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The first bout of the UFC 288 main card will host the return of Kron Gracie, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu prodigy who carries the most famous last name in both mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The Gracie family first introduced the MMA world to 'The Gentle Art' in 1993.
Royce Gracie stunned martial artists across the globe by choking out opponents who dwarfed him in size—all in one night to win the UFC 1 tournament. While he was the first Gracie to enter the MMA world with triumph and conquest in mind, he was not the last.
Featherweight contender Kron Gracie will make his return to the octagon at UFC 288 as the last glimmer of hope for the greatest dynasty in MMA history.
The Son of a Legendary Lineage
There is no greater family in the martial arts world than clan Gracie. But even among the founders of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Kron Gracie's blood runs exceptionally strong. The 145-pounder is the son of 9th-degree red belt and legendary Brazilian jiu-jitsu grandmaster Rickson Gracie.
His grandfather was a 10th-degree red belt and the godfather of 'The Gentle Art' himself, Hélio Gracie. Born in 1988, Kron Gracie is the youngest of his father's sons. As expected of any Gracie, he took to the Brazilian jiu-jitsu mats with supreme ease. He was a prodigy unlike any other.
By age 10, he not only earned the rank of yellow belt but captured his first competitive win in what was a mere glimpse of triumphs to come. Under his father's tutelage, he improved at an alarming rate. Alas, in 2000, the shadow of tragedy dimmed the glow of the Gracie family's golden boy.
His older brother, Rockson Gracie, died of a drug overdose. Not only did the future ADCC world champion lose his sibling, but he now had to bear the weight of the Gracie family legacy on his young shoulders. Though he was only 12 at the time, 'Ice Cream Kron' exceeded expectations as he continued to improve.
By the time he reached his late teens, he had stormed through various competitions, claiming title after title, including the Pan American Championship in 2005 and the IBJJF World Championship in 2006. His time as a brown belt slowly drew to a close as he amassed a streak of 51 submission wins on the mats.
It was clear to everyone that Kron Gracie was ready for a new tier of competition.
The Reconquest of ADCC
At age 19, Kron Gracie finally had his coronation as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. He was crowned by his father and unleashed upon every foe at the senior level of grappling. Unfortunately, the confidence that 'Ice Cream Kron' had built during his youth crumbled under the weight of humility in 2008.
That year, he took part in the IBJJF World Championship, facing a champion in the making when he locked horns with Sérgio Moraes in his first match. The Gracie prodigy was made to taste defeat, not by points, however, but via submission. Moraes went on to win the title en route to carving his own legacy.
But for Gracie, losing to the eventual champion instead of a runner-up was no moral victory. He lost and that was painful enough. He licked his wounds and resumed training. If 2008 dealt him a harsh hand, then he would trap 2009 in an armlock until it surrendered a boon.
So when 2009 did indeed come along, Gracie set his sights on the European Championship, overcoming every obstacle as he stormed towards the final. Alas, prior to the match, his grandfather, Hélio Gracie, succumbed to the inevitable march of old age and died at 95.
While his death left Kron Gracie's heart in anguish, it also strengthened it with an iron will to succeed. He would not dishonor his grandfather's memory with a loss. Thus, his victory was decisive as he captured the European Championship by conquering his foe via submission.
It was his first major honor, but it wouldn't be his last. In his subsequent years, 'Ice Cream Kron' came within touching distance of claiming championship gold, but a string of bronze and silver medals in various competitions left him wanting. Come 2013, however, his destiny would be fulfilled.
At the time, it had been eight years since the ADCC World Championship saw a member of the Gracie clan enthrone himself as the king of the grappling world. The dynasty of legendary grapplers was forced to watch usurpers and pretenders sully their crown.
With a competitive fire burning within, he retook what has always been rightfully his, even if the rest of the world didn't yet know it. He traveled to Beijing and marked his year with his finest-ever performance by submitting the likes of multi-time world champions Jonathan Torres and Garry Tonon en route to the final.
There, he crossed swords with Otávio Souza—by then, a two-time IBJJF world champion. Yet, Kron Gracie remained undaunted by his opponent's accomplishments. As far as he was concerned, they were fool's gold. So when the two men clashed, he left no room for doubt, scoring the win with a guillotine choke.
When he was crowned the ADCC world champion, a Gracie finally stood atop the grappling world once more. Order was restored, but there was yet another sport, another kingdom, that had forgotten its ancestral kings.
Kron Gracie, the Second Coming of Gracie jiu-jitsu in the UFC
Not since Royce Gracie's dominance in the UFC in the mid-90s has the promotion seen a member of the legendary Gracie clan find success competing under Dana White's promotion. So when Kron Gracie announced his MMA debut a year after his ADCC triumph, the world of mixed martial arts took notice.
Ahead of his first MMA bout, 'Ice Cream Kron' joined forces with Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, training alongside UFC superstars like Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz. His first four fights were showcases of his high-level grappling skills as Gracie defeated every single foe via submission to earn himself a UFC contract.
While undefeated at the time, he was still an unproven commodity. His first test came against Alex Caceres, a flashy striker who is best known for his three-round war with current UFC interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez. Thus, his status as a measuring stick for a newcomer's skills is without question.
At UFC on ESPN 1, Kron Gracie needed no more than two minutes to defeat 'Bruce Leeroy' with a rear-naked choke. If his promotional debut was meant to be a test, 'Ice Cream Kron' passed with flying colors. The UFC, it seemed, had found the second coming of Royce Gracie.
Despite the breadth of skills he had as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, Kron Gracie still had a total of five MMA fights in the wake of his promotional debut. He was still new to a sport far more chaotic than submission grappling. So when the UFC scheduled him to face Cub Swanson, they raised many an eyebrow.
The 39-year-old featherweight was a longtime veteran with experience facing the very best that the 145-pound division had to offer at the time, whether it was all-time great champions like José Aldo and Max Holloway or new-generation contenders like Brian Ortega and Giga Chikadze.
The bout was a massive step up in competition for Kron Gracie and was evident given the fight's proceedings at UFC Fight Night 161. Whether he was influenced by the Diaz brothers' love for boxing or lost his mind in the line of fire, 'Ice Cream Kron' attempted just two takedowns against Cub Swanson.
Instead of overwhelming his seasoned foe with his superior grappling, Gracie opted to engage him—a better and more powerful striker—in a brawl he was ill-equipped to win. While their bout won Fight of the Night honors, he lost, and it also earned the former ADCC world champion his father's frustration.
It is Rickson Gracie's belief that his son fought with a heart overcome by pride and emotion, that he was desperate to prove his toughness and manhood to the Diaz entourage. Even his uncle, Relson Gracie, was critical of his nephew's decision to forsake what made him great: Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Such a loss could not be allowed to stand. Any hopes he may have had for a quick turnaround, however, were dashed by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. It forced him to abandon California in favor of Montana, where he opened a gym and lived off the mountains.
After nearly four years away, Kron Gracie is now scheduled to make his octagon return at UFC 288. The impromptu hiatus he took has afforded him enough time to reflect on his loss to Swanson. The lessons he took from his first career setback? That MMA is not a fight to the death.
There's no clock that will keep ticking until a fighter finally falls. There are three rounds, each one no longer than five minutes, and Kron Gracie must win every second of them. So this Saturday, he must prove his understanding of that against Charles Jourdain, a fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
But despite his foe's grappling skills, he is no master of Gracie jiu-jitsu, and 'Ice Cream Kron' aims to remind the world of that once he steps inside the octagon for the third time.
