Comments on: Rickson Gracie: ‘It would take me longer to submit Fedor than it would [Brock Lesnar]‘

By: Satori

Satori — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:52:02 +0000

It is easy for people who are arm chair athletes to post comments and crude remarks about different fighters. Theodore Roosevelt once said,
“It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”—Theodore Roosevelt

On another note… Having trained with Rickson Gracie and his instructors for over 12 years, I can tell you that he is even better than he was in 2000 during his last professional fight. I don’t doubt that Rickson could take on and beat either of those fighters. However, he has nothing left to prove to anyone, in my opinion. The hard thing about being a professional fighter is that there will always be haters no matter how many times you prove yourself. Eventually, age catches up with all of us. It is part of life. The problem with today’s generation is that they don’t “respect” the aging population the way people used to. What about his past accomplishments? That should count for something, right? Every fighter deserves the option of retirement at some point in their career. This is especially true of someone like Rickson Gracie because of all that he has done.

If Rickson were to choose to fight again, then great. If he chooses to stay in retirement then people should respect that. The man is 50 years old. Rickson is a legend and those who have had the opportunity to be on the mat with him know how good he still is. Those who have not, will keep on guessing “what if”, or hating. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t add to or take away from the man, the legend, Rickson Gracie. Show some respect.

Well-Done. 76 17