Report: Renzo Gracie to Fight Matt Hughes at UFC 109
by Kid Nate on Nov 11, 2009 9:44 PM EST
in MMA News
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Heavy.com reports:
Heavy.com has confirmed with sources close to the UFC that a welterweight matchup between Renzo Gracie and Matt Hughes is in the works for UFC 109 in February.
Gracie, 42, last appeared in a February 2007 disqualification victory over Frank Shamrock. Rumors have circulated over the last month that the legendary Gracie family member has been in negotiations with the UFC. Both fighters have been approached about the fight, but bout agreements have not been signed.
Now this is matchmaking! Despite his ranking at #6 on the USAT/SBN Consensus MMA Rankings, Hughes is done as a serious title contender after two losses to champ Georges St. Pierre and a loss to Thiago Alves. But he's still a very marketable attraction and a formidable competitor. His most famous and lucrative bout was his UFC 60 fight with Royce Gracie.
Renzo Gracie on the other hand, is probably the most respected of the original generation of Gracies that popularized jiu jitsu and MMA in the U.S and Japan in the 1990s. Unlike his cousins Royce and Rickson, he never developed a reputation for hand-picking his opponents and he faced some of the top fighters of his era: Oleg Taktarov, Maurice Smith, Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Henderson, Carlos Newton, B.J. Penn, Pat Miletich, and Frank Shamrock.
But his most famous fight would have to be his bout with Luta Livre ace Eugenio Tadeu in 1997. That fight ended in a riot that killed the commercial prospects for MMA in Brazil for a decade.
Despite having had a great career in MMA, Renzo has never fought for the UFC.
It's easy to see why Matt Hughes declined to fight Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck or Jon Fitch when he can make a great deal more money fighting the 42 year old Renzo.
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This is a good fight. I’d rather have guys like Hughes doing this sort of fight, rather than going around getting beat down by up and coming talent, or subsequently derailing the title prospects of said new talent.
I love me some Sexyama!
So I guess this is his final tour on his farewell concert of lower margin competition?
Admitting he is done competitively?
Agreed. I’d rather see a competitive fight between Hughes and Renzo than a one-sided win for any AKA guy over Hughes.
by mburtoni on Nov 11, 2009 9:57 PM EST via mobile reply actions
We’ll be hearing interviews from about how the Gracie’s contributions to MMA are irrelevant
by The Bronzeville Bully on Nov 11, 2009 10:10 PM EST reply actions
Also, last I recall, there was some after-the-fact smack talk from both Hughes and the Gracie camps regarding the way Hughes won the Royce/Hughes fight. Something about whether it was wrestling that beat Royce or BJJ. So I’m expecting some sort of smack talk leading up to the fight. It should be some good hype.
I love me some Sexyama!
Nah don’t think so. Can’t see anyone smiling.
Not that I condone facism or any ism for that matter. Isms are in my opinion, not good. A person shouldn't believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.
I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". Good point there, after all he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. Wouldn't change the fact I have to bum rides off of people.
it’ll be interesting to see how the UFC markets this fight if it does go down. Renzo is not Royce and he doesn’t have the Early UFC tourney wins to hype him up to the casual fans. Yes he is a Gracie but I think that name doesn’t mean much in the US casual fanbase, unless its Royce. Renzo hasn’t fought in a long time and he’s never fought in the UFC. The UFC already had a Hughes vs Gracie event before…
it really will be interesting to see how the promotion of this one goes down.
Renzo, Royce, Rolles... Then Rogerio, Rodrigo,
The casuals won’t know the difference..
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 11, 2009 11:04 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Yes but the difference is that Royce has done the most out of all of the Gracies in the UFC. With the Royce Gracie/Hughes fight they promoted it as a UFC legend was coming back to take on the new school.
Royce had the championships. The fights with Shamrock. His history in the UFC to back him up. People knew about him. I think there will be less interest with Renzo. Yes he is great but he didnt win UFC 1(or any others). He wasn’t the champion of champions back when there were no rules. With Ranzo all this is to the casual fan base is an old Gracie family fighter coming in to the UFC.
Maybe they can set it up as “Renzo is looking for vengance against Matt Hughes for the beating Royce took.” Family Honor and all that jive.
Don’t forget the tie-in with Matt Serra, one of Renzo’s top proteges. If this one truly happens, there’s no shortage of good storylines.
Sergio Non,
MMA writer, USA TODAY
http://mma.usatoday.com
yep..
and since he’s dropping to WW, maybe we can even see Almeida vs Hughes down the road. haha :)
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 12, 2009 3:24 AM EST up reply actions
It will be awesome if Gracie taps him.
Not that I condone facism or any ism for that matter. Isms are in my opinion, not good. A person shouldn't believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.
I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". Good point there, after all he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. Wouldn't change the fact I have to bum rides off of people.
"Gracie Hunter" won't stick to anyone but Sakuraba
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Nov 12, 2009 4:14 AM EST up reply actions
By my count, Hughes needs at least two more after this one.
Not that I condone facism or any ism for that matter. Isms are in my opinion, not good. A person shouldn't believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.
I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". Good point there, after all he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. Wouldn't change the fact I have to bum rides off of people.
And then still no…
Not that I condone facism or any ism for that matter. Isms are in my opinion, not good. A person shouldn't believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.
I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me". Good point there, after all he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. Wouldn't change the fact I have to bum rides off of people.
If you don't think people will be interested in this,
Look at how many people retweeted this post.. Compare that to all the other posts..
Rickson by armbar
Giving Shogun his props. I had the fight 48-47 Machida but Shogun put up a monumental performance and I am honored to have seen it in person.
no dice
http://www.graciemag.com/news/144/ARTICLE/16312/2009-11-12.html
Renzo: ‘What do they think I’m made of?’
Gracie denies Hughes fight is in February, but confirms return is near
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