Rener Gracie and Cassio Werneck are both incredibly well-known names in the BJJ world and the two men actually met on the mats back in 2003, although the match ended in controversy. Although Gracie has become known for staying out of competition, this is actually one of the few instances that he did compete at a pretty high level in his youth. Werneck was much older and as a result, was a far more experienced and accomplished competitor by the time that they met. He continued competing long after this as well, including a short-lived MMA career and recent appearances in master’s divisions at major tournaments.
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Rener Gracie vs Cassio Werneck
The match between Rener Gracie and Cassio Werneck took place in 2003 at the Southern California Pro-Am Invitational tournament, when they were at very different points in their respective careers. Gracie had only been promoted to black belt by Helio Gracie the year before, and had managed to win a bronze medal at the IBJJF Pan Championship earlier that year. By contrast, Werneck was a veteran competitor who had just had the biggest year of his career when he won both the IBJJF Pan Championship and the IBJJF World Championship. The Southern California Pro-Am Invitational was a no time-limit no gi tournament though, something that Gracie hadn’t done before.
The Match
Both Rener Gracie and Cassio Werneck made it through their respective opening round matches against Joe Stevenson and Jeff Newton, setting up a quarter-final match with one another. Gracie chose to wear a gi regardless of the ability not to, and Werneck immediately took advantage of that by using a collar-grip to pull guard. Gracie started to put Werneck under pressure to force him into half-guard but Werneck was able to drag him down and start to wrap his arm around Gracie’s leg. Gracie attempted to counter with a rolling kimura and although he couldn’t secure the pass or submission, he was able to shut down Werneck’s offense for a moment.
Cassio Werneck switched to a butterfly hook and elevated Rener Gracie, sweeping him and stepping over in to half-guard before they were reset into the center. Werneck was using a deep underhook to allow him to staple Gracie’s leg and pass, but couldn’t quite secure the position before he was able to re-guard. Gracie tried to recover closed guard but Werneck forced him to keep one butterfly hook and started to circle towards it to pass. Werneck transitioned to an over-under and almost managed to pass with that too, but Gracie re-guarded again and started to work on a kimura.
Rener Gracie couldn’t finish the kimura but he was able to use it to get back to closed guard, but Cassio Werneck was using grips on his lapel to limit his mobility. Werneck stood up to pass but Gracie underhooked one of his legs and almost swept him, although he was able to drop back to his knees to stay safe. After staying there for a while, the referee reset them to a standing position and Werneck was able to use a lapel-grip to pull guard again. Werneck attempted to sweep Gracie but he countered by sitting into single-leg x to start attacking a straight ankle-lock, and that’s when the controversial moment happened.
The Controversial Finish
Rener Gracie got his ankle-lock grip and started to crank on it to get the finish, while Cassio Werneck attempted to slow him down by gripping his gi and lifted his hips to relieve the pressure. Gracie put him back to the mat and continued applying pressure, when Werneck tapped on one of his legs a single time. The referee called an end to the match but Werneck immediately protested the stoppage and the referee had to keep him and Gracie separated. They then reviewed the footage and determined that Werneck did tap, so the referee stuck by his original decision and declared Gracie the winner.
Footage can also be seen from a better angle and the result is still pretty unclear really. Cassio Werneck did touch Rener Gracie and it’s understandable why the referee determined that it was a tap, as many others would agree with him. Likewise, there are undoubtedly many people who believe Werneck didn’t tap and the match should have continued. The difficulty is that once the referee has called an end to it, he can’t ever restart them in the exact same position even if the decision is incorrect. Rener Gracie continued in the bracket despite the controversy and he ended up beating both Tyrone Glover and Jason Miller to win the tournament.
The full footage of the match between Rener Gracie and Cassio Werneck that ended in controversy was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Riccardo ‘Baleia’ Ammendolia:
