Curly Howard
10-10-2003, 07:49 AM
from http://www.mmaweekly.com/
Mixed martial arts legend Royce Gracie was a guest on Thursday's MMAWeekly Radio Show and gave one of the most in-depth interviews he has done in recent history. Royce talked about the ongoing negotiations for his possible return to MMA, saying that he has offers on the table from a couple different organizations and that this has been the case in one form or another for the past few years.
Gracie indicated that his return could come in either the UFC or Pride, but either way he would want to fight in a gi and he would feel naked without it. He commented that he doesn't think the "gi factor" would effect his chances of getting a fight in the UFC. This statement would seem to imply that any potential UFC fight that he would have would have to be classified as an "exhibition match" of some kind, because the Nevada State Athletic Commission sanctions all UFC fights and does not allow for an MMA fighter to wear a gi during a fight.
Royce Gracie had a few choice words about Hidehido Yoshida. Royce recalled how he fought Yoshida last year and the fight was stopped despite the fact that the instant replay showed him to be fully conscious and showed that Yoshida didn't even have the choke on his throat. He asked for an immediate rematch and was ignored by Pride, and now he finds out a year later that Yoshida is going around saying that he wants to fight Royce again. Royce said they should have a rematch as soon as possible if Yoshida stands behind his statements.
When asked about Ken Shamrock and his recent statements in an interview with *************.com that Royce is a "chicken," Royce said that he tapped out Shamrock in less than one minute in a fight that Shamrock doesn't seem to remember or talk about. Gracie said that Shamrock came into their second fight specifically looking to hold on to Gracie for 30 minutes and hope to get a draw, which he said Shamrock should be ashamed of.
He also said that Shamrock should retire for his own good after getting beat up so badly in fights with Don Frye and Tito Ortiz. Surprisingly, Royce also had a few harsh words about Phil Baroni, saying that he's a big-mouth who isn't going to last very long in MMA. He elaborated by saying that people who run their mouths as much as Baroni usually have short careers because people start gunning for them and trying all the harder to beat them.
This interview contained more details and subjects than one could possibly fit into this news story, so you check out the complete interview on the radio archive for Thursday's show. In the interview, Gracie gives his most detailed account yet of the bitter (and sometimes violent) feud between his family and French martial artist Damien Riccio. Other topics include Royce's thoughts about the recent Pride Bushido event, the increased role that referees have in MMA fights, the huge role that cross-training has played in the past ten years of the sport, who his toughest opponents have been, and who he belives are the best MMA fighters in the world right now. Also, Royce plays name association with his thoughts on Emelianenko Fedor, Mirko Cro Cop, Murilo Bustamante, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Vanderlei Silva, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Frank Shamrock, and more.
Mixed martial arts legend Royce Gracie was a guest on Thursday's MMAWeekly Radio Show and gave one of the most in-depth interviews he has done in recent history. Royce talked about the ongoing negotiations for his possible return to MMA, saying that he has offers on the table from a couple different organizations and that this has been the case in one form or another for the past few years.
Gracie indicated that his return could come in either the UFC or Pride, but either way he would want to fight in a gi and he would feel naked without it. He commented that he doesn't think the "gi factor" would effect his chances of getting a fight in the UFC. This statement would seem to imply that any potential UFC fight that he would have would have to be classified as an "exhibition match" of some kind, because the Nevada State Athletic Commission sanctions all UFC fights and does not allow for an MMA fighter to wear a gi during a fight.
Royce Gracie had a few choice words about Hidehido Yoshida. Royce recalled how he fought Yoshida last year and the fight was stopped despite the fact that the instant replay showed him to be fully conscious and showed that Yoshida didn't even have the choke on his throat. He asked for an immediate rematch and was ignored by Pride, and now he finds out a year later that Yoshida is going around saying that he wants to fight Royce again. Royce said they should have a rematch as soon as possible if Yoshida stands behind his statements.
When asked about Ken Shamrock and his recent statements in an interview with *************.com that Royce is a "chicken," Royce said that he tapped out Shamrock in less than one minute in a fight that Shamrock doesn't seem to remember or talk about. Gracie said that Shamrock came into their second fight specifically looking to hold on to Gracie for 30 minutes and hope to get a draw, which he said Shamrock should be ashamed of.
He also said that Shamrock should retire for his own good after getting beat up so badly in fights with Don Frye and Tito Ortiz. Surprisingly, Royce also had a few harsh words about Phil Baroni, saying that he's a big-mouth who isn't going to last very long in MMA. He elaborated by saying that people who run their mouths as much as Baroni usually have short careers because people start gunning for them and trying all the harder to beat them.
This interview contained more details and subjects than one could possibly fit into this news story, so you check out the complete interview on the radio archive for Thursday's show. In the interview, Gracie gives his most detailed account yet of the bitter (and sometimes violent) feud between his family and French martial artist Damien Riccio. Other topics include Royce's thoughts about the recent Pride Bushido event, the increased role that referees have in MMA fights, the huge role that cross-training has played in the past ten years of the sport, who his toughest opponents have been, and who he belives are the best MMA fighters in the world right now. Also, Royce plays name association with his thoughts on Emelianenko Fedor, Mirko Cro Cop, Murilo Bustamante, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Vanderlei Silva, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Frank Shamrock, and more.