Gracie: Sakuraba is a hero to me
Renzo Gracie: “People ask if I hate my opponents; I don’t. I love them. They are the ones that actually make me bring the best I have, make me feel young again…”
On Saturday night Renzo Gracie and Kazushi Sakuraba grappled to a draw in a 20-minute professional jiu-jitsu match at Metamoris 5. Sakuraba defeated Gracie fourteen years ago in PRIDE, and also defeated three of his family members, but for Gracie he has the utmost respect for the ‘Gracie Killer’:
“I was surprised with the amount of people who sent me a message telling me to break his arm, like we mean to do that when we are fighting. We expect the opponent to be honorable enough to not tap and allow me the honor to break his arm, but if he taps, we let go. It’s a gentleman’s sport. In reality, I have no animosity towards him, no hate towards him, Gracie said. People ask if I hate my opponents; I don’t. I love them. They are the ones that actually make me bring the best I have, make me feel young again, make me push to belong to this game. Sakuraba is a hero to me. If they send me his shirt, I’ll wear it.