In the early 1990’s, Rorion Gracie moved from Brazil to Los Angeles. He wished to show the world how well the Gracie art of jiu-jitsu worked. In Brazil, no-rules Mixed Martial Art (MMA) contests (known as “vale tudo”) had been popular since Carlos Gracie first opened his academy in 1925, but in the world at large most martial arts competition was internal to a single style, using the specialized rules of that style’s practice.

In the early 1990’s, Rorion Gracie moved from Brazil to Los Angeles. He wished to show the world how well the Gracie art of jiu-jitsu worked. In Brazil, no-rules Mixed Martial Art (MMA) contests (known as “vale tudo”) had been popular since Carlos Gracie first opened his academy in 1925, but in the world at large most martial arts competition was internal to a single style, using the specialized rules of that style’s practice.
Royce dominated the first years of the UFC against all comers, amassing eleven victories with no fighting losses. At one event he defeated four different fighters in one night. This, from a fighter that was smaller than most of the others (at 170 lbs, in an event with no weight classes), looked thin and scrawny, but was using sophisticated techniques that most observers, even experienced martial artists, didn’t understand.
Besides the immediate impact of an explosion of interest in BJJ across the world (particularly in North America and Japan), the lasting impact of Royce’s early UFC dominance is that almost every successful Mixed Martial Arts fighter now includes BJJ as a significant portion of their training.
(Article courtesy of www.bjj.org)

The Guard:

The Cross Side Control:

The Mount:
