Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Renzo Gracie has expressed his belief that amateur mixed martial arts has the potential to become an Olympic sport. Gracie shared his thoughts during the final day of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation’s (IMMAF) World Youth Championship at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi.
“The sport definitely does have the potential to be in the Olympics from what I saw in Serbia [at the IMMAF European Championship] and now having been here today with over 800 competitors from across 47 countries,” Gracie told The National.
“We are looking at the future generations of the MMA sport in the world. For sure, from here, we’re going to have a lot of world champions coming out.”
This event showcases the growing interest in MMA at the grassroots level, which Gracie believes is crucial for the sport’s Olympic aspirations.
Gracie emphasized the importance of the IMMAF platform in fostering the sport’s growth. “Right now, it’s just in a few countries but soon every nation will embrace it,” he said.
The jiu-jitsu pioneer is actively working to help expand the platform to the United States and believes that countries with large populations and financial support, such as India, China, Brazil, and the US, will play a vital role in MMA’s development.
Despite this enthusiasm, the road to Olympic inclusion is fraught with obstacles. UFC legend Daniel Cormier has pointed out significant logistical and safety concerns. He noted that the nature of the Olympic format, which would likely require fighters to compete multiple times within a short period, poses serious challenges. Adjustments to the sport’s rules, like removing certain techniques for safety reasons, could dilute the essence of MMA, making it less suitable for an Olympic setting.
Cormier spoke about the challenges on his podcast: “If we’re doing mixed martial arts at the level of an Olympic sport, you’ve got to have multiple cages in one venue… You’re going to have to take away elbows, certain kicks, you’d have to wear shin guards but it’s too dangerous in terms of injuries.”
“It’s not just because of logistics, the guys [nowadays] are just too good, they’re too skilled and I don’t believe that there is a safe way to have the sport that we view as MMA, to see that in a tournament format with 24 guys, you go through four guys in one week, I don’t think it’s right.”
Despite the hurdles, Gracie is confident that the day will come when MMA is part of the Olympics.
