UFC: hughes vs. gracie
I haven't blogged about the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the past, but Monday's announcement was unique. Joyce Gracie will return to the UFC in may. and as if that isn't enough, he will be facing welterweight champion Matt Hughes.
Joyce Gracie won three of the first five UFCs and is one of the few members of the UFC hall of fame. to a diehard UFC fan, the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu expert is Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan and John Elway all rolled into one. almost single-handed, Gracie introduced North America to the art of Gracie Jujitsu (a.k.a. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, grappling, submission wrestling or ground fighting). at the announcement of his return, Gracie was asked if he was proud of his contribution to the UFC. a wide grin swept across his face. "this is my house," he said, "I built it."
so the question on every UFC fan's mind is can the 39 year-old Gracie defeat the 32 year-old champion? when Hughes was asked if Gracie was behind the times, his answer was blunt: "yes."
some argue that Gracie is not a modern mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter; he relies heavily on his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expertise. not surprisingly, none of Gracie's victories have been by knockout. while it's true that Hughes relies heavily upon his background as an NCAA wrestler, he trains with the highly respected Miletich MMA team. Hughes can fight on the ground, but he can also strike from his feet. Although it’s only fair to point out that Hughes is a ground and pound fighter—he generally doesn’t knock people out either.
if Hughes decides to stand up throughout the fight, Gracie will have the reach advantage (he is 6'1" and Hughes is 5'8"), but will he be able to use it? in his UFC days, the only strike that Gracie regularly employed was a heel kick to the kidney. he used the kick to distract a grounded opponent - not to end the fight. ironically, this strike has subsequently been outlawed in the UFC rules.
it seems almost a certainty that Gracie will try to pull Hughes down into his Jiu-Jitsu 'guard.' if you want to see a demonstration of Gracie's strategy, check out his Price FC match against Sakuraba (Royce Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba is available on Google video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2140115612669031119&q=royce+gracie). in the fight, Gracie was not able to get Sakuraba to the ground without taking significant damage.
so what if Gracie is able to get Hughes to the ground, what will happen on the mat? contrary to what some MMA fans have posted on forums, I don't believe that Gracie is "in a completely different league on the ground." I don't write this because I lack respect for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - quite the opposite is true. Gracie inspired me to start training in Jujitsu. I believe that Hughes can roll with Gracie—in MMA—because he is a UFC champion. he is a full-time fighter with tremendous strength and experience. and most importantly, this is not a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu match or a street fight. Gracie certainly would have a technical advantage in those case.
Gracie is a talented Gracie Jiu-Jitsu pioneer, but this is MMA. he will be the underdog in April. as Hughes said at the fight announcement, the current champion simply has more ways to win.
note: this is my post on why I am a UFC fan