One Way Up Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 I'm probably the only one who cares about this, but I gotta vent anyways, and since you're all like the coolest people, I'm sure you'll listen with open hearts... Stunned silence is the state I was in tonight after watching my favorite, basically (almost)everone's favorite fighter, lose... I don't know if anyone watched the Royce(pronounced Hoyce) Gracie-Matt Hughes fight, but if there are any other Gracie fans out there, I'm sure you can relate. For those of you who don't know anything about Royce Gracie(or the UFC at that point), he was-is the greatest fighter in UFC history. He's not a real big guy, about my size actually. He won UFC 1,2, and 4. He's old school-no gloves, no rounds-old school. Anyways, he's the best of the best in my book. He eventually went into retirement. Nowadays, the show is ran by Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. This guy Matt Hughes is considered the greatest welterweight of all times. He's from St. Louis, and he's tough. He's a mixed martial artist-equally good striking(on his feet kicking and punching) and ground fighting. He's known for his ground-n-pound tactics, which, to put it bluntly, is getting a guy on the ground and wailing on him until he taps out, as opposed to a good submission hold. Well, he's so bad that they called Royce back to fight him. Long story short, Royce got in the ring and totally did not fight like he used to. The way he entered, the way he approached Matt when the fight began. He didn't fight with his gee on(which he almost always did for a variety of reasons), and, what I believe was the straw that broke the camel's back, was he actually tried to STAND UP with Matt Hughes. Royce is a Brazilian Jiujitu master, not a striker. Matt was talkin' all this trash about how Royce couldn't punch, etc....and I think Royce tried to show him he was wrong. Anyways, Matt took him down and got the upper hand on the drop. Had Royce landed with the upper hand on Matt, I'm sure the tabels would have turned, but sadly this wasn't the case. They grappled a bit. Matt got him in this KILLER arm bar that popped his elbow out of place-hyperextended it, kind of, but Royce didn't tap out. They rolled a bit more until Matt ended up on the rear mount, stretch Gracie out, and proceeded to pound the back of his head. The Ref was kind of to blame as well, because when they were grappled up, he was telling Gracie, "Get out of there Gracie!" This triggered Matt to start pounding. He didn't want to call the fight, but he jumped in when he say that Royce couldn't do anything. Every single stinkin' hit on the back of Royce's head drove the stake further into me. I swear, my body went numb. This was one of the biggest moments in sports in my life, and...grrrr. Man I'm getting heated just thinking about it. Went out and played tennis a couple hours afterwards to run it off a bit. Anyways, I think Royce is coming back to fight a bit more, so if you guys want to check out what I think is still the greatest fighter in UFC history, I encourage you to. Also, check out their websites. Gracie Jiujitsu is taught to Navy Seals, SWAT teams, etc... It's pretty hardcore stuff. They helped direct some movie fight scenes as well, including Lethal Weapon. A few celebs have studied under them as well, including Nicholas Cage and that guy who played Al Bundie. Anyways, if anyone else saw the fight, feel free to agree-disagree:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconz Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 This is what happens when legends try to come back past their prime.... for example: Tyson, Jordan (playing for the Wizards), Deion Sanders... I mean... sometimes it's just better to retire and stay retired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boy Kid Wonder Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Royce is good, but I am Hughes fan. I am a big striker fan. Alot of people can choke you out, sure it takes skill, but not so as much physical strength. Hughs is a big pound'em, throw'em, smash'em fighter. Gracie ignored his training and his experience because Hughes got under his skin and he lost because of it. I have seen alot of Gracie's matches and he is a submission fighter. The jujitsu training and grappling training means he should take the fight to the ground. Matt Hughes is 185 pounds of solid muscle. His upper body strength is INSANE. Gracie should have taken him down and choked him out. Alot of people have tried to choke Hughes and only end up getting smashed into the octagon. But Gracie is the best of the best when it comes to grappling. Gracie threw away training, tradition, and experience in order to strike with Hughes. Gracie isn't as strong as Hughes nor has he had the training and experience in striking. He should had taken Hughes to the mat and fought there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maventiem Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 By the way, the guy who played Al Bundie off of " Married with Children ", his name is Ed O'neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Way Up Posted May 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 I completely agree with you. Gracie shouldn't have even though about going toe to toe with Hughes on his feet. He should have been shooting every chance he got. As far as coming out of retirement, I agree with you kind of. I mean, I'm excited as crap to get to see him fight again, but it just won't be the same now that he's got a loss. He was 11 and 0. And Hughes is a tough, tough man. He's strong, he can take shots, he's really quick, and he can grapple. I hope Shamrock whips the snot out of Ortiz, though, coming up in their fight, to put one back on the board for Old School. I think Hughes was right when he was talking about how Gracie wasn't really prepared for the new UFC. Old School, they would just stick them in a ring with no pads and have them go at it for an hour or so, until whoever won won. Shoot, Helio Gracie, Royce's father, fought 45 minutes one time with a broken arm. They were tough as tough can be. Now they fight for 15 minutes, with two breaks in between, and they wear gloves. I think Gracie was starting out slow, like always, and Matt is just a great out of the gate kinda guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designated_Driver Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 This is what happens when legends try to come back past their prime.... for example: Tyson' date=' Jordan (playing for the Wizards), Deion Sanders... I mean... sometimes it's just better to retire and stay retired.[/color'] Don't forget Rocky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boy Kid Wonder Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Hate to break it to you Bali, but Rocky won his fight against Tommy " The Machine" Gunn in Rocky V. That was his out of retirement fight. But I guess he is coming back out again in Rocky VI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designated_Driver Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 And that's why I stopped watching after about ten minutes of Rocky I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boy Kid Wonder Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 The Rocky Series is the best series. Its amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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