Rickson Gracie vs. Hugo Duarte
Some beach
1988
Only in Brazil will you get a major event in MMA history taking place at an impromptu beach fight.
As we outlined already, in Brazil, the folks who trained Luta Livre and the folks who trained Jiu Jitsu just did not get along. And for the Jiu Jitsu side, there was no greater representative than the legendary Rickson Gracie. Famous for his alleged 400-0 record, Rickson defended the Gracie family's honor against all comers for years, and was consistently held up as the greatest fighter of his time.
In 1988, Hugo Duarte, a top name from the Luta Livre school, was the latest young fighter to insult the Gracie name. Rickson, as was his job, set out to quiet him down, but instead of doing it at a gym, he found Duarte at a beach, slapped him, and it was on.
The footage of this fight is, understandably, pretty rough. Be happy we have anything at all. The best footage is the version edited by the Gracies for their video series. Rickson is in the full bathing suit, Duarte in the speedo. You can see Rickson get mount and some nice ground and pound towards the end.
There's also a complete, unedited version, which has a bit more action, but is not as good quality. I've included both versions in the full entry.
Video in the full entry.
Rickson Gracie vs. Hugo Duarte (Edited Highlights)
Rickson Gracie vs. Hugo Duarte (Full Version)
Want more crazy Gracie street fight action? Here's Ryan Gracie vs. Tico, a student of Wallid Ismael, fighting in a backyard and house for 40 minutes.