He might have also got training under a practitioner named Hiraichi Tada. Gracie won by armlock at the second round.Īside from training with his brothers, Gracie learned further judo under Sumiyuki Kotani and Argentinian judo pioneer Chugo Sato. Klausner was mainly a boxer (although he was also known as a wrestler), but the match was contested under the usual jiu-jitsu rules. Hélio had also a match against Erwin Klausner in 1937. Gracie lost the match when he was disqualified for using a forbidden hold.
Around the time, Hélio had another rematch, it being against Orlando Americo da Silva and under grappling only rules. Press and critics were unanimous in Hélio's improvement from their first match, although Ono again threw Hélio a number of 27 times and controlled most of the match. Gracie met Yasuichi Ono for the second time on October 3, 1936, again in a match under jiu-jitsu rules and with no points of judges. The same month, Hélio was involved in a challenge consistent in fighting three opponents the same night, being those Geroncio Barbosa, Manuel Fernandes and Simon Munich, but Hélio pulled out before the event and was replaced by his brother George. Ono challenged Hélio for a future rematch after the bout, which Hélio accepted. Indeed, Hélio showed improvement, threatening Yano with a gi choke in the second round, but Yano threw and took down Gracie repeatedly through the three rounds of the match, which ended in a draw. Again, Hélio demanded a match without judges and wore a modified judogi, and his brother Carlos predicted that Yano wouldn't last a single round. On June 13, 1936, Gracie fought judoka Takeo Yano, a training partner of Ono who also had dominated George Gracie the previous year in a time draw. In an interview, Gracie claimed that he had to undergo an urgent operation the next day and that the stop was demanded by the doctor due to Hélio having a high fever caused by a swelling. Again, this fight is sometimes registered as a vale tudo match, but it was hosted under grappling only rules. However, the bout lasted almost two hours, and was eventually stopped by the police at the promoters's discretion as none of the fighters was progressing or advancing position. Hélio was positive, claiming he would submit Ebert in a short time.
It was his biggest challenge up to the point, as Ebert outweighed him by 29 kg (64 lb) and was a decorated freestyle wrestler, and their match would have no time limit.
#Helio gracie book professional
Portugal is sometimes incorrectly billed as a boxing champion.Īlso in 1932, Gracie faced professional wrestler Fred Ebert on November 6. Gracie won his fight by submission in a short time, probably an armlock in 40 seconds. boxing" event on Januwhich saw judoka Geo Omori defeating boxer Tavares Crespo. The fight took place in the undercard of a "jiu-jitsu vs. Gracie began his professional fighting career at 18 years old against boxer Antonio Portugal.