he wanted to come up with a new concept to sell to an advertising client, and thought that the combination of different kinds of fighting was something that would resonate well with a new generation of fans who may not be satisfied with boxing and who had a different kind of attention span. One of those people was a marketing executive named Art Davie, who saw something fascinating in what Gracie was doing. An article about Rorion was published in Playboy magazine, and this caught the attention of a lot of people. The Gracie-Urquidez never came off, but the $100,000 Rorion had offered Urquidez if he were to win (or even draw) in such a fight formed the basis of something that would springboard mixed martial arts into its “golden age.” The $100,000 Gracie Challenge was literally a mixed martial arts event, and it was simple – beat Rorion Gracie and win the money. That match would have offered a great contrast in styles – Rorion, as a proponent of the Brazilian ju-jitsu style developed and popularized by his father, sought to get his opponent to the mat and apply submission techniques, while Urquidez was the stand-up fighter, adept at using his hands and feet in combination to their fullest advantage. He had sparred with the Los Angeles-based early star of the kick boxing universe, known as “The Jet,” but was looking for an outlet by which to measure himself against one of the world’s best. Rorion tried to make a match, under live, competitive conditions, against world champion kick boxer Benny Urquidez. He also inherited another thing from his father – a penchant for challenging other martial arts to one-on-one fighting, as way of testing one discipline against another. He taught his share of students in a makeshift dojo in his garage, and eventually grew his base of clients, some of whom were very much a part of the Hollywood community. Although there is some basis for it, from a historical perspective, it is not completely accurate.Rorion Gracie eventually situated himself in Los Angeles, where he found some work as an actor but mostly pursued his passion, which was mixed martial arts. It has been said by some that the original rules for the Ultimate Fighting Championship were specifically designed to favor the Gracies and their brand of ju-jitsu. Helio’s son, Rorion, also carried on the family tradition, and although he did not become as distinguished a fighter as Carlson, he played a much more critical role in the advancement of mixed martial arts as a sport. Helio’s last conqueror – Waldemar Santana – was later bested four out of six times by Carlson Gracie, Carlos’ son and Helio’s nephew. By the time Helio Gracie had finished with competitive fighting, the next generation of the Gracie family was ready to pick up the ball and run with it.
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