Brazilian MMA Fighter Pulls Racist Slant Eyes, Does ‘Asian’ Accent on Instagram

July 2, 2019

A video showing Brazilian mixed martial artist and jiu-jitsu practitioner Renzo Gracie slanting his eyes surfaced on social media. Gracie, 52, posted a 24-second Instagram Story featuring himself and a young member of his family making slant-eye poses while imitating an Asian accent.

The Story has since been taken down, but you can watch it below:

Gracie is the grandson of Brazilian jiu-jitsu founder Carlos Gracie, whose father Gastão Gracie became friends with Japanese champion Mitsuyo Maeda, who came to Brazil as a diplomat but ended up teaching Carlos and Gracie’s granduncle, Helio Gracie, according to Notes on the Road.

Gracie is still active in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA community. After eight years away from the MMA scene, he returned to defeat Japanese mixed martial artist Yuki Kondo during the “one Championship — Reign of Kings” in July 2018.

Gracie also has Brazilian jiu-jitsu affiliate academies in the United States, Brazil, South Africa, Singapore, Peru, Canada, Mexico and Israel. The first rule in academy etiquette: “Students must always show respect to their peers and instructors. Please treat everyone with courtesy.” Gracie has yet release a statement to the Instagram Story.

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