UFC: Royce Gracie coming out of retirement after 11 years

[JMT]

the only time i really followed UFC was back in his heydey. this should be interesting.

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HUGHES - GRACIE SET FOR MAY 27, 2006 AT STAPLES CENTER IN LOS ANGELES, CA.

FROM WWW.UFC.COM

Las Vegas, NV – After 11 years away from the house that he built, Royce Gracie will awe the fight world when he returns to the Octagon™ to take on UFC® Champion Matt Hughes and prove, once and for all, that he is the master in the sport of mixed martial arts. Gracie, credited for launching MMA in the United States, will take on two-time World Champion Matt Hughes, considered by many to be the greatest welterweight competitor in UFC history at UFC 60: HUGHES vs. GRACIE taking place live from STAPLES Center Saturday, May 27, 2006...



http://www.roycegracie.tv/frames/news/gracie_ufc_2.htm

[Bling]

gracie is a legendary ass kicker.. not sure if he can still go but we shall see ;D

[JMT]

matt hughes took him late in the first round, the ref stopped it when gracie could not fend off hughes' staple "ground and pound" move.

a couple of things i did not like was that gracie was not allowed to wear his gi (or any shirt for that matter), and he was forced to wear gloves. both rules did not exist in his day and work to his disadvantage.

in the end he was the old guy, beat up by the younger guy. i would also like to know if they drug test these guys, they are much bigger then they used to be 10 years ago.

[LeVeL]

I watched the fight and I knew that Gracie was going to get whooped by Matt. Matt is clearly on top of his game and his weight class. Gracie cannot just take all those years off from fighting and actually think he can step in the Octogon with a guy of the caliber of Matt Hughes. He made a great attempt at it but training is not the same as fighting.

Clearly Gracie Jiu Jitsu is not the dominant MMA style at this moment. you need to be all around now in days and that is something Matt Hughes and guys like Liddell, Rich Franklin are doing.

The only challenge I see for Matt Hughes right now is George St. Pierre who is the #1 challenger right now and who we might see clash very soon. Its something everyone is looking for and I actually think Pierre can take him.

But if Matt Hughes wins that fight then he will either have to move up in weightclass or the UFC will have to bring one of the guys from Pride Fighting Championships over to challenge Matt.

[LeVeL]

Originally Posted by JMT

a couple of things i did not like was that gracie was not allowed to wear his gi (or any shirt for that matter), and he was forced to wear gloves. both rules did not exist in his day and work to his disadvantage.

in the end he was the old guy, beat up by the younger guy. i would also like to know if they drug test these guys, they are much bigger then they used to be 10 years ago.

UFC fighters get tested for steroids just like the Boxers do since they utilize the same commision and rules.

And the rules have been placed to not allow fighters wear, pants,shirts,shoes or Gi for some time now. And Gracie was fully aware about these rules and that he had to wear a glove for sometime now.

Nothing to give Gracie a disadvantage just that UFC is different now in days its not liek it was in the past where there were no rules or weight classes. Everything has been set up this way for the sport can be more accepted by the public to make it safer and more spealing.

By the way those Glove that are worn are more potent and are not as heavy and the regular boxing gloves used in Boxing.

[JMT]

i know why those rules exist, but they didnt back in his day. my point was just that the cards were all stacked against him. gracie used to use his gi to help cling to the body of his opponent better, and he never used gloves so he could manuver his hands better in a hold.

this was not the same royce gracie, thats why it was a little dissapointing to me.

ok, i wasnt sure about the drug testing, but good to know that they do it.

[BIOBLIZZARD]

That fight was a disgrace to the entire Gracie family, legend etc.
Royce wasn't physically or mentally ready for that fight at all especially being out of the octagon for over 10 year's.

UFC drug testing is a joke, year's ago Dana White didn't even want to institute a testing policy because he was afraid of how many athlete's would fail.
Never the less a few fighter's over the year's have gotten caught, while other's have used better masking agent's.............

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Deacon

UFC drug testing is a joke, year's ago Dana White didn't even want to institute a testing policy because he was afraid of how many athlete's would fail.
Never the less a few fighter's over the year's have gotten caught, while other's have used better masking agent's.............

DF, it really made me wonder after i watched all the old footage in the promotion for this fight. seeing the competitions back-to back, the guys now are so much more ripped. it just doesnt look right.

[BIOBLIZZARD]

Originally Posted by JMT

[quote author=Deacon Frost link=board=6;threadid=27381;start=0#msg330675 date=1149014413] UFC drug testing is a joke, year's ago Dana White didn't even want to institute a testing policy because he was afraid of how many athlete's would fail.
Never the less a few fighter's over the year's have gotten caught, while other's have used better masking agent's.............

DF, it really made me wonder after i watched all the old footage in the promotion for this fight. seeing the competitions back-to back, the guys now are so much more ripped. it just doesnt look right.


There was a True Life, I'm a professional fighter on A&E year's ago John, I'll try to find a link.

I forget the fighter's name but the series focused on the training,nutrition, and pharmacology that fighter's used during training for a fight.
I respect Royce for being natural his entire career, as far as I know he has never used anything, but you can clearly see the difference in conditioning between Hughes and Gracie.

That fight was over before it started.............
[/quote]

[LeVeL]

Come on guys..

These athletes train,condition themselves every day, they take supplements. These guys work out day in and day out. Matt Hughes or any of the guys in UFC can be compared to the bodies you see on WWE.

Matt Hughes simply beat the crap out of Gracie no excuses, Gracie takes supplements,works out, runs ect.

Just recently Dana white and the rest of the UFC Camp were on Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith and they were asked if their fighters use steroids and they answered by saying that they are governed by the same rules Boxing is.

Only because someone looks cut up and only because fighters look bigger from before doesn't mean steroids are involved. Its just means better conditioning, better workout, stronger atheletes because there is more competition in UFC now then there was in the past.