“Didn’t he put a post praising IDF?” – Days after support for Israel, MMA legend Royce Gracie embraces Islam leaving fans in shock

Royce Gracie's conversion to Islam under Shaykh Uthman's guidance challenges stereotypes and sparks dialogue on faith and identity in the sports world.

“Didn’t he put a post praising IDF?” – Days after support for Israel, MMA legend Royce Gracie embraces Islam leaving fans in shock

Royce Gracie converted to Islam (Image via: IMAGO, X)

‘The Eagle’ Khabib Nurmagomedov became the first Muslim UFC champion. His title win made the sport grow exponentially in the Middle East. Nurmagomedov’s popularity also popularized his religion in the West. Recently, undefeated boxing champion Gervonta Davis also embraced Islam. Now, UFC legend Royce Gracie has also embraced Islam.

Gervonta Davis’ acceptance of Islam was not that much of a surprise by that of Gracie surprised many. This is because Gracie had supported the IDF and the state of Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For context, even though the conflict is between Israel and Palestine, the narrative is that of a Jewish-Islamic conflict. Several UFC fighters have already stated where their allegiance lay in the conflict.

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Gracie converted to his new religion at the Deen Center in Florida with the guidance of Islamic scholar Shaykh Uthman. It is not certain which name that Gracie chose after the conversion. People who converted to Islam chose a new, presumably Arabic name. Gervonta Davis had chosen the name Abdul Waheed after conversion.

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https://twitter.com/Nate_mm4/status/1763421197306581488?s=20

Royce Gracie is the one who popularized BJJ in MMA. He is also the first superstar in the UFC and won three UFC tournaments back when the promotion had a tournament structure. Moreover, all of his victories were against significantly larger opponents.

Fight fans react to Royce Gracie’s surprise conversion to Islam

Royce Gracie’s surprise conversion to Islam a week after his public support for Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict surprised fight fans. Known as the original UFC superstar, fans and fighters deeply respect the three-time UFC tournament winner.

Royce Gracie converted to the religion of Islam
Royce Gracie converted to the religion of Islam (Image via X)

The conversion of Gracie could have a serious impact on the sporting world’s perception of Islam, considering his standing as an MMA legend. Nonetheless, see below how fight fans reacted to his conversion to Islam on social media.

https://twitter.com/HKtheGr8/status/1763413555003682977
https://twitter.com/TheMechanic444/status/1763403660606714188
https://twitter.com/zodiak32/status/1763429558903279807
https://twitter.com/tamim_1800/status/1763350216504201582

Gracie had only competed 20 times in MMA with a record of 15 wins, two losses, and three draws. He headlined UFC 60 against Matt Hughes, breaking several records for the promotion. Even though Gracie lost the fight in the first round to the UFC’s welterweight champion, his pay was four times that of Hughes. UFC 60 was a great event as celebrities like Paul Walker, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Nicolas Cage, and Cindy Crawford attended the PPV event.

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