The Gracie challenge was an open invitation issued by some members of the Brazilian Gracie family, known for their Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) mastery, to martial artists of other styles to fight them in a vale tudo match. A precursor to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the purpose of these challenges was to prove the effectiveness of the Gracie style of BJJ. Challenges have been issued since Carlos Gracie first made one in the 1920s with some becoming public events while others have remained private.
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Famous quotes containing the word challenge:
“She might have been old once and now, miraculously, young again—but with the memory of that other life intact. She seemed to know the world down there in the dark hall and beyond for what it was. Yet knowing, she still longed to leave this safe, sunlit place at the top of the house for the challenge there.”
—Paule Marshall (b. 1929)