Penguin145 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Dana White announced that UFC 134 will be held in Rio, Brazil. One of the first people to contact him and ask for a fight was UFC legend Royce Gracie. Dana denied him. How can Dana deny a fight to one of the men who got the UFC to where it is today? It is also in his home town. I say give him the fight. What do you all think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 He's 44 so its going to be hard to find an opponent that works for him. He hasn't fought since 2007 and that was against an aging Sakuraba. Hasn't fought in the UFC since 2006 in his lose to Hughes aside from that hasn't fought int he UFC regularly since the early 90's. You would assume they would need to find a somewhat big name to fight him for such a big Brazilan show and have him near the top of the card. Not sure you would want to discredit him by putting him in as an opening round fight against some random newcomer. If he loses it tarnish the final image of a UFC legend at him hometown show. I don't think Dana wants to have him go out that way. If he beats a young talent then that guys stock drops dramatically, but Dana still have no real use for promoting Gracie after that. So either way Gracie would probably be done with the UFC. Unfortunately, the guys past his UFC prime age wise and verses the hybrid techniques that have developed in MMA. Dana should be using the hell of him in Brazil though. Honer him by hyping the heck out of the guy who made the UFC into what it is today during the show, have him as the Master of Ceremonies, make him into the king of Brazil for the day, etc....... However, using him as a fighter may not be the best move for anyone involves and Dana probably see's that. There are several other very talented Brazilians to choose from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin145 Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 Unfortunately, the guys past his UFC prime age wise and verses the hybrid techniques that have developed in MMA. Dana should be using the hell of him in Brazil though. Honer him by hyping the heck out of the guy who made the UFC into what it is today during the show, have him as the Master of Ceremonies, make him into the king of Brazil for the day, etc....... However, using him as a fighter may not be the best move for anyone involves and Dana probably see's that. There are several other very talented Brazilians to choose from. Very true, Dana could use him for appearances and all that to get people out there, yet every fighter has the dream of fighting in thier hometown. Yes, he has been on a no fighting streak and his last fights were pretty bad. Randy Couture is around his age and he is still fighting, even though his last fight is next saturday. For all that he has done for the UFC, the least Dana can do is give him one last fight. It'll be a Rocky Balboa story, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 They had Ultimate Brazil back in the late1990s. Guess, Royce should have jumped on that one when he was still somewhat in his prime. Several other porminate Brazilians made that card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin145 Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Lol i guess, and I have beem reading around and the rumors are that Royce wants a rematch with Matt Hughes. Being a HUGE Matt Hughes fan, I say bring it on. Both are up there in age, both hall of famers, and I'd love to see Hughes TKO him again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Though he had one heck of a run I'd say Hughes getting to the end of his carrer as far as being an effective fighter. I would say Dana would be looking to put him in fights against up and coming guys as a gatekeeper to the top rankings. Not sure if the UFC has plans for Hughes as a title hunter again unless he absolutely runs through some of the guys they throw at him. While he could probably do some damage against some veteran fighters like Royce I'm not sure it would be worth the UFC making that fight, especially in Brazil. I agree as legendary guys go those two sure are up there. I'm actually suprised they have let Randy hold on as long as he has. I would have put him in full retirement two fights ago, but he keeps proving he can at least stay in tough fights against top competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin145 Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 I'm actually suprised they have let Randy hold on as long as he has. I would have put him in full retirement two fights ago, but he keeps proving he can at least stay in tough fights against top competition. Randy has announced his last fight is this saturday. Its going to be sad to see him go. But if they put a young guy agaisnt Royce and then Royce wins, the UFC just lost all stock in the up in comer, because how can a up in comer lose to a 44 year old guy when he is supposed to be beating young guys like him? Matt got pretty embarrased his last fight agaisnt BJ Penn, both Hughes and Gracie are up there in age, they have already proven themselves back in the day, this can just be a fight for the fans, nothing coming from it. They arent making a title run, they just want a fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleB Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Royce was on InsideMMA here last week or a few weeks ago and it sure didn't sound like the door was shut for UFCBrazil. They are talking of doing an exhibition type deal, for Royce and Renzo. Early rumors is BJ vs Renzo if I remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin145 Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 BJ vs Renzo?! Renzo would get killed. He got beat fairly badly by Hughes and look how Hughes did against BJ. It was :23 of a fight. Not a good match up haha. and I am very excited to see who ends up fighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleB Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Wouldn't be a standard MMA fight. I assume when they toss the word "exhibition" around they are referring to a type of submission, jiu-jitsu, catch, sambo type deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin145 Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 regardless if they fight or not it is still a pretty good card, Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami Light Heavyweight bout: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Forrest Griffin Lightweight bout: Thiago Tavares vs. Spencer Fisher Light Heavyweight bout: Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov Lightweight bout: Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson Middleweight bout: Maiquel Falc?o vs . Tom Lawlor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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