GAMMA United States
Starting 2021 off with a powerhouse addition, Renzo Gracie joins GAMMA USA on our national board of directors to help facilitate our shared goals and ambitions to bring Amateur MMA into Olympic Recognition! Part of that goal is continuing to build a strong foundation for Youth, Novice and Amateur developmental programs nationally.
Renzo is the grandson of Gracie Jiu Jitsu’s legendary founder Carlos Gracie and son of 9th Dan BJJ black belt Robson Gracie, brother to Ralph and Ryan Gracie. Like most men in the Gracie family, Renzo started training Jiu Jitsu as an infant. He had formal instruction from many of the Gracie patriarchs, but two of his biggest influences were the legendary Rolls Gracie and Carlos Gracie Jr (the man who later awarded him his black belt).Renzo has fought all over the world for organizations such as ONE Championship, UFC, K-1 and Pride FC in its heyday. He pioneered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in America in the 1990’s when he founded Renzo Gracie Academy NYC in New York City, one of the cornerstones of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in America.
Renzo is established as one of the best teachers and mentors in combat sports. With his signature combination of charisma and intelligence, he has guided students such as Matt Serra a former UFC Champion, Roger Gracie a 10x Jiu Jitsu world champion, John Danaher the Jiu-Jitsu Coach to Gordan ‘The King’ Ryan as well as UFC Champions Georges St-Pierre, Chris Weidman, Shawn Williams, and Ricardo Almeida to black belt in Jiu Jitsu.
Founder of GAMMA USA Justin Brown stated “Renzo is a monumental addition to the GAMMA USA leadership team in regards to his experience and insight with building programs that help athletes and coaches excel. The passion he has for combat sports is in his blood and that passion is passed on to everyone around him. I look forward to working with Renzo and the rest of our Board of Directors in the future to continue our push toward Olympic Recognition!”
GAMMA USA is a non-profit organization created to foster the development of MMA to be recognized on the international level with hopes of joining the Olympic Games. GAMMA USA is the sole USA federation recognized under the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) international federation. Our programs were created to develop MMA safely from a youth perspective of 8+, Novice adult MMA and high achieving amateurs ready to represent the USA national team on the international platform.
