On June 2nd of 2007, the Gracie hunting season came to an end. The previously Gracie-undefeated Kazushi Sakuraba barely fell to Royce Gracie at the hands of the judges during the latest K-1 Heroes promotion on June 2nd, 2007. Gracie barely prevailed with scores of 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28 at the end of the three rounds while Sakuraba looked mildly confused and waited for the next round to start. It’s been 7 years since the first matchup at the 2000 Pride Grand Prix and an end to Sakuraba being undefeated in the ring with the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu family.
The whole “Gracie Hunting†media explosion began after Sakaruba narrowly defeated Royler Gracie in a heavily contested bout on November 21st, 1999. With only two seconds left on the clock, the referee in the ring stopped the fight while Royler was caught in a Kimura lock. While this, of course, doesn’t officially make Sakuraba a “Gracie Hunterâ€, his win over Royce Gracie in 2000 helped propel him as the newest Japanese sensation in Mixed Martial Arts.
This is where some of the controversy begins. Both wins against the Gracie’s were decided by a stoppage which was out of their control. Neither Gracie would tap out during a submission or intense offensive onslaught by Sakuraba. For some, this doesn’t give a fighter a “hunter†status. As a hunter, you need to force your opponent down on their own terms. For others, a win is a win in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
Of course, you can’t take anything away from Kazushi Sakuraba. He has attempted to fight, and defeated many fighters who were much bigger than him throughout his impressive MMA career. Even during the infamous Pride Grand Prix, he still emerged to fight heavily favored Igor Vovchanchyn into overtime after spending those grueling 90 minutes in the ring against Royce Gracie. He even went on to defeat both Renzo Gracie in Pride 10 and Ryan Gracie in Pride 12 to secure his moniker as one of the few to defeat the Gracie family in the world of MMA.
If that 2nd round bell would have sounded just two seconds earlier in 1999 during the first Sakaruba-Gracie bout, it may have been a different world for the Japanese-born catch-wrestler. Still, many consider him “The Gracie Hunter†because he was the first to defeat one of the impressive black belt Jiu-Jitsu fighters in many decades.
Let’s fast forward again to the present day. June 2nd 2007 looked like a slow day for both world-renowned fighters. The latest Gracie-Sakuraba bout lacked the enthusiasm and energy that made the original battles go down in history. Neither fighter had the chance to display their signature moves that made them so famous in the MMA circuit. You didn’t see any high-flying fists from Japanese fighter. You didn’t see the awesome defensive guard control from the Brazilian fighter. The fight itself lacked and the unappreciative K-1 Heroes crowd didn’t keep their opinions to themselves as they pelted both fighters with boo’s during the contest. At the end, a Gracie barely emerged victorious this time, but maybe only until the next Gracie-Sakuraba contest. That’s if Sakuraba even decides to continue fighting any more of the Brazilian family members after this performance.
The hunting season may finally be over. The same might be said for Sakuraba’s MMA career as well.
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