Hughes V. Gracie

[Poacher]

Might as well start the thread now.

I'll take Hughes by a decision in a boring, one-sided fight with Gracie on his back the whole time trying to stay alive.

Also, there seems to be a lot of Hughes hatred out there. Not sure why but there is. I hear people say they think he's arrogant but I don't see it.

 

[White Shogun]

Wow, where are you catching the Hughes hatred? Most people I talk to about UFC like Matt Hughes.

I think Hughes will win, too. I don't think Hughes will submit Gracie, but I can see Royce being KO'd by a body slam if he hangs on too tight!

Edited by: White Shogun

 

[Poacher]

Mostly I see the Hughes hate at Sherdog.com. Maybe I'm exagerating a little but it just seemed that way to me.

I was thinking the same thing about the KO by slam. Didn't Hughes do that to Newton (I think that was his name)?

 

[White Shogun]

Yeah, Carlos Newton. Newton must have thought he had the triangle sunk and *blam* he is KO'd. Matt's slams are trademarked. I here people say, "He Matt Hughed him!" I really hope he wins against Royce. Not that I dislike Gracie, but you have to root for a guy that enters the Octagon to "A Country Boy Can Survive!"

 

[aussieaussie]

Here in australia we do not get to see much of the Ufc. We have to rent them on video when they come out or order them on pay per view. I have seen both of them fight many times however and have to give a huge edge to Matt Hughes. He is freakishly strong for a man his size. I also believe that club fighters made up the bulk of the fighters in the first few UFC's. (with the exception of shamrock, and a few others)I do not believe this fight will go the distance. I see Matt hurting gracie early on with ground and pound. I see gracies face being opened up by the end of the first round and if I had to make a prediction I would say it will be stopped early in the fourth after Gracie has been dealt a great deal of punishment. And like white shogun said----------- How can anyone go against a man who enters the ring to a country boy can survive.Go Matt!!!

 

[Guest]

Someone in an earlier post mentioned something about Trolls never posting in the MMA section, so I thought I'd represent for proud Trolls everywhere.

I'll give 2-to-1 odds on something unsavoury happening on or before Saturday's Gracie-Hughes. Gracie will bow out at the last minute, someone will come down with a mysterious injury or the fight itself will be fraught with strangely odd refereeing or what appears to be semi-scripted "fighting"...and I really, really hope that I'm wrong.

Watching the first few UFC events is instructive. The whole affair was put on by the Gracie family as a sort of publicity stunt. Gordeau seemed to be going through the motions as did Shamrock, although to a lesser extent. I just don't buy the myth.

The minute they started competing with medium-sized Japanese guys like Sakuraba and Takada, who aren't exactly unbeatable titans but who simply didn't play, they got deconstructed as being 'less then mythic'..exactly as Kimura had 50 years earlier. The cat's out of the bag and those burly Russian Sambo bastards now routinely disassemble Brazilians.

<br>
180lb-soaking-wet Kazushi Sakuraba humbling the Gracie myth...


The Gracie family is a myth in the American geosphere, and seeing as this is a UFC event, I fully expect to see something happen tomorrow that will perpetuate that myth.

In the extremely unlikely event that I see an authentic match of game combatants, I can't imagine how Gracie could keep up with Hughes' youth, conditioning and far more recent ring experience.

 

[White Shogun]

Not sure if you got the effect you intended, Jerve, your post isn't typical of trolls.

What you're saying you think might happen wouldn't surprise me at all. The Gracies work very hard to protect their 'legacy,' including demanding rules changes, special flooring, no time limits, gi-no gi, etc.

Royce is 1-1-1 in his last three fights, and he hasn't fought that great a caliber of fighter, either. I think this fight is / should be a total mismatch. However, lesser technicians than Royce have managed to put Hughes into rear nakeds and triangles, its just that Hughes powers his way out of them. It will be interesting to see if Royce can put one on Hughes himself, and if he can survive being bodyslammed.

I'm going to watch, regardless.

 

[Kaptain]

Hughes is the definite favorite no doubt. I like Matt Hughes, but I'll be routing for Gracie for sentimental reasons. You gotta like the idea of a rather ordinary looking guy (no bulked up muscle) relying solely on technique and beating guys who are ripped. Jerve, you should be happy that I'm routing for the swarthier competitor for once. It doesn't happen often.

WS, I can't blame the Gracie's for demanding rule changes before they fight. Orginally, the UFC matches never restarted because of inactivity, there were no rounds, and ground kicks (heel kicks) were allowed. They took all those things away to make matches more exciting to watch but they also made them a bit less realistic. A real fight is never restarted and only ends when someone gives up or is unconscious. Gracie's techniques are made for the real type of fighting. If they went by the old rules, I'm not sure if Hughes would be the favorite.

Are their any rule changes for this fight???

 

[JD074]

The Gracie family is a myth in the American geosphere, and seeing as this is a UFC event, I fully expect to see something happen tomorrow that will perpetuate that myth.

On the other hand, it would be in the best interests of the UFC for Hughes to win, given that he's one of their biggest stars. So they shouldn't try to bend over backwards too far for Gracie. Also they want to be considered a legitimate sport (far too many people don't think it is, as anyone who saw the recent "Outside the Lines" show on ESPN will tell you,) so doing something like changing the rules for one fight could backfire pretty badly.
Edited by: JD074

 

[Poacher]

Result: Hughes wins by TKO in 1st round (stoppage due to strikes)

Well Hughes pretty much beat him from pillar to post. Gracie was never really in the fight. I think Hughes probably sprained Gracie's arm as well. It was actually quite impressive for Gracie to not have tapped out on the kimura...it looked painful. Hughes finished the fight in the mount with Gracie face down taking blow after blow to the head. Ouch man.

Diego Sanchez got a gift decision from the three ethnically challenged judges. Allesio(sp) won the fight two rounds to one. Maybe it's just me but when you are bleeding from a giant cut over your eye and your opponent doesn't look any the worse for wear...you lost.
Edited by: Poacher

 

[White Shogun]

when you are bleeding from a giant cut over your eye and your opponent doesn't look any the worse for wear...you lost.

I have to disagree with you here, Poacher. Whites cut easily but still kick major ass. On the other hand, I agree that Alessio won the fight. That last two minutes he spent walking around the ring with Sanchez hanging on to his back was one of the most ridiculous things I've seen in MMA in a long time. They should have restarted the fight, at least after the first minute went by without a submission. Interestingly enough, it was Alessio's attempt at an armbar using his own neck as a lever that was the most interesting technique used in that situation.

You are right, Hughes owned Gracie throughout. It was actually kind of anti-climatic when it was over. As the kids would say, Gracie got pwned. It looked like he was literally going to cry when it was over. Tough way for a 'legend' like Royce Gracie to lose. We were discussing why they chose Matt Hughes as Gracie's opponent. We came to the conclusion that it was better for Gracie to lose to a fighter like Hughes than say, Mike Swick or one of the other TUF fighters. At least Royce can say he lost to a world champion instead of a kid.

The Melvin Guillard fight was a joke. Talk about being thrown to the lions, Guillard's opponent was 3-0-1, whereas Guillard has had more than 38 fights. The only reason to make such a fight is to give a guy (Guillard) some padding on his stats and get him out in public. It was a ridiculous match-up.

 

[white is right]

Gracie was an old man, I remember saying to a buddy of mine that he picked Hughes because he could survive the envitable beatdown because of Hughes' lack of size. I was even wrong there. Part of the problem with MMA is that the results aren't widely published. If this was a boxing match the hype would have been minimal as Gracie was about as shot as the recent Holyfield....

 

[White Shogun]

I think Gracie actually thought he could win the fight though.

It was funny listening to the celebrities give their predictions for the fight, Gracie all the way, until they asked the only guy who knew wtf he was talking about, Chuck Liddell, who said there was no way Royce would win. Matt Hughes is the total package and the fight game has evolved too far for Gracie.

Looks like Chuck was right.

 

[White_Savage]

Jerv, you are not a troll. Surely you don't put yourself into the same class of jokers who come here proclaiming the total superiority of blacks at anything and everything, who are just wastes of bandwidth getting their kicks with typical internet jack-assery, unless they really believe that crap, in which case they have severe psychological problems. You're more in the class of villiage crank/villiage atheist, a role I can empathize with, though I don't take such heroic measures as you to be contrary.

As for the rest what you have to say...if you ever make a post along the lines of "that doesn't suck/You/You all might have a point/Gee, I think other peope might be nearly as intelligent as me", I swear I'll have a stroke.

 

[JD074]

The Melvin Guillard fight was a joke. Talk about being thrown to the lions, Guillard's opponent was 3-0-1, whereas Guillard has had more than 38 fights. The only reason to make such a fight is to give a guy (Guillard) some padding on his stats and get him out in public. It was a ridiculous match-up.

That sounds pathetic. They can't let him lose two times in a row, now can they?

It would be hard to blame the UFC for wanting black stars given how helpful it would be for them. The media says it's not a real sport, it's "human c*ckfighting," somebody's gonna die, blah blah blah. Black stars would make it a "real" sport, and would make it difficult for liberal whites in the media to criticize. Instant shot of legitimacy.

Edited by: JD074

 

[Guest]

I'm gladly eating crow for my prediction of a fix in this one. I always knew UFC was dubious in comparison to PRIDE, then I saw "Caveman" Keith Jardin lose an obvious decision fix to poster-boy Bonnar in April...that really put a bad taste in my mouth. I'd sooner watch WWE for that sort of crap, thank you.

I'll keep an open mind in future events...kudos to UFC brass for not kowtowing to the no-doubt considerable meddling of the Gracie family last week!