Steeped In History
This week saw the 31-year anniversary of the night that changed the fight game forever.
On November 12th 1993, Royce Gracie stepped into the Octagon for the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament and gave a breathtaking exhibition of the effectiveness of Brazilian jiu jitsu in a combat sports setting.
A trio of quickfire submission wins over Art Jimmerson, Ken Shamrock and Gerard Gordeau saw the unassuming, pyjama-clad individual crowned the first ever UFC champion and completely changed our understanding of the effectiveness of the various martial arts.
An ‘arms race’ ensued as fighters around the world rushed to learn the mind-blowing skills which the youngest Gracie brother had showcased that night in Denver, Colorado.
Even though the sport has evolved beyond recognition since that first event, with an entire generation of athletes now so well-rounded that the specialist grapplers have seemingly reached the brink of extinction, every now and then a jiu jitsu fighter arrives on the scene with the potential to make it all the way to a UFC title.
Charles Oliveira has been the most recent example. “Do Bronx” faces Michael Chandler at Madison Square Garden this weekend as he looks to work his way back towards fighting for the UFC lightweight belt he held briefly between 2021-2022.
Oliveira is the last of a generation of Brazilian grappling phenoms who competed at the top end of their respective divisions, and while Demian Maia and Jacare Souza fell just short of winning the ultimate prize, Fabricio Werdum and Glover Teixeira are living proof that elite-level Brazilian jiu jitsu can still be utilized to win championship belts.
The Next Generation
Karine Silva (18-4), the latest in that long line of dangerous submission artists in the UFC, is positioned to explode into the title discussion at 125lbs if she can get past fellow Brazilian Viviane Araujo at UFC 309 this weekend.
“Killer” has been living up to her nickname during her short UFC tenure so far. Four straight victories (three of those coming by way of submission) have certainly turned a few heads but an impressive win over an experienced opponent such as Araujo this weekend would surely see the 30-year-old being spoken about as a future flyweight contender.
Silva found her way into the UFC via an astonishing guillotine finish over Yan Qihui on Dana White’s Contender Series back in October of 2021. After struggling with the Chinese powerhouse’s physicality in the opening round, Silva locked in the choke when her opponent was attempting a takedown, and despite being hoisted into the air and slammed to the canvas, her squeeze proved too much for Qihui to handle and the young Brazilian screamed with delight as she celebrated the biggest victory of her career.
Her debut at the UFC Apex in June 2022 gave us another glimpse of her dynamic submission skills. She faced fellow Brazilian Poliana Botelho and secured a d’arce choke in the dying embers of the opening round.
She returned to the same venue a year later to face another Brazilian opponent, Ketlen Souza. An aggressive leglock attack early in the fight came so suddenly that Souza didn’t get time to tap, and when Silva reaped her knee and cranked it laterally, the resulting injury was both obvious and sickening.
Silva finally got the opportunity to perform in front of an audience two months later when she faced Maryna Moroz at UFC 292 in Boston, Massachusetts. For the third consecutive time she refused to let her opponent see the end of the first round. Moroz tapped to a guillotine in the final seconds and it became abundantly clear that the UFC have a special talent on their hands.
A much-needed step up in competition came in April of this year when Silva faced Ariana Lipski da Silva and although there was no submission finish this time, the Curitiba native showcased her aentire skillset during a unanimous decision win and the fifteen minutes of Octagon time will no doubt serve Silva well going forward.
A host of young contenders are beginning to emerge in the flyweight division, all of whom have designs on Valentina Shevchenko’s crown. Erin Blanchfield, Maycee Barber and Natalia Silva have all shown enough promise in their UFC careers to date to be considered as potential future champions at 125lbs and should Karine Silva extend her nine-fight winning streak this Saturday night at MSG, then we can surely add the Brazilian jiu jitsu phenom’s name to that illustrious list.
