Ryan Gracie died this weekend at 33 years old. Ryan was a champion Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and part of the most famous Mixed Martial Arts family in the world. Many BJJ and MMA fans who know his nickname “The Gracie Devil” are aware of the problems Ryan has had over the years that have obviously taken him on a difficult personal journey and into a few serious run-ins with the law. There are many reports on the web right now describing (and/or speculating on) the series of events that lead to his death in a jail cell in Sao Paulo, Brazil. For now I will refrain from linking to those reports until an official statement of some sort is released from the family.
Sherdog.com has the basic story
We owe the Gracie’s a debt of gratitude for sharing the joys of Jiu-Jitsu with the rest of us, allowing us to learn and grow from generations of evolution and innovation over the years.
I’ve had the pleasure of learning from members of the Gracie Barra family and I have many friends that still train with his brothers and cousins in the US and Brazil. They are humorous, life-loving and caring bunch of people, all with their own distinct personalities and character. Anybody who has met them will tell you, how much fun they are to be around.
My heart goes out to them in this time of tragedy.
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