NEW YORK – As Bellator held a big press conference at the Viacom headquarters in Manhattan on Thursday, certain familiar figures could be seen hovering around the periphery. One of those was Royce Gracie, the Brazilian star of UFC 1, who helped elevate jiu-jitsu in the fight world consciousness.
Gracie’s seen a lot in those 24 years, including the ban of MMA in plenty of states to the partition finally coming down to allow Bellator — and all MMA promotions — to once again hold shows legally in the Big Apple. Just like Spike TV’s president Kevin Kay and Bellator president Scott Coker, Gracie was aglow at the prospect of being in New York and watching fights at Madison Square Garden.