At 7:00 AM on December 15th, 2007, Ryan Gracie was found slumped over and unresponsive in a jail cell in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Gracie had been arrested at approximately 1:30 AM for stealing and crashing a car, and then attempting to steal a motorcycle to flee from police. Ryan was hit on the head by the owner of the cycle, whom he had threatened to kill, and then detained by several cyclists until the police arrived.
Gracie tested positive for marijuana, cocaine, and an unknown antianxiety drug.
Psychiatrist Dr. Sabino Ferreira de Faria was called by Gracie's wife after his arrest and attended to him at the jail.
The doctor has allegedly stated that he administered the following drugs to Gracie to calm him down: Haldol (a powerful antipsychotic), Fenergan (which has a side effect of sleepiness), Topamax (for Migraines), Dienpax (tranquilizers), and OmniPlex (relaxant).
The doctor remained with Gracie most of the night, and was notified of Gracie's death as he was returning home. The cause of death has not yet been released by the medical examiner.
Ryan Gracie, son of Robson and grandson of Carlos Gracie, was born on August 14, 1974 in Rio De Janero. He was a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and won 5 fights in Pride FC, the McDonald's Company Judo Cup, the 1997 Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championship, and the 1997 Brazilian Championship (Non-Gi). He was an instructor at an academy at 260 Gomes Carvalho Road in the Vila Olimpia neighborhood of the South Zone.
Ryan had a history of many run-ins with the police, and at one time had shot himself in the femur, almost costing him the use of his leg. In Brazil he had a reputation of being a tough street fighter, and was said to have an ongoing feud with fellow BJJ practitioner Wallid Ismail. An acquaintance once said of Gracie, "He was a crazy guy. In America, the police would have just shot him."
16 comments Last one added 2 months ago — Leave a Comment
Tina Rodrigues about 1 year ago
Im so frustated with the nr. of sport people dying. Its unfortunate that there is always drugs involved. i am a sports person myself and i grew up with this idea that sports and drugs were never together.. but now it seems that things are different.
What can we do about this ?
How can we go back to the old days were sports people were actually an example of dedication, commitment, healthy leaving etc??
Sports is supposed to make you feel good and teaches you to fight for your dreams but not with drugs, not with enhancers or dopings etc..
Im really sorry fot the atlethes who have fallen into this trap of success and consequently get into drugs and all that.
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mario v about 1 year ago
this is to tina.i here what u r saying.but if u have never had problems with drugs its hard to understand where they r come'in from.i do.its not ez.but ever since i started jiu-jitsu thats my drug.pulling arm bars,triangle chokes,and go-go platas thas the best high in the world.
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SURGEON RANDALL 9 months ago
That doctor must be a stupid idiot to give him all those pills knowing that the guy was clearly already intoxicated... i cant believe he gave him all that stuff at one time, its common sense man... i hope he is in jail for murder or whatever...the sport lost a great competitor... he might have had a temperment problem, but all mma fighters have to have some kind of anger issue.... as a fellow mma fighter i understand a person like him, that didnt make him a bad person, there are people out there that are way worse and the arent mma guys... to that stupid, dumb, and ignorant guy that said he had what was coming to him, i would love to personally meet u and beat u half to death, but i would let u make it, who do u think u are? I would understand if he killed the guy, but he was drugged up and made a mistake.... i hope one day u get whats coming to you for making that comment...
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alucard alucard 2 months ago
I guess we’re all supposed to be sad about some petty ass thief that can’t pay for his own belongings getting locked up and dying in jail. Get real, this guy had the world by the balls and chose to be a thug and a crack /cocaine user. Slashing a 74 year old man with a knife and beating other people makes you a fighter? This man is a disgrace and brings much dishonor to Jiu jitsu and Martial Arts in general.
You live by the sword, you die by the sword.
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marco silva about 1 year ago
Coquetel para que ?dotor uops ! Doutor eu penso foi omissao da policia prestar socorro ao
atleta que nao e marginal e o Doutor pela iresponsabilidade da prescricao medica causou a sua
morte.
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Dorothy Willis about 1 year ago
I found it very surprising that the doctor, being aware of the positive drug test would give Ryan so many drugs to calm him down. It seemed more prudent to try one thing at a time rather than give a plethora of drugs all at once. I will be interested to learn the cause of death, although the fact that he was so heavily sedated and was found "slumped over" could indicate an inadequate airway and the possibility of suffocation. Perhaps the outcome would have been different if the doctor had stayed all night to see that Ryan was asleep on his side in such a way to keep his airway patent and prevent aspiration of stomach contents while he slept.
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JOEL TORRES about 1 year ago
tha doctor should be held responsible,for this.....its a sad day here in the states....MY HEART GOES OUT TO ALL THA GRACIE FAMILY
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Chris Flickinger about 1 year ago
hey here's a thought,
how about Ryan being held responsible
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Jesus Garica about 1 year ago
It's always sad to hear someone die especialy a Gracie. Yes he was known as a Bad Ass. Nobody is perfect. He will be missed by all the Gracie's. My condolence too his family, R.I.P Ryan. From: Chuy Garcia and Gilbert Corral
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Chris Mahan about 1 year ago
I agree with Tina. I got into Martial Arts/BJJ training as a way to dedicate myself to training, fitness, a healthly lifestyle. I truely believed I avoided a lot of trouble and wasted time in my childhood by training in the martial arts. It just didn't seem right to drink, do drugs, etc. when I was spending so much time trying to build my body, endurance, etc.
Some people just get lost in life... Ryan was a Gracie and a good fighter. Hopefully people will remember him for the good and his family will always have their memories.
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Chris Flickinger about 1 year ago
Though I am a great fan of the sport and have watched Ryan's fights. I have a different opinion than some. I don't think that this death is any more or less important than any other. It is just more widely known.
I agree with Chris above that some people get lost and can't find there way back.
He will be missed by many and hopefully all is not lost by his death. If even one person is saved or one person reads this story and changes their life then it has served a very valuable purpose.
My thought go out to the Gracie family as they do to all others that have lost a family member or friend far to early.
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ana santos about 1 year ago
I agree with Dorothy!!!! How can he be working with substance abuse???? He should learn about detox........he really kill Ryan !!! Ana( s.ana37@yahoo.com)
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Dorothy Willis about 1 year ago
A press release just confirmed that Ryan actually did die of the drug "cocktail" the doctor administered to him on top of the cocaine already in his body. The combination of the two was just too much for his heart. So far no determination has been made on whether to charge the doctor of contributing to a homicide or negligence in giving the drugs to Ryan while he was with him in the jail cell.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Very sad that those that can give so much to the sport and could have great futures throw it all away and and cause so much pain for thier family and friends.
Very tragic, my sympathies to the family. I hope others learn from such tragity.
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Indy Booster about 1 year ago
What goes around comes around. Attacking a 76-year-old man with a knife, regardless of who the person is doing the attacking, speaks volumes. I just hope Ryan called out to the name of Jesus before taking his last breath.
Jiu-Jitsu is a wonderful sport, but not all of the people behind it are kind, humble, self-controlled and etc.
Martial arts was not meant to be exploited, nor meant to be a means to put other people down.
Un-fortunately, Ryan, like all others who live this kind of "violent" lifestyle, really got what he had coming to him.
Charles
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robert lopez about 1 year ago
many people seem to know or think they know about a person mma is a growing sport and with that alot of pressure for the fighters ryan had alot of problems in his life but so does everyone in the end he was a father a fighter and in my eyes and many others he was a hero thank you robert
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