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In this video from 2011, Rener Gracie of the world-famous Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy plays a practical joke on his students, friends, and even family with a Bubba Gracie dummy.
It’s not your fault if you’ve never heard of family member Bubba Gracie. Though Mr. Bubba works at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, he’s not as well known as Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, and the other members of the family. That’s because Bubba Gracie is a grappling dummy, who, according to Rener, never complains, never taps out, shows up early, stays late, actually he never leaves.
When the first prototype dummy arrived at the Gracie Academy, it looked so real that Rener had an idea for a practical joke. While Bubba inspired the prank, he didn’t actually take part in it. It was Brian Ortega, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy instructor and future UFC star, who played Bubba’s role, while Bubba himself hid jammed under an office desk.
Included on the list of people who got praned are the following:
•Rorion Gracie – The Grand Master
•Ryron Gracie – 5th Degree black belt
•Eve Torres Gracie – WWE Diva, GJJ blue belt, and Rener’s wife
•Mike Saffaie – Strongest student at the Academy
•Billy Graziadei – Guitarist from world famous band “Biohazard”
•John Boyd – Black Belt Instructor, aka “Uncle John”
•Plus several other students, and friends of the Gracie Academy!
Reactions to the prank are telling, with the more experienced jiu-jitsu devotees responding in a far more efficient fashion.
The Gracie family is a prominent martial arts family from Brazil known for their development of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ). Their efforts spawned modern mixed martial arts, and have been wildly successful in combat sports competitions including MMA, vale tudo, and submission wrestling events.
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