Kazushi Sakuraba may be known as "The Gracie Hunter," but Eddie Bravo may need to steal that nickname soon.
According to a report on The Underground, Royce Gracie confronted Bravo following Bravo's grappling showdown with Royler Gracie. Royce later confirmed the altercation with MMA Fighting and provided details.
"I wanted to talk to him for years, but never had the chance to meet him," Royce said. "I met him after the fight and he was there, throwing up. Royler dominated him so much, he did so much strength, that he threw up after the fight."
Bravo and the Gracie family (particularly Royler) have been at odds ever since Bravo's surprise victory over Royler at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) grappling tournament in 2003. To put Bravo's victory into perspective, it was the grappling equivalent to Matt Serra beating Georges St-Pierre.
Bravo and Royler finally faced one another on the mats at Metamoris 3, with the match ending in a draw (highlights here). However, most fans are in agreement that Bravo would've won if there were points involved, and Bravo threatened Royler with multiple submission attempts.
I told him that I liked what he said after the fight, but didn’t like the fact that he always talked trash about Royler and my family. He stood up and started yelling, so I also raised the tone of my voice and told him I didn’t like it."
He said he always gave my family credit, but I know it’s not true. He always talks trash about my family. Enough with this s---. He said he never talked bad about my family and he always gave us credit. He kept raising the tone of his voice, and I told him to shut up, so Jean Jacques (Machado) came in, said we didn’t need this and asked (Bravo) to leave.
Royce went to triple-dog-dare level and challenged Bravo to a good ole fashioned fight.
"I’m a vale-tudo fighter. I’m not a fighter to score points of fight with time limit," Royce said. "Let’s (fight) with no time limit and with punches allowed. I’m a vale-tudo fighter, I don’t compete in (grappling) tournaments."
Royce hasn't competed in MMA since his controversial 2007 win over Sakuraba in which the Brazilian tested positive for anabolic steroids following the fight. That was on the heels of Royce's destruction by the hands of Matt Hughes back at UFC 60.
I wouldn't expect Bravo to compete in anything that involves striking, so it looks like we're in for another round of Bravo vs. the Gracie family.
