MMA legend Renzo Gracie threatens to choke French president Emmanuel Macron
- Brazilian jiu-jitsu icon rants after the French government’s criticism of his country’s reaction to the Amazon wildfires
- Now Brazil’s tourism chief, Gracie also calls French president’s wife Brigitte a ‘dragon’ and ‘ugly’
MMA legend Renzo Gracie has threatened to choke out Emmanuel Macron, and called the French president’s wife Brigitte a “dragon” in an angry outburst on social media.
Now Brazil’s tourism chief, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu icon – a member of the discipline’s founding family – hit back over criticism from the French government of his country’s reaction to the Amazon wildfires.
Macron had called the blazes an “international crisis” that needed to be on the agenda for discussion at the G7 summit.
“The only fire going on is the fire inside Brazilian hearts and our president’s heart, you clown,” Gracie said to Macron in a video on social media. “Come over here you’ll be caught by the neck, that chicken neck. You don’t fool me.”
Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro appointed Gracie (14 wins, 7 losses in MMA) to his ambassadorial position last month. But the 52-year-old’s job promoting tourism has been hit in recent weeks following global coverage of the fires that have ravaged Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.
However, Gracie – who last fought in 2018 for Asian MMA organisation One Championship, getting a second-round submission of Yuki Kondo – told Brazilian news outlet UOL the devastating wildfires were “false fires”.