A video has just gone viral due to the fact that it allegedly shows BJJ legend Renzo Gracie getting into an altercation with a member of the public in a New York City subway station. Of course there really aren’t many people on earth who are a worse choice to get into a fight with than Renzo, who is one of a handful of elite grapplers to become a member of the ADCC Hall of Fame. Not only was Renzo a phenomenal competitor but he’s also one of the most highly-regarded coaches in the sport as well, having promoted a number of elite grapplers and MMA fighters to BJJ black belt over the years.
Additionally, an audio recording was uploaded that is from Renzo Gracie and in it he explains how the fight between him and the man in the subway actually unfolded, although the audio is almost entirely in Portuguese. The rough translation is that Renzo was speaking Portuguese with his friends while they were in the subway and the unknown member of the public then approached them to complain about them not speaking English.
Renzo was obviously not happy with the confrontation and the underlying racism that is often behind demands like this. At that point, the man confronting Renzo took offense at this and started to escalate the situation further. Renzo elbowed the assailant and the fight that ensued resulted in him being on top of the man in a comfortable position, apparently transitioning to an arm triangle at the time that the video ends.
We will continue to follow and report on the story as it develops further.
The full audio clip is available below:
