Matt Hughes will domminate the compitition…not that i dont like the old ground work i just feel that the ground and pound works better…hell get ride of the ground and just do the pound.
I still got respect for the grace though…he got skill that cant be matched but i hope hughes win’s
oh yea i missed the fight by the way…DAMN
05/28/2006
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It?s On ? Hughes and Gracie Ready for Battle Saturday Night
Royce Gracie Pre Fight
By Thomas Gerbasi
LOS ANGELES, May 27 ? The party line before the UFC 60 main event between Matt Hughes and Royce Gracie was that the sport of mixed martial arts had passed the Brazilian legend by and that he couldn?t compete with the new breed of mixed martial artist. Yet while Hughes was dominant in a first round stoppage victory before a packed house at STAPLES Center, there is no doubting the toughness of Gracie, who not only made his return to the Octagon for the first time in over ten years, he did it against the premier welterweight in the game.
And you?ve got to respect him for that.
But the night truly belonged to Hughes, who may not have had his UFC welterweight crown on the line, but who fought as if it was his last bout as he dominated from start to finish against the jiu-jitsu ace from Rio De Janeiro.
With father Helio, the founder of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, directly behind him, Gracie made his way into the Octagon for the first time since 1995 to a rousing ovation from the assembled crowd. Conversely ? and surprisingly ? Hughes? entrance was met with boos scattered among the cheers. But the crowd wasn?t going to decide this one ? the UFC?s first superstar and a modern day one were going to, and there was a thick tension in the air before the opening bell.
Gracie opened the fight with a couple of range-finding kicks. Hughes answered with an overhand left that briefly jarred the Brazilian. Gracie quickly regained his bearings though and kept kicking at Hughes, who drove him into the fence. With 3:45 left in the round, the fight went to the mat, with the crowd erupting as Gracie looked for a submission. Hughes kept his cool though and worked his strikes from the top position, eventually locking up Gracie?s left arm. After some tense moments, Gracie escaped, but soon Hughes got his back and opened up with elbows and strikes. Seconds later, after a series of unanswered blows to the head, referee John McCarthy had no choice but to halt the bout at 4:39 of the frame.
And then the boos turned to cheers for Hughes, and rightfully so.
Ha Ha Ha…
gracie is unstoppable, eh. Hughes controlled the whole fight and even if Gracie is possibly upset the ref stopped a little early, Hughes had him right where he wanted him and woulda just kept pounding away…
Next up St. Pierre and he walks away with the title.
Absolutely incredible dominance by Hughes. I’ve never questioned Hughes’ ability, but damn, he just broke into a new stratosphere.
I think GSP is the only guy who’s going to be able to give Hughes a run for his money.
I figured hughes would prove all the naysayers wrong but man did he ever deliver i wasn’t sure what to expect…but wow.
sorry didnt read through any of the thread, so if this has been addressed already i apologize i just wanted to get a post in on the fight and then go pass out.
hughes totally dominated the fight no questions asked.
however i didnt stay around hooters to see what the fighters had to say for themselves. really im just curious to see what royce had to say post fight. im just curious if the gracies went on to say “well if royce didnt have to cut weight and if royce could have worn his gi and if there were really no rules, etc…” im just curious as to how they (royler, rolker, rodrigo, etc.) took it as well.
GSP is going to crush Hughes, no question.
[quote]MattFarlick wrote:
GSP is going to crush Hughes, no question. [/quote]
Yaaaawwwn.
Hughes dominated, but how impressive was Gracie when he was in that armbar?
Just laying there, waiting for a chance to get out, no worries.
I’m really glad the modern rules (5 minute rounds, ect) didn’t really have an effect on the fight. It would suck to listen to people make excuses for Gracie (who I wanted to win) for the next 10 years.
In case someone couldn’t watch it (like myself):
[quote]lynxx wrote:
sorry didnt read through any of the thread, so if this has been addressed already i apologize i just wanted to get a post in on the fight and then go pass out.
hughes totally dominated the fight no questions asked.
however i didnt stay around hooters to see what the fighters had to say for themselves. really im just curious to see what royce had to say post fight. im just curious if the gracies went on to say “well if royce didnt have to cut weight and if royce could have worn his gi and if there were really no rules, etc…” im just curious as to how they (royler, rolker, rodrigo, etc.) took it as well.[/quote]
They[the Gracie’s] made no excuses and, though obviously disappointed, Royce gave Matt his props and took the defeat like a man.
[quote]michael2507 wrote:
In case someone couldn’t watch it (like myself):
[/quote]
My money is on Hughes
Hughes won, Gracie Lost, Gracie is over the top, now, let’s get on with it… 
It’s a sad day, if a rather expected one.
Hughes pretty much fulfils the template of what a decent MMA fighter should be and regardless of what my heart was telling me, it was a fairly obvious result.
As for GSP - He is quite obviously the future of the sport and there’s not many fighters you think would ever take him apart. He learns and improves with every match and seems to have some real heart too.
Should be an interesting year for UFC
[quote]MattFarlick wrote:
GSP is going to crush Hughes, no question. [/quote]
LOL.
As predicted, I was not surprised by the Hughes victory last night. Nor in the manner it was achieved.
However, I was surprised and very impressed that Royce refused to tap out when Hughes put him in that arm lock. I could almost hear the elbow pop. Royce has incredible mental toughness and desrves much credit in that area.
As for the few who have written or will soon post that the referee stopped the match too quickly, you’re very wrong.
Hughes hit Gracie with 19 unanswered shots from the time that he took his back. All 19 strikes landed in good position, either on the head or side of the face.
It took Matt Hughes 4:39 to put away a true legend in the MMA world!
However, I want to remind all of the Hughes fans (of which I am one) that if it had not been for Gracie and his family many people would still be thinking that grapplers cannot defeat traditional karate practitioners, or other strikers such as boxers. The myth of the unbeatable Karate black belt is dead because of Royce Gracie! No one will ever be able to take away what one man, Royce Gracie did for “truth” in martial arts!
As for Matt Hughes, he demonstrated incredible athleticism and incredible ground strategy. From this point forward anyone who underestimates Matt Hughes does not understand how this fighter grows, as he gets better with each match.
Frankly, I don’t see GSP doing any better than he did in their first match up when he was submitted by Hughes.
In my opinion there is only one match left that will test Hughes. And that is with the great BJ Penn!
[quote]ZEB wrote:
As for the few who have written or will soon post that the referee stopped the match too quickly, you’re very wrong.
Hughes hit Gracie with 19 unanswered shots from the time that he took his back. All 19 strikes landed in good position, either on the head or side of the face.[/quote]
I thought it was an early stoppage when I viewed the video the first time, but after watching it again, I agree that Royce was totally defenceless. I guess it was a good decision.
Anyway, I was quite surprised that Royce was able to use his left arm seemingly without any problems after that armlock.
Thank you for the youtube vid…Hughes owned!!!
They took the fight off of You Tube. Now I can’t see it.