Royler Gracie has just joined an elite group of Jiu-Jitsu competitors and coaches as he has now been promoted to 8th degree Coral Belt in a ceremony led by his brother Rorion. The event took place at Gracie Humaita Hemet and it was a busy one indeed as thirteen of the gym’s students were promoted to blue belt, four to purple belt, one to brown belt, and two to black belt. Alongside Royler’s 8th degree and the twenty lower belt promotions, the gym’s head coach Omar Salum was given the 6th stripe on his black belt as well.
By virtue of his family name alone, it was always going to be a foregone conclusion that Royler Gracie was going to be a fantastic grappler. The dozens of members of the Gracie family have almost all reached the highest heights of the sport as either competitors or coaches but even among them, Royler has achieved more than most. Even among his own generation of competitors that consisted of some of the greats like Rorion, Rickson, and Royce Gracie, Royler was still considered an incredible Jiu-Jitsu athlete.
Royler was there in the early days of BJJ competition and he went over a decade without being submitted in competition, culminating in four straight world championship wins in what would eventually become the IBJJF world championships. His crowning achievement came at the ADCC world championships however, as Royler Gracie became the very first person to win their weightclass three times in a row. This was a phenomenal feat that has only been done another twice in the twenty years since Royler last won an ADCC title. It was this record along with a bronze medal he earned later on that booked Royler his place in the ADCC hall of fame.
The ceremony of Royler Gracie being promoted to 8th degree Coral Belt by Rorion Gracie was recorded and posted to the official Instagram account of Gracie Humaita Hemet:
