EXCLUSIVE: As production on his new actioner Den of Thieves 2: Pantera continues, Christian Gudegast has been set to write and direct a new film on mixed martial artist Royce Gracie and the birth of the Ultimate Fighting Championship for frequent partner Tucker Tooley Entertainment.
The Untitled Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Project takes place on the night that Gracie proved Brazilian Jiu-jitsu as the most effective fighting style, one that would ultimately become a major component of today’s UFC mixed martial arts.
It more specifically chronicles Gracie’s debut in UFC 1 on November 12, 1993, when the fighter achieved the unthinkable during the organization’s inaugural competition.
This night that had him besting three competitors is considered to be that on which the UFC was born. Derived from Japanese jiu-jitsu, which is rooted in samurai traditions, Gracie Jiu-jitsu formed in Brazil in the 1920s when Japanese fighter Mitsuyo Maeda moved from Japan to Brazil and began training Royce’s uncle, Carlos Gracie.
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