Royce Gracie: Eddie Bravo thinks first win over Royler Gracie was a fluke

According to Royce Gracie, Eddie Bravo was the driving force behind a rematch with Royler Gracie after his celebrated upset win over the respected grappler in 2003.

“Royler never asked for a rematch,” Gracie told MMAjunkie Radio.

Tonight that chase comes to an end when Royler Gracie and Bravo compete in a special-rules jiu-jitsu match at Metamoris 3, which takes place at Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles and streams live on www.metamoris.com.

MMA forefather Royce Gracie said he’ll be in attendance for his brother’s match, but he’s unsurprisingly skeptical about the motivations for putting it together, and of course Bravo’s prospects in a second meeting.

“I was talking to [Royler] when he signed up for the [rematch], and he was like, ‘Man, I never asked for the rematch. I’m surprised that for the last 10 years, he’s been chasing me,’” Royce Gracie said. “That means he doesn’t believe that his win was credible. He knows it was a fluke.”

Bravo and Royler Gracie met in the semifinals of the 2003 ADCC submission wrestling championships, and Bravo delivered a career-defining win when he submitted the decorated grappler via triangle choke. In the final, Leo Viera outpointed Bravo.

Over the years, multiple attempts to rebook Gracie vs. Bravo was met with little results, but the Gracie-backed Metamoris succeeded in booking the rematch. Eleven years after the first bout, jiu-jitsu fans will be able to see whether Bravo’s first victory was a fluke, or whether he is the better man on the mats.

“Of course I’ll be there,” Royce Gracie said. “I wouldn’t miss this one. But it’s a match. Anything can happen.”

Both men, of course, are significantly older than when they first met. Bravo is now 43 years old while Royler Gracie is 48. The two reportedly squabbled over the ruleset before formally agreeing to meet again.

Royce Gracie, who retired from active competition in 2007, brought a gi into the octagon when he first shocked the world with jiu-jitsu at the first UFC event. When his brother steps onto the mat tonight, however, there will be rash guards and gi pants.

Even from the time of Gracie vs. Bravo I, the world of grappling is light years different than before. Gracie, of course, brings an old-school flair while Bravo is known as something of an innovator.

The rematch could show who’s evolved more on the mat.

“They both have their strategy; they both know what they do,” Royce Gracie said. “The question is who’s going to pull it off.”

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.