(Video courtesy of YouTube/RootsofFight)

If you were to ask 100 MMA fans to define mixed martial arts in a word, their responses would differ greatly. If you asked the same census group to define the sport in a name, nearly all would give you the same answer: Gracie.

While some would likely say that Rorian and Royce — having respectively founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship and won three of its first four tournaments in decisive fashion — were the impetus behind their answer, most would likely point to Gracie jiu-jitsu originators Helio and Carlos Gracie as the reason for their response.

Carlos and Helio were innovators, who, although they didn’t invent the art of jujitsu, or it’s “successor,” judo,  they did arguably revolutionize the hybrid fighting art, making it more effective than both, especially when used by smaller combatants against larger opponents.

To the brothers, their variation of the centuries old  Japanese martial art form, now known universally as “Brazilian” or “Gracie” jiu-jitsu, was not just simply efficacious in competition; it was equally as useful in self-defense and street fighting scenarios — a point they have stressed since introducing it to the masses more than 80 years ago.

Decades before Rorian and Royce made history with the UFC, their father Helio represented the Gracie name and defended its honor in scores of challenge matches designed to prove that GJJ — an offshoot of Kodokan judo, which was taught to them by Japanese immigrant and judo master Mitsuyo Maeda, was more effective than any other form of martial art.

(Surely Kimbo’s brilliant legal council will find a way out of this mess.)

Remember when Pro Elite ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy? Well, turns out they didn’t. At least that’s their story now. As fighters still under contract with them have been filing notices to get free, Pro Elite has responded by informing those fighters that the company has not declared bankruptcy and that it intends to stage an event in 2009.

A notice sent out to several managers representing Pro Elite fighters states:

“Elite XC and ProElite are currently downsizing its staff in an effort to improve its business moving forward. As this process is implemented, Elite XC cancelled the event previously scheduled for Nov. 8 in attempt to re-schedule another event in early 2009.”

That’s funny, because if I was running an MMA company that was merely downsizing but which intended to continue promoting events, and suddenly there were widespread reports that my company was filing for bankruptcy, I think I might say something to contradict that right away. I might, for example, immediately issue a statement declaring my intention not to just roll over and die. I might even call the people who had circulated those reports a bunch of lying sons of bitches. What I would not do is say nothing at all until fighters started trying to get free of their contracts, and only then come up with an obviously bullshit reason for not releasing them.

As you might expect, no one is buying this explanation.

8. Ivan Salaverry’s Anaconda Body Lock

Unfortunately, we could only find evidence of Salaverry’s UFC 50 match against Tony Fryklund in a poorly-soundtracked highlight video, but skip to the 1:51 mark and watch as Salaverry takes Fryklund’s back and squeezes until “The Freak” taps out in agony.

7. Frank Mir’s Kneebar

Frank Mir took a beating from Brock Lesnar during the ex-WWE star’s UFC debut at “Rapid Fire.” But Mir patiently waited for an opening and capitalized against a technique-deficient Lesnar.

6. Nick Diaz’s Gogoplata

Nick Diaz and Takanori Gomi were in a fucking war at PRIDE 33. When it went to the ground in round two, Diaz unleashed his BJJ to wrap up a perfect G.

10. Roger Gracie

In 2005, 23-year-old Roger Gracie won the Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championship by submitting all eight opponents, something that had never been done before. The son of Reyla Gracie, Roger has racked up numerous first place finishes in jiu-jitsu tournaments around the world, and won his first MMA match in December 2006 with an unsurprising first-round armbar of Ron “H20” Waterman; he plans to fight again early this year. With his long limbs and prodigious command of BJJ, the young lion of the Gracie clan could become a major force in mixed martial arts.

9. Ralph Gracie

“The Pitbull” isn’t really built like one — he’s 5’9″ and runs a little over a buck fifty. But the nickname is justified by his aggressive approach, which deviates from the generally relaxed Gracie style. Brother to Renzo and the late Ryan, and the son of Robson, Ralph’s only loss came six seconds into a match with Takanori Gomi in 2004 when “The Fireball Kid” kneed him half to death; “The Pitbull” hasn’t fought since. He teaches and trains constantly now – and is kind of obsessive about it, as he was once quoted as saying, “It is better to die than not train.” Can we get a third option?

8. Carlos Gracie, Jr.

Son of BJJ co-creator Carlos Gracie, Carlos Jr. is a seventh-degree black belt in BJJ and founded the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), which is BJJ’s major governing body. He devoted his life to instructing and training others rather than focusing on becoming a competitive fighter, teaching at his father’s school, his brother Rolls’s school, and his own for the last few years. The fact that he has been based in Brazil for much of his teaching career has kept him out of the public eye to some extent, and he’s often overlooked in discussions of notable Gracies; still, his contributions were crucial.