Shepparton's Scott Butler (right) with UFC legend Brian Ortega (left).
When people hear about the UFC, most think about household names, charismatic impresario Dana White and sold-out arenas.
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What many don't realise is that the UFC's origins can be traced directly back to the Gracie family and the eponymous self-defence system they developed over generations in the form of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
In 1993, family elder Rorion Gracie co-founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship to answer a simple question: "What martial art works best in a real fight?"
He enlisted brother Royce Gracie to represent the brood in the octagon - an undertaking that he performed valiantly, showcasing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques based on leverage, timing, control.
Those early UFC victories changed martial arts forever, with competitors eventually coming to protoritize strategy rather than strength and athleticism during fighting contests.
Fast forward more than 30 years, the UFC has grown from a small pay-per-view experiment into a global sporting organisation worth billions of dollars and now, incredibly, finds itself associated with an event at the White House.
What links Shepparton to the globe’s most famous MMA juggernaut is that the city’s Gracie Jiu-Jitsu gym teaches the same core self-defence principles by the very family that developed them.
Through programs such as Gracie Bullyproof for children, Gracie Combatives for adults, and Women Empowered for women, the Knight Street institution teaches authentic Gracie Jiu-Jitsu straight out of the Gracie University curriculum in Torrance, California.
The gym’s founder, Scott Butler is one of 400,000 people across the planet that honed their craft in this discipline at the fabled Gracie University and he maintains a relationship with the masterminds behind it to this day.
Shepparton's Scott Butler (left) pictured with the UFC's Lyoto Machida (right).
Rorion Gracie was directly involved in the establishment of the UFC some 33 years ago, teaming up with promoter Art Davie.
“I keep in contact with Gracie University all the time, I am going over there in four weeks,” Butler explained, as he spoke of his close friendship with the numerous members of the family.
“I’ll go over as an assistant instructor, so I catch up with all my buddies there - they’re lifelong friends, not a week goes by when I am not in contact with them.”
“Ryron and Rener (Gracie) are available for conversations and I speak to them on a regular basis.”
“When I went out to Brazil, we would go out for lunch most days and just caught up and chatted.”
Even at the highest level, UFC stars such as Bryan Ortega, Lyoto Machida and Ronda Rousey continue to demonstrate the legacy of the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu on the big stage.
“I’ve trained with Bryan (Ortega) and when you see his first fights, it’s all Gracie combatives, because that’s his bread and butter and what he knows, Butler said.
“You’ll see little bits and pieces from a fighter called Lyoto Machida too, who I have sparred with, and he has components of (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu).
“That’s because he’s done training with Ryron and Rener Gracie, later in his career - his training was at Gracie University.
“Ronda Rousey trained with them too, she was there when I was there.”
For Butler, the upcoming White House UFC event is more than just another fight card - instead, it represents how far Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has come.
From a family's garage in Brazil, to the first UFC in 1993 and through to a small regional academy in Shepparton, the influence of the Gracie family has spread to across all four corners of the globe.
“We’re teaching a program that is taught exactly how it is in Torrents, California - we teach the same thing,” he said.
“You could go to Estonia, Sweden, Germany, all around the US and you’re taught the same thing, which is authentic Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
“The White House is the draw but the roots of UFC go through the Gracie family and extend to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Shepparton because we wouldn’t have it in this town without this gym.”
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