We all know how strong Matt Hughes is, and we all know that Royce Gracie is the best grappler in the world. How will this fight unfold and who will win? I'm going with Gracie, submission. Possibly in the first round. Yea I know he's 39, but he's still Royce Gracie, and in all actuality he's never lost a fight. He could not fight the 3rd or 4th fight in that UFC championship. Gracie will be prepared for Hughes. Besides I think just about everyone hates Matt Hughes, I do. Gracie is supremely confident, he knows what he can do. I think Hughes will simply try to over power him and that will not work. Look for Royce to shoot in and take Matt down and submit him. Rear naked choke. On the ground Royce is the master.
Thoughts.....

interesting thoughts, it's going to be a tough fight, hughes is way bigger the royce so it's going to be tough. i could care less who wins it though i just like watching them fight. my favorite is vanderliegh silvia that dude is bad.

Hughes by UD.

prime for prime, gracie by submission,
now, maybe matt huges, but the advantage still goes to gracie!

and in all actuality he's never lost a fight.
tell that to sakuraba

Look for Royce to shoot in and take Matt down
no

Royce is a great grappler, but not the best in the planet, not even close. He is a good fighter but is past his prime. Hughes is susceptible to good submission guys so Royce might be able to pull something off. My heart is with Royce but my gut tells me Hughes by unanimous decision.

when will hughes and gracie meet anyway? i heard itll be at UFC60. is this reliable?

when will hughes and gracie meet anyway? i heard itll be at UFC60. is this reliable?
All I really know is that it's sometime in May. I think...
At any rate I sure hope Royce beats Hughes.
After seeing Hughes on the tv series and
some of his fights, I really do not like
him one bit. He's **** sure he's going to
beat Royce, but so was Ken Shamrock the
first time they fought. Is anyone else
tired of seeing the same guys fight each
other all the time? UFC needs some new
blood, there are so many fighters with
only 12 fights under their belts, whats
up with that? One guy has over a 100 fights.
Even Royce only has 12 fights. Dam I am rambling...sorry Im bored.... :o

UFC fighters get paid according to success, Hughes has had a lot of success with very few defeats, UFC must be paying him well, probablly why they brought in Royce, they figure they give Royce 6figures to beat hughes then they only have to pay hughes 20G's a fight or even 10, Its UFC saving money in the long run, be prepared for hughes to loose.

UFC fighters get paid according to success, Hughes has had a lot of success with very few defeats, UFC must be paying him well, probablly why they brought in Royce, they figure they give Royce 6figures to beat hughes then they only have to pay hughes 20G's a fight or even 10, Its UFC saving money in the long run, be prepared for hughes to loose.


I am very prepared to see Hughes lose. I most likely will not see the fight live, but I'll sure be looking for results.The first time I saw Royce was when the whole world saw him, at UFC 1. To this day I am still impressed. All the other fights were bloody street brawls. Then Royce came in and submitted a guy with style and GRACE...****in awesome. Did anyone see the boxer that tapped out the second Royce got on top of him? Not one punch landed either.

Royce will probably make it to round 3 before Hughes finshes him. Then again, Matt's one weakness is that he starts slow. All of his losses have been in the first round and all but one were submissions after he made a mistake in a fight were he was ethier getting the better of it or not doing that badly.

I doubt that happens though. Matt is just too strong and Royce is 40+ years old.

I am very prepared to see Hughes lose. I most likely will not see the fight live, but I'll sure be looking for results.The first time I saw Royce was when the whole world saw him, at UFC 1. To this day I am still impressed. All the other fights were bloody street brawls. Then Royce came in and submitted a guy with style and GRACE...****in awesome. Did anyone see the boxer that tapped out the second Royce got on top of him? Not one punch landed either.

Ahaha taht was some funny ****, Royce had full mount i'd be tappin too ahahaha..

To the guy above me, I'm not sure if you have ever trained MMA?? The first thing I learned when training was, age doesnt' matter and strength doesn't match skill and technique.. Royce has been training since in his mum's womb, Hughes, well he's been training since his dad bought some sheep for the farm.. this is how I break it down..

Farmboy hick that wrestles with sheep vs Brazilian guy with nothing to do but train all day his entire life..

I have to give it to the brazilian guy..

I don't care how strong hughes is, if royce locks any sub, I dont' see hughes getting out Especially an RNC like trigg had..

first time i've actually wanted Royce to win.. He lost my respect in the Early UFC's for the fact that fighters would tap to his subs yet he cranked em after the tap..
I didn't like that ****.. Kinda the way I felt the first time I saw an opponent get stomped, but then I realized, hey it's in the rules and it's your duty not to let that happen as a fighter..
"Protect yourself at all times people.. Are you ready?? Are you ready?? Lets' get it on!!!!" Straight from big john himself..

gracie, was the ultimate sub man! theres not much you can do to get out of an arm bar, or RNC, or a triangle..........., now gracie is an amazing fughter for his way of wins, but you can never count a fighter out.
id say gracie, but huges is a lot younger.

Hughes is the definite favorite. Royce is past his prime and outdated. He is not the greatest submission fighter ever either. Though he is great, even he admits his brother Rickson is 10x better than himself.

Hughes is much stronger, and yes strength helps. Technique is most important, but strength plays a huge role as well. I think Hughes has learned enough BJJ to stay out of the subs of Royce. Saying this, I hope Royce chokes his ass out.

Hughes is only favored if it goes to the judges. Which in my opinion, he is preparing to do.

man there are a lot of hughes haters out there. i personally like him. i don't find anythign wrong with a ****y attitude when it comes to fighting, your taking a personal risk... if you can back it up it throws other fighters on tilt, but if you lose you hear about it forever. I am also not a big fan of royce gracies, i think he is overrated and will lose this fight

Royce will probably make it to round 3 before Hughes finshes him. Then again, Matt's one weakness is that he starts slow. All of his losses have been in the first round and all but one were submissions after he made a mistake in a fight were he was ethier getting the better of it or not doing that badly.

I doubt that happens though. Matt is just too strong and Royce is 40+ years old.
Not to nit pick..but Royce is 39. :D Royce by rear naked choke. Hughes makes a big mistake and Royce is on it like white on rice. The ref jumps in but Royce continues to choke him, Hughes goes limp. Royce then lets go.
UFC!!!! I'm Home..... :cool:

man there are a lot of hughes haters out there. i personally like him. i don't find anythign wrong with a ****y attitude when it comes to fighting, your taking a personal risk... if you can back it up it throws other fighters on tilt, but if you lose you hear about it forever. I am also not a big fan of royce gracies, i think he is overrated and will lose this fight
My opinion of Hughes stems from the UFC tv show. I thought he acted like he was better than everyone else, not better as in a better fighter, just better. And as with most people the first impression is a lasting one. When I first saw Royce it was in UFC 1, and it was a long lasting impression. I Watched a spot where he took on a Kung Fu expert in a demonstration event. The guy had about 15-20 lbs on Royce. He took about 2 minutes to slowly dismantle him, kinda like a sparring match, no heavy punches, although Royce certainly could have unloaded on him. He submitted him and let him up and they shook hands. Class act all the way.

I think royce will win, if he doesnt hughes has alot of competition up against him, BJ Penn, GSP, and possibly Nick Diaz. But i think royce will be able to sub him in the first round 1 if it goes to the mat.

Everyone needs to look at this fight and think about how exciting its going to be.You can't say gracie is past his prime,take a look at Randy he was able to kick ass in his late thirties early forties.Dont forget he is also a member of the greatest and founding fighting styles in mma.Yeah there are you who think that Hughes is too ****y,but the thing is that he can talk the talk and walk the walk.Hughes is pretty much in his prime his strength is freakishly awesome,and he is the champ.I cant tell you whos going to win,but im hoping to see an unforgettable fight. :boxing:

I think royce will win, if he doesnt hughes has alot of competition up against him, BJ Penn, GSP, and possibly Nick Diaz. But i think royce will be able to sub him in the first round 1 if it goes to the mat.


The only major competition that Hughes might have if he wins will problably be BJ Penn.Penn was the last fighter to beat Hughes in '04.Hughs has beat St.Pierre in the first round with 1 second left in the round nine months after his fight with Penn.Nick Diaz has lost his last two fights, Diego sanchez put a good whooping an him and he wasnt impressive against his lose to Joe Riggs.

How do you think the live fans are gonna take to this fight?? We know they have limited patience when the fight hits the ground and well BJJ vs wrestler odds are all 3rnds will be on the ground..
The boo's will rain down and for me that usually ruins the fights, cause sittin at home i find myself telling them to STFU after all if you don't like MMA don't watch MMA.. Oh well.
Or do you think hughes will take gracie out of his element and try to keep the fight standing??

You guys realize this fight is a mismatch?

Hughes is younger, stronger, and hungrier than Royce. Ten years ago i'd say Royce by sub or UD.

Hughes by T.K.O. early.

The only major competition that Hughes might have if he wins will problably be BJ Penn.Penn was the last fighter to beat Hughes in '04.Hughs has beat St.Pierre in the first round with 1 second left in the round nine months after his fight with Penn.Nick Diaz has lost his last two fights, Diego sanchez put a good whooping an him and he wasnt impressive against his lose to Joe Riggs.




GSP was winning the fight until he got caught in that armbar.

anyone else agree?

You guys realize this fight is a mismatch?

Hughes is younger, stronger, and hungrier than Royce. Ten years ago i'd say Royce by sub or UD.

Hughes by T.K.O. early.

Every fight Royce has been in LOOKS like a mismatch, but he wins.
Never underestimate any fighter, especially Royce Gracie. When he went up against Ken Shamrock I thought OMG this guy is gonna kill little Royce...

Speaking of shammy vs gracie THANK FUKING GOD THEY HAVE A TIME LIMIT NOW..

Yea, that rematch wasnt very good, Shamrock held on for dear life the whole time. Big John wont let em lay there like that.
Who's bigger Shamrock or Hughes?

Yea, that rematch wasnt very good, Shamrock held on for dear life the whole time. Big John wont let em lay there like that.
Who's bigger Shamrock or Hughes?

I do know this.

Hughes is stronger than Shamrock.

Hughes is stronger than Shamrock.

funniest **** i ever heard. good one mann.
:cool:

hughes is in a lose lose situation, royce is an old man and on fight night it will be obvious, if he loses he's done, dont count royce out though, he is resilant as hell and he dont lay down for nobody, mad heart, but he aint half the fighter he used to be

Wow, another match between two coward wrestlers. *yawn*

BJ Penn took on Matt Hughes, didn't he?

I see Gracie losing to Hughes by decision. Hughes is just too powerful and will take Gracie down in the begining of every round and just lay on top of him until the fight is over. Hughes will not be very active or be very effective. In the end, it is better to be inactive on top then it is to be inactive on your back. Gracie's only weakness is time. Gracie is by far the superior fighter than Hughes is or ever will be but time will put his style of fighting at a disadvantage to the stronger hughes. This fight will be most boring fight ever. Neither fighters are very good on thier feet and both fighters will be looking for a take down from the start. Hughes by UD but don't be suprise to a Submission victory if Royce gets a takedown.

BTW, Royce will not be allowed to wear a gi. It's all sweat and skin and underpants. This might shift the advantage to Hughes, as if he needed one. I see Hughes winning, either by KO or UD.

Gracie will take it definately. He'll swallow Hughes up, and twist him till he subs. Rear naked choke?...a good prediction.

IMO ROYCE GOTS THIS ONE. THIS IS NOT A GOOD FIGHT FOR HUGHES. BUT HUGHES HUGE EGO DOESNT LET HIM SEE IS THIS WAY. ALL OF MATT'S LOSSES HAVE COME BY SUBMISSION. GRACIE IS THE MASTER OF SUBMISSION. NUFF SAID :cool:

gracie will win, hughes' power is overhyped, gracie i think is the bigger man. I could see hughes tiring himself out if he doesn't get an early win. BJ pen dominated hughes. I have to admit i haven't seen much of gracie but everybody knows he is a winner. hughes fights at 170, he is a bulked up little man, he is only an overpowering wrestler, he is not that strong or that big. Gracie fought without weight restrictions at like 176 taking on big guys (shamrock, kimo, . . .ect.) this fight is all about hype, which is what's funny about this thread. hughes stronger than shamrock hah!

It will be a boring fight.

1) Gracie has fought guys bigger than 220 and stronger guys than Hughes. I think fought Tank abbot and he fought Ken Shamrock twice
2) Royce Gracie is not the worlds best grappler or submission artist. Not even close. He has relatives that are better grapplers. Sperry was a better grappler. Dean Lister and Arona are definitely better grapplers, and probably a dozen others. He won't get a submission on Hughes for sure.
3)Royce has decent standup skills where he won't get knocked out but isn't a good striker
4)Royce will not be as dominant as he was in early days of UFC.

Hughes will win a boring fight on take downs and trying to ground and pound while Royce keeps Hughes in his full guard

We all know how strong Matt Hughes is, and we all know that Royce Gracie is the best grappler in the world. How will this fight unfold and who will win? I'm going with Gracie, submission. Possibly in the first round. Yea I know he's 39, but he's still Royce Gracie, and in all actuality he's never lost a fight. He could not fight the 3rd or 4th fight in that UFC championship. Gracie will be prepared for Hughes. Besides I think just about everyone hates Matt Hughes, I do. Gracie is supremely confident, he knows what he can do. I think Hughes will simply try to over power him and that will not work. Look for Royce to shoot in and take Matt down and submit him. Rear naked choke. On the ground Royce is the master.
Thoughts.....
First of all, Royce will tell you himself that Rickson is better than him. Second, the Gracie's in general suck at going for takedowns. Third, Sak toyed with him, might have been called a draw officially, but anybody who saw that fight knows that Royce lost. With that said, I still think It will be pretty interesting fight. Royce is experienced and Matt is no rookie neither. Hughes has been caught by sub before so that is not out of the equation, especially with a world class BJJ practitioner. But I think that it will only go on the ground if Matt wants it to go there. I don't see any indication that Royce can take Hughes down. That leaves the stand up game, neither of them are great at it, although Hughes has been improving and that leaves Royce. Has he evolved his stand up game enough? I personally don't know. That's why I think it could be an interesting fight.
Peace

To the guy above me, I'm not sure if you have ever trained MMA?? The first thing I learned when training was, age doesnt' matter and strength doesn't match skill and technique.. Royce has been training since in his mum's womb, Hughes, well he's been training since his dad bought some sheep for the farm.. this is how I break it down..

Farmboy hick that wrestles with sheep vs Brazilian guy with nothing to do but train all day his entire life..

I have to give it to the brazilian guy

Technique is important but so is power, balance, speed and brains.

That stuff you get feed is BJJ smoke they blow up your ass so you stay for cheap $50 classes and learn like the 500 submission that you will never use. Pay for full training and single sessions at $80-100 a piece and they tell you you need to know about 6-8 submission and how to set them up and apply them, the reversals, and how to get into positions.

Pure strength can beat technique. Proof was when I saw black belt BJJ guys from Iha and Joe Moriera get picked up by Quetin Jackson over his head and pretend to dump them outside the ring when they went for arm bars. Yeah Quetin would get submitted but once he learned the BJJ tricks and it wouldn't happen anymore. Same thing with Tito after he trained with Moriera and Iha and didn't get submitted when it was so easy.

Hickson was always a better fighter than royce and all the Gracies because 1) he ate meat and was bigger and stronger. The rest are wussy vegans 2) did yoga and had great muscle control and balance. I saw him do a flip with a guilotine hold on a guy that was going for a takedown takedown. The flip went over the guys head with a twist, and rickson landed on his feet and ended up with the takedown and top position with guilotuine fully on in one single move. Thats not BJJ or any technique you learn.

Royce is a good fighter but a lot of his early wins were from guys who knew absolutely NOTHING about submission's. Once he took them into his world of being on the floor they didn't know what to do.

Today's fighters are 100x better than in his day and even the pounders are schooled in BJJ. Matt is well schooled and he will beat Royce.

For the record I think Royce was Great for MMA in showing how dominant BJJ could be, and this was before weight classes when he fought guys 50lbs more than him i.e. Kimo. But the sport has moved on, all fighers are hybrids now that specialize in one thing or another but they are still hybrids and adept at the different discplines of Kickboxing, boxing, wrestling and BJJ.

I will go with Matt on this one as a dominant win if there are no GI's if Royce is allowed to wear his GI then that could be a problem but I would still give a slight edge to Matt.

tell that to sakuraba


no


sakurama beat renzo gracie...royce's brother

I bet a friend of mine 50 bucks on Huges.I figured that since he was such a badass lately and Gracie was so old it would be a good pick.It seems to me although I am not a huge fan of UFC yet that is,That the fighters are much bigger,stronger and faster than in days past.

Someone explain to me why Royce has the mystique if his relatives and other fighters were better. Did these other fighters go undefeated?

What makes any of em better overall than Royce is/was?

I'm new to UFC history.

sakurama beat renzo gracie...royce's brother


sakuraba has beat them both. he beat Royce in a 90 minute match back at PRIDE GP 2000 (5/1/2000). Royce's corner threw in the towel. Renzo lost to Sakuraba via Kimura at PRIDE 10 (in August of 2000). Sakuraba = Gracie Hunter. no joke.

Royce's mystique lies in the fact that he was a founding father of UFC. he was their first champ. he and his family also changed the way fights and fighters were handled (see the boom and popularity of Gracie/Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) . before the UFC had weight divisions, it was all out p4p and Royce won it. Royce is a big name because he's a legend. he was there when it started (when it became popular in the US anyways) and has been active enough to have a winning record.

i've never seen Royce lose on his back. so if Hughes takes him down (and i pray that Hughes doesn't turn this into a lay and pray match), i don't see it being a disadvantage for Royce. Hughes has the power to KO Royce, but i don't see that happening either. it'll prolly go to the ground since Hughes is more comfortable there as well as Royce. but once on the ground, i look for Royce to be more comfortable and he may pull out a sub win.

and as for the rest of the discussion of the greatest grappler at the moment? i'd go for big Nog. but that's just my opinion.

Well looks like all those Royce guys who said Royce couldn't lose on his back were dead wrong.

he was on his front

BTW, Royce will not be allowed to wear a gi. It's all sweat and skin and underpants. This might shift the advantage to Hughes, as if he needed one. I see Hughes winning, either by KO or UD.

I was right. ;)