Renzo: I never hit that chicken, bag of poop bouncer
Renzo Gracie: “In reality, I don’t feel I need defense. I can go in there and talk for myself and have this done. I doubt any judge will question what I’m saying.”
MMA legend Renzo Gracie recently appeared on The MMA Hour and detailed his arrest, along with that of Igor Gracie and five others outside of a New York nightclub.
“It was nothing much, in reality. People made the thing become big. The DA saw me there and decide to call the press, make the drama and say that we were doing a gang assault. A gang assault is defined by three people beating up one individual and causing him serious injuries. Which never happened. Now that they watched the tapes, they realized that nothing happened but me taking the guy down, mounting him and when I was going to start beating him up, he said to me, ‘Why you doing this? I don’t know you, why are you beating me up?’
You have to understand one thing, in my life, I promise that I will never hit someone who chickens out. The guy chicken out, he asked for a towel. He asked to leave, I couldn’t hit him, I just stood up. At the same time, an amazing bouncer that I know for a long time, he came up and said, ‘Renzo why are you doing this? This guy has a mouth on him and he does nothing but insult people.’ So, I stood up and I said, ‘Nat, I didn’t know you were working tonight, so I’m out of here and I apologize to you and I apologize coming to your place without talking to you first. I walked away but the other guy got up and called the other bouncers which were around 20 of them and was telling them to attack us. So, as were trying to make it to the car, the bouncers are coming after us. So, we were just holding our ground and walking back until the cops arrived. When the cops arrived, he made a huge scandal that got us arrested.
Now I realize that many times in the justice system, even though its a good and efficient one, it doesn’t work. We were the only ones arrested. If there was any gang assault, it was the three guys jumping on Igor. Luckily nobody hit nobody. The whole time, it was nothing but grab each other with no kicking and punching. The only time someone took someone down was me. The altercation was directly with this person that is accusing us because everybody that was coming to the door, he was very rude to them. For you to have an idea. I just got invited to a dinner by 15 bouncers and I can bring anybody from my university because they said, ‘We wish for a long time that this happened to this guy.’ That’s how much he is hated in the industry. Unfortunately, the owner of the 1OAK didn’t realize he was at the door.
I was standing there, and I saw a lady come, and it’s funny because she looks just like the DA that is charging us. And told her that, I told her that I wanted to come in and she said, ‘You cannot come in honey.’ I asked why and she said, ‘Because you are fat and ugly.’ I saw them insulting so many people. So I felt that if this guy runs his mouth on me, I am going to hit him. But he was such a chicken that I didn’t have a chance to hit him.
“How I see a coward? It’s like a bag of poop. I can’t dirty my hands. The moment he chickened out and made this whole drama. Now he is claiming he is going to sue me. I want to know for what? He didn’t even get hurt. Maybe for sitting on him. This guy is 230 pounds and 6’2 or 6’3 and he chicken out. That’s the nightmares I have. I hope I never have a son like that.
“I was in jail for two days, laughing. Enjoying every moment,. I had a great time, to be honest.”
“I couldn’t leave them. There was my fault that they were in there. I was the one who lost the temper. I lost the temper with a reason and why I’m gonna leave the kids in there?”
“Andre Gusmao was on the sidewalk watching. It’s so ridiculous. (The DA) goes in there and reads ‘Mr. Andre Gusmao was on the sidewalk, he didn’t participate, he was just watching, and the guy spoke to him in Portuguese. $10,000 bail.’ She’s saying he was on the side, he wasn’t in the scuffle, and the only reason is because I told him ‘just call my house and tell them I will be out for a couple days’ in Portuguese. And they arrested him. That was the accusation.”
“It’s not because you’re a fighter, it’s because they wanted to call the attention of the press. They want to make a drama and create problems. Now they know because they watched the tape. They saw that was no coward act. They saw it was just a little scuffle and I took him down and mounted him. I didn’t hit him once. That’s the reality, I don’t need to lie. If I beat the crap out of him, I’d tell you right now, but I didn’t had the chance. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance. It couldn’t happen because he chickened out. I wish he had put a fight. Why I’m so frustrated, I was expecting a fight when I tackled him.”
“They messed up with the cameras so they don’t have the footage because normally it’s them beating up guys like you, who go to a club and you get your ass kicked. This is for them not to get sued. And I heard this from employees who work there. They messed up the cameras on purpose. I have footage from a guy that was in the line, waiting to get in.”
“I’m gonna put a team of good lawyers to defend the kids. In reality, I don’t feel I need defense. I can go in there and talk for myself and have this done. I doubt any judge will question what I’m saying.”
Igor Gracie too was recently interviewed by Tatame magazine, and discussed what happened.
Via Google translate:
The confusion involving Renzo Gracie in a nightclub in New York became a little less cloudy Monday. Igor Gracie, who was also in the group of seven people arrested along with his cousin, gave his version of the story in an exclusive interview with Tatame.
Igor recounted that they were celebrating the birthday of fighter Andre Gusmao in a French restaurant, when they decided to take the celebration at 1-Oak nightclub , which was to be the scene of confusion.
“In New York, generally, they do not let three men go together into a nightclub. We were eight and Joel (the only group that was not arrested ) asked the security (Craig Molesphini), to let us in, as we were with Renzo celebrating the birthday of a friend. The guy started cursing , saying ‘f— Renzo ‘, addressed us offensively, cursing. Renzo pissed , hit – mouth and took him down with a double leg. Two security guards jumped on Renzo and the guys jumped to help Renzo. There was no punch or kick. They said we gave blows of martial arts, who broke the arm of security. There was none of that. Then the police arrived, they handcuffed us, and took everyone away.”
“This guy (Molesphini) is known to the staff of the branch of the nightclub. He is a tough guy who mistreats customers. He said we exited the van beating everyone, which is a lie. This happened on Sunday (18). On Monday (19), was a complaint on Tuesday, declined and then asked to adjourn the case in a month and a half. In reality, they want to get a witness or something to see what will be the charges. In the nightclub door there are three cameras, and all that appears is the Renzo doing a takedown. “
“The police left us together. Renzo was in one day less, since he paid his bail first so that he could help get us out. It was a horror movie, I could not eat go to the toilet … The toilet was so disgusting that the cleaning staff looked at it and went straight by. And the sink was glued, so it was impossible to drink water. I was not sleeping well because the bed was a cold metal bench… It was the worst experience of my life.”
Concerned about damage to its image, Igor, who heads his own academy in New York, plans to wait for the dust settles to think of possible repairs.
“Because I have the same last name Renzo, my full name appeared in all the newspapers – Renzo Gracie and Igor left. It was a loss that is difficult to be repaired. When this is over, I will see legal means to solve it. Not just a guy pointing to lie, to say that …”
The next hearing of the case is scheduled for July 17.
Read entire article… (original Portuguese)