20 Sports Documentaries You Must See Before You Die

15. Choke

While we've already spoken about the incredible story of a modern day grappling phenom in Roger Gracie, the real documentary gem of the jiu-jitsu world is a film called Choke. Choke follows Rickson Gracie, arguably the best of all the Gracie fighters to ever compete. That's a high accolade considering the vast majority of the family are esteemed black belts.

However, Rickson has always been considered different to everyone else in the family and his legend only grew following this documentary. Chronicling his journey through the Vale Tudo championships in Tokyo, Japan, audiences got to know about the legendary Gracies and their unique, yet extremely effective style of fighting.

Although we're seeing a boom in mixed martial arts now, with the likes of Conor McGregor and Jon Jones becoming superstars, this sport has been around for a very long time and has had many special fighters pass through it. While Rickson missed out on the glitz and glory that the top MMA fighters have now, his talents in the ring were very much ahead of his time.

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Co-host of The Ill-Informed Podcast, jiu-jitsu fiend, MMA lover, movie fan, anime nerd, music snob.