the world.”
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Renzo Gracie Academy's instructor biography identifies Gracie as Carlos Gracie's grandson and Robson Gracie's son; it says he began training as an infant and received formal training from several Gracie instructors, including Rolls Gracie.
Where in the source: RGA® Instructors — Master Renzo Gracie, first biographical paragraph.
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The academy's instructor biography says Renzo Gracie fought for organizations including the UFC and PRIDE Fighting Championships.
Where in the source: RGA® Instructors — Master Renzo Gracie, paragraph beginning “Renzo has fought all over the world.”
Accessed:
The academy's instructor biography says Gracie has guided Matt Serra, Frankie Edgar, Roger Gracie, John Danaher, and Gordon Ryan.
Where in the source: RGA® Instructors — Master Renzo Gracie, final biographical paragraph naming people he has guided.
Accessed:
ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 1998, official results, ADCC Federation, 1998.(opens in a new tab)
ADCC's official 1998 results list Renzo Gracie as gold medalist in the under-77-kilogram division.
Where in the source: 1998 RESULTS — -77kg table, gold / first-place row for Renzo Gracie.
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ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 2000, official results, ADCC Federation, 2000.(opens in a new tab)
ADCC's official 2000 results list Renzo Gracie as gold medalist in the under-77-kilogram division.
Where in the source: 2000 RESULTS — -77kg table, gold / first-place row for Renzo Gracie.
Accessed:
Renzo Gracie Academy, “Renzo Gracie Academies,” undated, retrieved 2026-09-12.(opens in a new tab)
Renzo Gracie Academy's academy directory identifies its Midtown New York location at 224 West 30th Street as the headquarters and lists academy locations under the Renzo Gracie name.
Where in the source: Renzo Gracie Academies — first directory entry, “Renzo Gracie Academy – Midtown (Headquarters),” followed by the academy listings.
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The current RGA directory lists Midtown Manhattan as headquarters and named Renzo Gracie schools in Halifax, Canada, and Bat-Yam, Israel.
Where in the source: Midtown (Headquarters); Renzo Gracie Halifax; Renzo Gracie Israel.
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Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Wall Street, home page, undated, retrieved 2026-09-12.(opens in a new tab)
The Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Wall Street site identifies Renzo Gracie as a co-owner and head instructor and says he brought Brazilian jiu-jitsu to New York City in 1996.
Where in the source: Home page — instructor section headed “Co-Owner and Head Instructor / Renzo Gracie.”
Accessed:
IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro 1994, official results.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF’s 1994 Brasileiro table lists Renzo Gracie first in adult male black-belt lightweight, ahead of Luiz Carlos Valoair.
Where in the source: Adult / Black / Male / Light; adjacent Feather and Middle.
Accessed:
Alexander Jackson, UFC, 5 March 2015.(opens in a new tab)
UFC’s retrospective dates Gracie’s professional no-holds-barred debut to January 1992, before his later PRIDE and UFC appearances.
Where in the source: Pioneers of MMA; New Year’s Day 1992.
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Gracie recalled moving to New York to teach East Coast students while running the gym and preparing for MMA fights with mostly white-belt training partners.
Where in the source: Pioneers of MMA; New York move and early gym recollection.
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UFC describes his 1990s PRIDE appearances in Japan and his 2000 PRIDE bout with Kazushi Sakuraba, which ended by referee stoppage.
Where in the source: Pioneers of MMA; PRIDE 1, 2, 8 and PRIDE 10.
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In a 2015 interview Gracie recalled his 2010 UFC 112 fight against Matt Hughes as a late-career UFC appearance.
Where in the source: Pioneers of MMA; UFC 112 recollection.
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Nicki Jhabvala, Sports Illustrated, 14 May 2008.(opens in a new tab)
In 2008 Gracie described a New York school at capacity and plans to expand teaching, including classes for children.
Where in the source: Why did you choose to live in New Jersey?
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Ying Zhu and Gideon Egger, Notes on the Road, 2011 interview published 2018.(opens in a new tab)
In a 2011 interview Gracie described improving side-control submissions, positional control and guard passing.
Where in the source: What particular techniques have you developed?
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Gracie said his teaching focused on clarifying experience for individual students and that he also made lessons available online beyond the academy.
Where in the source: How have you contributed to the art?; How do you approach training others?
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Gracie distinguished lifelong jiu-jitsu practice from MMA competition, which required preparation for strikes, takedowns and fighting from the back.
Where in the source: How do BJJ and MMA differ?; Did you prepare differently?
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Human Kinetics, Mastering Jujitsu catalog page.(opens in a new tab)
Human Kinetics lists Gracie and John Danaher as coauthors of the 2003 book Mastering Jujitsu, presenting phases, positional tactics and fight planning.
Where in the source: Mastering Jujitsu; authors, publication date and description.
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UFC, “Matt Serra: New York’s Finest,” 2013.(opens in a new tab)
UFC reports that Gracie awarded Matt Serra his black belt in 2000; Serra later ran his own Long Island schools.
Where in the source: Matt Serra: New York’s Finest; Renzo black belt in 2000.
Accessed:
Equipe UFC, 6 May 2015.(opens in a new tab)
UFC reported that Renzo Gracie and Matt Serra jointly presented Chris Weidman with a black belt in 2015.
Where in the source: Antes de enfrentar Belfort; faixa-preta de Renzo Gracie e Matt Serra.
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FloGrappling, 2017 ADCC team results.(opens in a new tab)
FloGrappling reports Renzo Gracie won a separate 2017 ADCC legends superfight against Sanae Kikuta, distinct from his 1998 and 2000 weight-class golds.
Where in the source: Renzo Gracie Team; Legends superfight; Kikuta.
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Competition results
| Year | Event | Result | Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | ADCC 2017Source: adcombat.comNo-giVerified | 1st place | No-giVerified |
| 2000 | ADCC 2000Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified | 1st place | -77 kgNo-giVerified |
| 1998 | ADCC 1998Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified | 1st place | -77 kgNo-giVerified |