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change in the game since 1993 the Ultimate Fighting Championship is celebrating its 30-year anniversary and to commemorate this historic Milestone we are thrilled to be here to officially reveal the greatest fighters in UFC history and create the ultimate 30 alltime roster with that I’m John anex Ro to be hosting today and I am joined by an esteemed panel to my right a man who needs no introduction former two Division champion UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier and of course the man to my left supremely talented coach analy list and of course former UFC lightweight Dean Thomas is with us as well we got a lot to get to today the ultimate 30 is our initiative it is a distinguished group of athletes voted upon by an esteemed panel of Judges consisting of UFC Executives former UFC Champions coaches and media personalities as well the criteria included UFC accolades impact on the sport fighting ability and also star power one other note of importance the 30 Fighters that made the list will officially be placed on this all-time roster but in order of their UFC debut DC would like to know like what number is he in the top 30 we had to tell him it doesn’t work like that but on today’s show we are looking at the early era of the UFC from the beginning in 1993 all the way through to 2006 DC you’re one of the all-time greats I got to think you got strong consideration for the all-time roster but your thoughts on the athletes we might reveal here today champ well the reality is if I didn’t get on the roster I’m breaking this entire set like this show won’t exist if I’m not on the I’m a store loser so but the reality is I feel like today we are going to look back on some of the greatest athletes the UFC has ever seen and I believe when you do that you gain an appreciation for not only what those guys did but how they did and the impact that they made on the sport I’m excited about this episode so Dean Thomas you are part of this esteemed judging panel trying to somehow Whittle this roster down to 30 athletes by the way north of 2400 athletes as of the Singapore show in 2023 had competed in the UFC how was that process for you it was incred incredibly difficult think about it I had to go through all these list of people who I thought everybody deserved to be on this list but at the end of it I got through it but what I’m excited about is the early dudes the oldheads like myself and it’s nostalgic for me and I’m so proud of these guys because these guys didn’t have a blueprint nor did we even nor did we think we even had a future and they still did it so we gota we got to recognize these guys this exercise made a lot of us feel pretty old but it was really thrilling to go through it and to that end it is now time to bring to you our first addition to the roster a man who Bears the most famous surname in mixed martial arts history and a man whose performance on the faithful night of November 12th 1993 sparked a new era of Combat Sports history it All Began 30 years ago with a tournament to find the ultimate fighting discipline eight Street top Warriors wage combat in a battle where anything can happen and probably will that night hoist Gracie introduced brazili Jiu-Jitsu to the world there’s the tap there’s the tap he just tapped out just tapped out it’s over it’s over that is the power of jiujitsu in action what are you going to do with the money I’m not here for the money I’m here for the owner of the family often faced with a size and strength disadvantage he has 20 lbs on Gracie there it is he’s tapping out that’s it a master martial art graci’s ability to perfectly Implement his family’s fighting system beautiful technique by saw him consistently defy the odds in the era of one night tournaments Gracie reigned Supreme boce is the ruler his historic performance at UFC 1 was followed up by a dominant run at UFC 2 he is the greatest champion and an iconic list of Victories at UFC 4 that included future Champion Dan the beast7 that’s it he choked them out so an amazing show determination of guts of Will by Hoy Gracie on his back for almost 15 minutes unbelievable 20 years after UFC won hoist Gracie became the inaugural inductee into the UFC Hall of Fes Pioneer win deserved recognition for a fighter whose heroics passion and ambassadorship for the sport paav the way for mixed martial arts and mixed martial artists for years to [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] come well you cannot Poss ly Chronicle the 30 years of UFC history without coming across the name hoist Gracie an absolute no-brainer for our ultimate 30 and the all-time UFC roster Hall of Famer UFC 124 Tournament champion the legendary hoist Grace’s in the building with us here thanks for the intruction time mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiujitsu icon hoist Gracie no better man to kick off our alltime roster could you imagine if we did this exercise without you that’d be pretty messed up yes it would have you’re here and we are very excited to dive into this so many accolades throughout your career and another acknowledgement today my pleasure I just did what I know what I learned from my family and you did it at at a high level for a very long time you know when I think about ho Gracy John and I think about the Gracie train I felt like we should have got up and walked behind him it should on the shoulder we really should we should because it was disrespectful that we didn’t go back there and kind of do the gracee train but I felt like watching you fight showed everybody that size didn’t matter if you attain the skills you could do anything because I’m telling you as a kid watching on VHS because we didn’t get it live we had to watch on V hold on stop as a kid you just call me old I’m home and cry now we’re old I remember being well I was a kid but I was in my I was in my team high school kid we would get the VHS and we would watch you compete and I would think to myself this little dude’s in trouble right and then you would go out there and do your thing where you I mean you have to be nervous going out there with no rules and like Dean said with no real future in this thing I was I was just thinking about that what was my family thinking cuz I I never had a fight before I was like I yeah we had to put some kind of record I put the record as a jit competitions but I had an MMA fight not even on the streets what were they thinking when they put me in there well I mean think about it like what was the selection process like well first of all I got to tell you and and you I know you don’t remember this but in 1997 I went to your seminar in Jacksonville Florida and you gave me my blue belt so I appreciate that wow but what what were you thinking when they said all right hoist you’re going to represent the not only the family but but the entire art that we’ve spent Generations developing and you went out there with so much pressure on your back I what was it was it like did you just draw the shortest it was it was uh growing up with this family where all this I grew up all my brothers did it my cousin did my uncles my father so I want to do it I want to do it but they’re like nah it’s not your time yet push me aside so when they said it’s your turn you’re going to do it it was like okay now I gotta I gotta step up to the play but it wasn’t but but understand this it wasn’t what he did like just going out there and winning it was how he did it because it changed the landscape of fighting for the entire world because prior to that you know we was thinking Mike Tyson was the best figher in the world or boxing but you went out there and like they could have picked any Jiu-Jitsu guy could have went out there and ground and pounding somebody but you went out there and used a very specific set of skills that was the orders for my father my father was like Hey do not hurt your opponents do not punch them just use clean technique just beat them subdue them with without hurting them and I was like but Dad it’s a fight they’re going to be swinging at me he’s like don’t worry they’re not going to hit you just that’s how much he trust now don’t take me wrong it was a total different orders from my mother mother was like I want to see some blood my doesn’t know what he’s talking about I was like really Mom she was like I want to see some blood go ahead and hurt them send them to the hospital you fought art Jimson he had the one glove were you worried when you saw jerson walk out there with one glove one glove it was good but was bad it was I mean the bad part is he might hit me that’s why he put the glove on he wants one shot he doesn’t want to break his hand but the good side is he cannot grab with that hand so he’s fighting me pretty much with one hand only so yeah it’s just don’t get hit now I gotta know I gotta know so you fought Gerard gordeau and the Rumor was was that he bit you and then you held on to the choke a little bit longer before you let go that that was in the finals of as soon as I took him down he took a bite on my ear so I pull it off and I whisper on his ear like you cheating I was surprised a men agreement nobody no eye gouging and he had to do it I talked to him after and he’s super nice guy he’s like man I just hate to lose us I’ll do whatever it takes to win so as soon as I took him down he took a b it so I had butt him a couple times when he turn around I got him in a choke but then I didn’t see him tap I didn’t held on I didn’t see him tap him but think about this two things that you cannot do on the fight men’s agreement that’s what I said yeah I gou and biting everything else goes but even after that fight he went back home I talked to him he went back home he prepared uh remu to fight me on UFC too after after I beat rco they came back and go we got to learn this yeah that’s what they right away they start we got we have to learn this learn so you get through UFC 1 and then four or five months later you find yourself competing four times in that one night at UFC 2 still a UFC record so what happened between UFC 1 and UFC 2 and what was different about that second time competing in the Octagon for you it was going back to teaching not even training back then it was just teach and as I teach I practice learned that from my father my father used to do this teach all day long so as he’s teaching he’s practicing what he wants to do in the fight what the fight is going to be so it was teaching all day group classes private classes and train with the students back then there was no Camp bring a professional kickboxing instructor wrestling instructor there was no camps it was just teaching classes and getting ready the gentle art right seemed like you had a little bit of a Mean Streak though even when you look at some of the footage at UFC won and I don’t know if that was part of your career as a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner but is it safe to say you always had a little bit of a Mean Streak as a competitor I’m the I’m a competitor me not really if you watch there a lot of open hand slaps more to maneuver from point A to point B plus I have to obey mother sometimes so what happened to UFC 3 you didn’t lose right but you pulled out of the tournament maybe your corner threw in the towel because of dehydration and exhaustion is that what happened it was dehydration I finished the first fight against Kimo that by the way it was a total wrong fight zero strategy it was just the strategy still in the locker room that was Pure Heart right there it’s like I tried to match strength with the 250 lb guy I was I heard he was strong probably one of the strongest guy ever fought walk back the locker room I think was like maybe 10 to 15 minutes in between fights cuz their next fight went fast is time’s up got to go back again I remember I walk back locker room they took down my GE throw me cuz I was exhausted so they threw me in the shower cold shower put the GE back on and said let’s go I remember getting up got in the cage and suddenly went everything shut down my car came over asked me are you ready I say yes but then I turn around I can’t see a thing I just heard my brothers I go guys I can’t see a thing Point me on the right direction oh my gosh and my car came back and notic something’s wrong are you ready I turned around I like yep I’m ready turn around again like guys I can’t see anything do something and that’s what my brother said let’s not confuse toughness with stupidity you already prove that you’re tough by being here continue without seeing anything stupidity yeah Dan s fight how tough was that one to fight a big wrestler like that because they always say that the wrestling base kills Jiu-Jitsu right because they’re so heavy they always stay so fundamental ultimately you got him in that triangle choke and he had about the slowest tap I ever seen in my life he tap like this he didn’t want to tap bad hey and I got to tell you before you answer that I remember watching that fight live and about 10 minutes in I’m in the other room like don’t tell me what happens don’t tell me what then I go out and peek to see if they were still fighting then I come back in I go I was so nervous when I F I was like oh my God he’s going to get ho going to get beat I was so nervous for that fight the big wrestler could be a problem for the Jiu-Jitsu guy how difficult was that fight it was not it was not difficult I knew exactly what he was going to do if you watch the fight again I put my way up high no one he was saying go ahead shoot in take me down I’ll be I’ll be on the board you’ll be inside of my guard my father always said don’t fight to beat your opponent fight not to lose mhm so that’s what I did I know he cannot finish me he couldn’t finish me there was he didn’t know any finishing submission holds and that frustrate him and that’s when he made him mistake and I caught him in the Triangle got that triangle up on him huh when you’re fighting in those early days right do you understand the impact that you’re going to have on the sport are you in that moment able to realize that man this is not only something fun and I enjoyed it my family is making me do it but it’s going to change everything it was question of everybody knew about fighting about Jujitsu back in Brazil we’ve been doing this for a long time but nobody in the world knew so Hardon says man once America find out the world will find out yes we had an idea that the world will see it after what happens in the UFC in the first early ages and when the first started but I don’t look as I did it it was you though it it% I tell people you never saw me fighting you didn’t see this beauty what you saw was the technique they impressed everybody yes that you did though I I understand you’re humble right I understand you’re humble and you want to put the family above all but if not for the jiujitsu but if not for the performances if not for one two and four none of us would care about Jiu-Jitsu it was watching you but he’s he’s kind he kind of has a point though because like if it was henzo henzo would have been like punching guys and and biting them but the way he did itz did hzo would have went and did Jiu-Jitsu but he would have but he punched and slap but but he didn’t but he didn’t do it in a he did it in a gentle way he was gentle which made it so much which made it magical it made it done it but then you smash the guys in h and and the other brothers even light away the brother but my father knew that their character they had fights on the streets and the hands beat up a lot of guys and he would get there and get mad because somebody punches beat his year and smash the guy’s face wouldn’t be as impressive my father knew I would listen to him what would your father say now if he saw the landscape of MMA today oh he would be proud how much everybody learned J that was his goal because when when I remember when I first got ared in America people didn’t know who El Grace was who what Grace jit was jitu so that was the goal to Once America find out the world will find out today you go from Japan to Saudi araban they’re practicing they know well there’s a handful of individuals with without whom we’re not sure mixed martial arts would exist in this capacity in the United States you know I provide for my family in MMA and without someone like Hoy Gracie I’m not able to do that so I hope you feel the love and appreciation not just from us but from the entire fan base because your legacy is is truly As Good As It Gets is the Legacy the El gra you create I’m a product of my father’s work I always say that that is amazing the way that you guys the way that you hold your father up and everything he was he was way ahead of his he saw this whole thing coming who do you think is the best fighter in the world my daughter she can’t get anything out of me just like Dad I go okay done what do you want good answer