In the build-up for the upcoming 2022 ADCC World Championships, the world’s most prestigious grappling tournament has decided to create a Hall of Fame and the first man inducted is none other than the legendary Roger Gracie. There’s only a small handful of competitors that could consider themselves on the same footing as Roger when it comes to performance in the ADCC World Championships in general, but his run through the 2005 under 99kg and absolute divisions stands out as a unique achievement. In it he became only the fourth man in history to win two gold medals at the same event and he remains one of only seven men to achieve this feat.
What made 2005 unique however is that Roger became the first, and to date the only, person to win two divisions with with a 100% submission rate, forcing all eight of his opponents to tap on his journey to the top spot. Along with being both an IBJJF and ADCC world champion, Roger Gracie is famous for training almost exclusively with lower belts for a reasonably large portion of his career aside from his regular training sessions with fellow ADCC double champion Braulio Estima. He also returned at the 2007 ADCC world championships to challenge for the superfight title against one of only four men who ever managed to defeat Roger, Jon Olav Einemo.
He emerged victorious and secured his legacy as an ADCC triple crown winner, although he chose not to return again in 2009 to defend his title against Robert Drysdale. By that time, Roger Gracie had decided to focus more on the IBJJF world championships and the start of his MMA career but his spot in the ADCC Hall of Fame was already guaranteed. Despite not having competed for years and being firmly in retirement, Roger remains one of the most commonly-cited names when some of the best grapplers and coaches have been asked who they think the greatest of all time is. For that reason, Roger Gracie receiving the honor of being the first inductee into the ADCC Hall of Fame should have come as no surprise at all when the promotion announced it in a post to their official Instagram account:
