Could Kron Be The Next Great Gracie?

Kron Gracie was patient, taking advantage of almost every second of Rizin’s 10-minute opening round. His opponent, the ageless Hideo Tokoro, had beaten his uncle Royler a decade earlier, and a year before that would have beaten his uncle Royce if the rules allowed for a judges’ decision. Perhaps promoters put the two together under the guise of a grudge match based on that history, but there was no ill will in Saitama Sunday evening. It was a growth fight, the more talented young fighter against the more experienced veteran.

Kron put his time in on the feet – predictably and understandably, the weakest part of his game – before dragging the fight down to his world. He added upward of eight minutes of mat time to the thousands he’s already accumulated. A master, he passed guard at will and remained in control the remainder of the fight, even when he found himself on his back. Strangely, when Tokoro had opportunities to back away and bring the fight back upright, he chose to stick to the mat – a choice about as wise as swimming with hippopotamuses. Unsurprisingly, Kron secured the submission before the round ended, and was proudly greeted by his father in the ring afterward.

Although martial arts ranks are earned, Kron was born a crown prince. His father is Rickson Gracie, champion of the first family of both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts. The Gracie family was at the ground floor of a worldwide revolution in prize fighting, and were the main contributors of the explosion of mixed martial arts in Brazil, the United States, and Japan.

While his brothers Rorion and Royce created a roar in the United States with the UFC, Rickson carried the family name in Japan. UFC video tapes were best sellers in Japan, boosting the UFC name as Royce won tournament after tournament. Attempting to capitalize on the Gracie name, Satoru Sayama’s Vale Tudo Japan invited Rickson to compete in their inaugural tournament in 1994. Of course, Rickson blew through the competition, and returned the next year to defend his crown successfully.

Rickson’s triumph in the tournaments, particularly over the Japanese competitors, made him a target for Japanese professional wrestlers that made their names performing in matches that blurred the line between fiction and reality. Nobuhiko Takada was the lead star of UWFi, a shoot-style pro wrestling group that prior to the first UFC had run a successful pay-per-view event without any television presence based on the idea of it being real. (It wasn’t, and their subsequent pay-per-view numbers plummeted.)

After Rickson’s victories, Takada made grandstand challenges, but had no interest in fighting Rickson. Promoters tried to arrange a pro wrestling match, but Rickson had no interest in anything less than a legitimate fight. In December 1994, Takada’s protégé and supposed tough guy Yoji Anjo ventured to Rickson’s California gym with a flock of photographers for a challenge. Behind closed doors, Rickson battered Anjo, whose bloody face adorned magazine covers in Japan. Anticipation was high for Takada to step in to avenge Anjo, but he waited another three years for the fight, after all of his big money pro wrestling feuds had been exhausted.

Rickson vs. Takada was the basis of the first Pride show, and a rematch a year later helps the struggling promotion keep chugging along. Of course, Rickson won both matches. That history is likely what prompted Rizin to tap Kron Gracie vs. Hideo Tokoro as its main event on Sunday.

It appears Rizin is building Kron to become its top foreign star – the guy that beats Japanese fighters while promoters search for their next Japanese star. Getting to the star level that his father was at two decades ago and his uncles were at 10-15 years ago will take time, particularly since there aren’t many major matches for Kron at the moment. Shinya Aoki looms, but he was never a big mainstream fighter. Kid Yamamoto was a major mainstream name and among the biggest draws in Japan from 2004-2009, but he’s signed to the UFC, is constantly plagued by injuries, and his popularity has declined. Kickboxing legend Masato would be the ideal opponent: a big name that would draw a big TV rating and lose quickly, but the odds are slim to none that Rizin could pull him from retirement to compete in a sport he’s never trained for. Most likely, it will be a slow build for Kron to superstar level.

More than just a star fighter, Kron has the potential to be the first great MMA fighter of the second Gracie generation (for this piece’s purpose, we’re considering the first generation those that began the modern era of mixed martial arts, even though there were generations of Gracie fighters prior to that). The first generation ruled much of the 90s, but disappeared from the rankings by the turn of the century. Most of the second generation that tried their hand at MMA didn’t appear to give it a full shot as a career. Rolles Gracie made it to the UFC in 2010 after just three fights, but was cut loose after a bad performance in his first fight. Likewise, Roger Gracie was one-and-done with the UFC, although he was not given a fair shake. (In a way, it’s scary to consider that CM Punk could fight in the UFC while Roger Gracie’s contract wasn’t renewed after losing his debut to Tim Kennedy.)

Kron is world class on the ground, and he’s developing his overall game with the Diaz brothers in California. If indeed Rizin is aiming to build him as a big star, it’s unlikely he’ll be put in very dangerous fights (unless they rush to a match with Aoki). With time and dedication, it’s inevitable he’ll develop into a very good fighter at least. It could be that he never quite takes to the striking game, but Sunday’s fight showed he was improving in that area.

The value of the next great Gracie extends beyond Japan. If Kron fully develops, he’d be a valuable talent for the UFC or Bellator. Given his familial history, as Kron Gracie continues to grow, he’ll have a lot of options going forward.

Dan Plunkett has covered MMA for 411Mania since 2008. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Dan_Plunkett.