In a revealing conversation on the LytesOut MMA History Podcast, UFC founder Art Davie shared a fascinating behind-the-scenes story about a pivotal moment in UFC history when Rickson Gracie nearly replaced his brother Royce Gracie at UFC 3.
The dramatic scene unfolded during a meeting at the UFC office, which included Helio Gracie, Rorion Gracie, Royce Gracie, and Rickson Gracie. According to Davie, Rorion had already convinced Royce to step down from the UFC voluntarily before the meeting took place.
“I had a big blue table—which is black, that is my best—I’m sitting by. Rickson is on my left, Rorion is seated right next to him. And on the couch is Helio Gracie. Sitting next to his father is Royce, sitting there with his head down, not saying a word.
Rorion had already put it straight with him: “You’re not going to be in. We’re going to let your brother come in.”
And at that point, I had a fish tank—it had been in Royce‘s apartment—with the piranhas. So he’s sitting next to the fish tank with the piranhas, head down.
Rickson comes in. And Rickson, of course, bows to his father and nods to Rorion. We get talking, and Rickson says to me, “I understand that Rorion has talked to Royce, and you would be interested in me coming in.”
I said, “Yes, absolutely.”
He said, “I want one million dollars.”
I said, “Rickson, nobody’s getting one million dollars. We don’t have one million dollars. They’re getting sixty, seventy thousand dollars.”
He said, “I want one million dollars.”
At that point, Rorion—who had not said a word—the old man raises his hand and stands up. And in Portuguese, he says something to Rickson.
I later got Rorion to translate.
Here’s what the old man said to him:
“When I was your age, I did it for the honor of the Gracies.”
Following his father’s powerful statement, Rickson stood up respectfully, shook hands with Davie without looking at Rorion, and left. According to Davie, this was the last time he ever discussed UFC participation with Rickson Gracie.
In a revealing conversation on the LytesOut MMA History Podcast, UFC founder Art Davie shared a fascinating behind-the-scenes story about a pivotal moment in UFC history when Rickson Gracie nearly replaced his brother Royce Gracie at UFC 3.
The dramatic scene unfolded during a meeting at the UFC office, which included Helio Gracie, Rorion Gracie, Royce Gracie, and Rickson Gracie. According to Davie, Rorion had already convinced Royce to step down from the UFC voluntarily before the meeting took place.
“I had a big blue table—which is black, that is my best—I’m sitting by. Rickson is on my left, Rorion is seated right next to him. And on the couch is Helio Gracie. Sitting next to his father is Royce, sitting there with his head down, not saying a word.
Rorion had already put it straight with him: “You’re not going to be in. We’re going to let your brother come in.”
And at that point, I had a fish tank—it had been in Royce’s apartment—with the piranhas. So he’s sitting next to the fish tank with the piranhas, head down.
Rickson comes in. And Rickson, of course, bows to his father and nods to Rorion. We get talking, and Rickson says to me, “I understand that Rorion has talked to Royce, and you would be interested in me coming in.”
I said, “Yes, absolutely.”
He said, “I want one million dollars.”
I said, “Rickson, nobody’s getting one million dollars. We don’t have one million dollars. They’re getting sixty, seventy thousand dollars.”
He said, “I want one million dollars.”
At that point, Rorion—who had not said a word—the old man raises his hand and stands up. And in Portuguese, he says something to Rickson.
I later got Rorion to translate.
Here’s what the old man said to him:
“When I was your age, I did it for the honor of the Gracies.”
During the meeting, Royce sat silently with his head down next to a fish tank containing piranhas, while negotiations with Rickson began. However, the discussions quickly hit a roadblock when Rickson demanded a $1 million purse—significantly more than the $60,000-$70,000 other fighters were receiving at the time.
The meeting took an unexpected turn when Helio Gracie, the patriarch of the Gracie family, intervened. Rising to his feet, he addressed Rickson in Portuguese with words that would echo through UFC history: “When I was your age, I did it for the honor of the Gracies.”
Rickson Gracie also corroborated the story in his book, adding the following commentary:
“When I asked Hélio to come to Japan to corner me, he declined. This broke my heart, but I still had to fulfill my mission. I now felt like a ronin (a masterless samurai), except that I was not going to commit seppuku or become a mercenary by fighting fixed fights for lots of money. I was now more determined than ever to prove to the world that I was the greatest Gracie.”
“When I asked Royce if he would come to Japan to corner me, as I had done for him at the first two UFCs, he said that he would like to, but Rorion wouldn’t let him. I told Royce that I understood but that I could no longer train him, because I needed to prepare for my upcoming fights in Japan.”
“By the time Rorion, my dad, and UFC president Art Davie finally approached me about fighting in the UFC, my dealings with them were strictly business.”
“UFC was moving further and further away from the long vale tudo matches that I preferred. Royce’s days were numbered, and my dad and Rorion knew it.”
“When Kim and I met with my dad, Rorion, and Art Davie at an office in Los Angeles, I told them that I would be happy to fight for a million dollars. When Art tried to justify the UFC’s paltry pay scale, I told him that this was his problem, not mine. Finally, my dad played the Gracie card and told me that in his day, he fought for family honor, not money. I had done plenty of heavy lifting for my family up until now, but I had my own children to feed.”
In his second book, released in November 2024, Rickson actually gloats a little about Royce losing at UFC 3:
“Sadly, after I left my brother Royce’s corner to focus on my own career, his reign as UFC champ ended. Not only did he fail to defend his title in UFC 3, but after a draw with Ken Shamrock in 1995, he did not fight again for five years.”
Following his father’s powerful statement, Rickson stood up respectfully, shook hands with Davie without looking at Rorion, and left. According to Davie, this was the last time he ever discussed UFC participation with Rickson Gracie.
