By Jeff D'Andrea

MMA Hall of famer Royce Gracie coming to PA

May 24, 2013 | 7:28 AM

Royce Gracie, who has been considered by many as the best MMA fighter of all time, is on his way to Prince Albert to conduct a tutorial Aug. 19 at Carlton.

When LDP Martial Arts head instructor Lucian Phillips was told Gracie was confirmed to come, he couldn’t quite believe it.

“For some reason, I didn’t think it would happen,” said Phillips. “I thought, ‘oh, PA is too small for him to come this way.’

“But he’s coming.”

Gracie dominated the UFC in its infant days and won his first 11 fights to be crowned the champion of the first two UFC events ever, as well as a UFC 4 championship. This was back when the sport did not impose weight classes—a tough task for a fighter at 6’, 176 pounds. He gave up 77 points to Dan ‘The Beast’ Severn, beating him in the UFC 4 finals with a triangle-choke.

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All 11 of his victories came by submission, a UFC record.

He comes from the Gracie family, who have been credited of eventing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), a grappling/submission fighting discipline.

During the seminar, Gracie will demonstrate some of these techniques that allowed him to submit just about anybody that got in the ring against him.

So having one of the greatest BJJ minds come to Prince Albert, what does this mean for the local MMA scene?

“It means MMA is here,” said Phillips. “It’s not just for the larger communities any more I guess, it’s everywhere.”

Phillips admitted that although he has taught MMA in Prince Albert for a number of years, he’ll ask Gracie for a tip or two during the seminar.

For some time, Phillips was looking to bring in a big name to his gym to put on a seminar like this. Mitch McNicol, the manager at PA MMA store Stellar Gear, suggested Royce Gracie after initially getting in contact with him through Twitter.

The seminar’s hours are tentatively set for now, but could be three hours long from 6-9 p.m. The cost is $150 and tickets can be purchased at LDP Martial Arts or at Stellar Gear. The fee includes a picture taken with the fight legend, as well as a one-month membership at LDP.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea