Ralph
17-01-2006, 11:50
UFC president Dana White announced during Monday's Ultimate Fight Night broadcast on SpikeTV that mixed martial arts legend UFC Royce Gracie (Pictures) has signed to fight current welterweight champion Matt Hughes (Pictures) on Pay-Per-View in May.
By any measure Hughes has been the most dominant champion in UFC history, particularly since the organization evolved to include weight divisions. Owning a 12-2 UFC record (9-1 in championship fights), Hughes last fought in November, submitting Joe Riggs (Pictures) via Kimura.
"I've done a lot in this sport," Hughes said. "If you write down everything I did and put it on a piece of paper, there'd be a lot on the table — but I've never fought a legend and Royce Gracie (Pictures)'s a legend."
"I'm at the top of my game right now," he continued. "I can see winning this fight in many different ways, from anywhere."
"There's only one way to find out," answered Gracie, who will have been out of UFC competition for over 10 years by the time these two meet in May. "That's why we're here."
A pioneer of MMA in North America, Gracie represented his family and style of Brazilian jiu-jitsu during the first five UFCs. With a record of 11-1-1 in UFC competition (his lone loss was a result of not being able to continue into the later rounds of the UFC 3 tournament versus Harold Howard), Gracie is one of the organizations most successful fighters.
"This is my house," said Gracie, who owns a mixed record of 2-1-2 outside the UFC. "I built it."
After an almost five-year hiatus, Gracie returned to fighting in January 2000 as a participant in PRIDE's first-ever Grand Prix tournament. Later that year, he lost a historic bout versus Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures), which saw the two men battle for over 90 minutes before Royce's corner threw in the towel. Bouts in PRIDE and K-1 have seen him fight once a year starting in 2003.
By any measure Hughes has been the most dominant champion in UFC history, particularly since the organization evolved to include weight divisions. Owning a 12-2 UFC record (9-1 in championship fights), Hughes last fought in November, submitting Joe Riggs (Pictures) via Kimura.
"I've done a lot in this sport," Hughes said. "If you write down everything I did and put it on a piece of paper, there'd be a lot on the table — but I've never fought a legend and Royce Gracie (Pictures)'s a legend."
"I'm at the top of my game right now," he continued. "I can see winning this fight in many different ways, from anywhere."
"There's only one way to find out," answered Gracie, who will have been out of UFC competition for over 10 years by the time these two meet in May. "That's why we're here."
A pioneer of MMA in North America, Gracie represented his family and style of Brazilian jiu-jitsu during the first five UFCs. With a record of 11-1-1 in UFC competition (his lone loss was a result of not being able to continue into the later rounds of the UFC 3 tournament versus Harold Howard), Gracie is one of the organizations most successful fighters.
"This is my house," said Gracie, who owns a mixed record of 2-1-2 outside the UFC. "I built it."
After an almost five-year hiatus, Gracie returned to fighting in January 2000 as a participant in PRIDE's first-ever Grand Prix tournament. Later that year, he lost a historic bout versus Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures), which saw the two men battle for over 90 minutes before Royce's corner threw in the towel. Bouts in PRIDE and K-1 have seen him fight once a year starting in 2003.