Kron Gracie Blames ‘Bad Advice’ for Poor Showing at UFC 288

Kron Gracie has broken his silence following a listless showing in a decision loss to Charles Jourdain at UFC 288.

In his first bout since October 2019, Gracie attempted just 57 significant strikes over three rounds and repeatedly attempted to lure Jourdain into his guard. However, Gracie’s efforts to engage his foe in a grappling match were largely unsuccessful, as Jourdain outlanded him on the feet and neutralized him on the ground in a forgettable encounter.

Gracie addressed the performance in a post on his Instagram stories, blaming “bad advice” and a desire to please the jiu-jitsu community for his one-dimensional approach.

“In a lifetime of fighting, it’s always been a fight to the death,” Gracie wrote. “Understand the situation and willing to limit myself, even that being said I threw no punches because of bad advice and tried to please the jiu-jitsu community two days before my fight. First fight in my life I didn’t throw a punch, going back to my old ways.”

The son of Rickson Gracie and an ADCC gold medalist, Gracie was victorious in his first five professional MMA appearances — including a first-round submission of Alex Caceres at UFC on ESPN 1 in February 2019. He has since dropped back-to-back outings to Cub Swanson and Jourdain.