The 2009 European championship was shaken up by sad news on January, 29.
Grandmaster Helio Gracie had passed away in Brazil, at 95 years old.
In Lisbon, Helio’s son Rickson Gracie and grandson Kron Gracie were getting ready for the championship.
At the sidelines, Rickson spoke to GRACIEMAG about the loss of his father: “At first, I got the impact of the news and the sadness of the loss. Soon after, I started to think about his life and realized that he reached all the goals he had in life. All we live today is the result of my father’s wonderful life.”
On the mats, Kron Gracie wanted to pay his tribute to the Grandmaster and also prove that he was a serious contender at the black belt division after a disappointing debut at the 2008 Worlds, when he was submitted by Sergio Moraes in the first match.
Things went Kron’s way and he reached the middleweight final against Yan cabral.
Here’s the video of the match.
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