Royce Gracie admits that fighters like Conor McGregor have changed the sport of MMA, but he's still excited for the Irishman's return to the Octagon.
While the legendary jiu-jitsu black belt was the original UFC champion, the sport is completely different now to how it was when he competed in its debut. These days, the promotion and trash talk in the build-up to fights are almost as important as the cage skills, which must also be much more rounded than they were when Gracie competed in style vs style fights.
His Brazilian jiu-jitsu was enough to see him win the initial tournaments put on by the UFC, but modern fighters need to be well-versed in striking, grappling and wrestling to reach the pinnacle. And one who has done it all while promoting himself to millions of fans is McGregor, who has brought his own brand as well as the sport to new heights.
"Conor McGregor can put up a show and he's a very good fighter," Gracie told Mirror Fighting in an exclusive chat at Bellator's Dublin Fan Fest to promote their return to Ireland on September 23. "He knows strategy.
"Sometimes he wins fast and sometimes he loses. People talk trash about him when he loses but hey, if you've never lost, you've never fought.
"He's always exciting to watch because you never know what's going to happen, he comes to fight and every time he gets in, it's a good fight. In the beginning it was a style against a style, today it's not that anymore, it's a fighter against a fighter and who has the best strategy, so anything can happen."
McGregor has been world champion in the UFC and Cage Warriors at featherweight and lightweight, including stints as the first ever simultaneous two-division champion in both promotions. In a remarkable development, he has set his sights on welterweight gold when he recovers from his broken leg, eyeing up a bout with champion Kamaru Usman.
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Gracie, who competed in openweight bouts and defeated opponents as heavy as 265lb, refused to be drawn on whether or not he sees McGregor coming back and winning gold. When asked if the Irishman can hand Usman his first UFC loss, he replied: "There's only one way to find out, that's why we created this."
The MMA legend was in Dublin, McGregor's hometown, for an autograph signing event with fans at The Square Shopping Centre in Tallaght. He was joined by Bellator lightweight contender Peter Queally, bantamweight Brian Moore, featherweight Ciaran Clarke and McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh.
The relationship between Kavanagh and Gracie, which started with the Irishman being a fan of the legendary jiu-jitsu practitioner, has blossomed into a friendship through their involvement with Bellator. The Brazilian was in attendance for a number of Dublin fight nights, as well as the launch of SBG Ireland HQ in 2019.
"We're both in the same business," he explained. "We build fighters so we have a good relationship, we're always exchanging ideas."
Tickets for BELLATOR 285 are now on sale and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.ie and Bellator.com
