Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Choke: A Rickson Gracie Documentary


Hayes turned me on to this documentary. It was filmed in 95 and came out in 99. The movie follows Rickson Gracie and the 1995 Vale Tudo MMA competition.

I'd never heard of that tournament but it's pretty crazy shit. Eight fighters enter and they do the quarter finals, semi-finals, and finals all in one night. So if you one the first round but you get beat up in the process, you're going into your second fight bringing in those injuries. In one case there was very little time in between bouts so it was like this dude was fighting a fresh opponent right after winning his last fight. It's kinda nuts.

Anything goes except maybe eye-gouging and biting. Otherwise, do your worst. It's a street fight. No weight-class either. Pretty much how the UFC used to be back when it first started.

Rickson Gracie of the famed Gracie family enters this tournament with an unbelievable record of 401 wins and zero losses.

The movie follows Rickson, but also checks in on a few of the other competitors that are in his bracket. You see Rickson's dad, brothers, and training partners. His family and whatnot. It's cool stuff.

I think you should watch it if you like MMA.

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