The rivalry started in 1988 when promoters tried to match both fighters to a Vale Tudo match. However, Hélio Gracie refused, demanding either that Rickson received a higher payment or that the bout happened inside the Gracie Academy, which were both rejected, so the fight didn't take place. Gracie claims that he then went to Ruas' academy to challenge him. Ruas accepted it but requested four months to train instead of fighting right away in the gym, Gracie denied it since he would leave Brazil to the United States before that. Ruas however, denies this version, saying that he was ready for a fight, but actually Gracie wanted to fight "Luta Livre guys" and Hélio Gracie who was accompanying Rickson said Ruas wasn't a "real Luta Livre fighter" due his open advocacy of cross-training. A few of Ruas' teammates also joined in and the discussion got heated up and Hélio said "Maybe we should make a list of people who want to fight Rickson", one of the fighters who accepted the challenge was Hugo Duarte, who would have his own scraps with Gracie. A few years later, both Rickson Gracie and Marco Ruas would gain international fame, Rickson Gracie became winner of the Vale Tudo Japan tournaments in '94 and '95, and headlined Pride 1 and Pride 4, while Ruas became UFC 7 and WVC champion. Rickson became a big celebrity in Japan and in the burgeoning international MMA scene. He became controversial for criticizing other top fighters and said in interviews that Marco Ruas as "nothing special" and "basic". Ruas responded by saying "Talk is cheap. He has to step up in the ring and prove what he says." and issued multiple challenges against Gracie along the years, claiming he was avoiding him as well as other actually skilled fighters. In the end however, no fight was ever materialized between them. In popular culture Ruas made a cameo appearance as a jealous husband in Kickboxer 3, in which his character fought and lost to Sasha Mitchell's David Sloane at a party. Instructor lineage Luta Livre Roberto Leitão Sr. → João Ricardo N. de Almeida → Marco Ruas Roberto Leitão Sr. → Marco Ruas Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie → Helio Gracie → Francisco Mansur → Joe Moreira → Marco Ruas Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie → Reyson Gracie → Osvaldo Alves → Marco Ruas Judo Jigoro Kano