Rorion Gracie, who co-founded the UFC in 1993, says he won’t watch the event to be held at the White House on June 14.
“Now the UFC guys, no disrespect,’’ Gracie told USA TODAY Sports. “I admire every single one of them. Anybody who climbs in the ring to fight, to get beat up, that’s a hero.
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“No, I’m not putting anybody down so that you’re very clear. I personally don’t watch the UFC anymore because I think it’s violence (is) unnecessary violence. That’s my point of view.’’
Gracie a Grand Master of a famous style of jiu-jitsu developed by his family in Brazil,
“I had the elements in a very humane way to get into a clinch with my opponent, take him to the ground very gently, put him on the ground, mount on top of him,’’ Gracie said. “He would struggle crazy for 30, 40 seconds, and then he got exhausted. I didn’t do a punch or hunt anybody.
“As a result of that 95% of the guys who came to spar and challenged me became my friends and students. Chuck Norris included.’’
For UFC fans, the canvas inside the Octagon fighting cage usually is splattered with blood. The violence has helped generate a global audience. UFC also ended the open-ended fights Gracie preferred with timed rounds.
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“You’re taking the violence thing and what’s happened is it’s going to be interesting,’’ said Gracie, who sold his share of the company in 1995. “I mean, I find that really interesting. And I know they went their direction, but it’s not the direction it was intended to go.
“It doesn’t mean they did the wrong thing. In fact, the way they did it is what made it possible to grow so much.”
Also, Gracie said he still feels deeply connected to the UFC, which Frank Fertita III and Lorenzo Fertita bought in 2001 and then hired Dana White as a key executive.
“The Fertitas and Dana White adopted the baby, sent him to Harvard and now the kid is running Wall Street,” Gracie said. “But I am still the father.’
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why UFC co-founder won’t watch White House fights at Freedom 250
