Could Matt Hughes beat Rickson on the ground?

Hughes would destroy him just like he did Royce

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B team is incredibly generous…

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Appropriate username.

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I think Matt could force Rickson to stand with him and beat him like he did Renzo

Isn’t that the fight where Matt took his leg out with kicks?

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That was a weird fight. I didn’t expect this tactic but it worked. Lol at those leg kicks, they looked awkward but had power. He spun Renzo around a couple times from my recollection.

Lucky Renzo didn’t spit on him

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For me, the movie, “Choke,” really cast doubt on my previous understanding that Rickson was in complete control of himself…both physically and mentally…when it came to applying JJ fighting/MMA. Specifically, backstage between matches - I thought he was going to have an anxiety attack. His brothers had to keep him calm.

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…applying jj to fighting/MMA.

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Royce and Renzo were well past it when they faced Hughes. Both beat Hughes in their physical primes.

Hughes wasn’t a good striker. He could keep it standing against Rickson, but for what? This matchup favors Rickson.

Neither Hughes or Rickson were all that well-rounded.

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You say Royce and Renzo were past their primes but Rickson never had any striking whatsoever. You believe Renzo had worse striking than Rickson at any stage of his career?

Hughes has wins by submission and TKO against the best guys available in an era MUCH better than anyone Rickson ever fought.

Rickson would have been destroyed and the only reason we will never know 100 percent is because Rickson was afraid to test himself in mma and instead chose to chirp about guys he could never beat in a fight “lacking aura”

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Matt was a beast in his prime. And as much as we all respect Rickson’s jiu-jitsu it’s a completely different game when you can get punched or elbowed in the face.

It would have been more competitive than Matt vs Royce but not by much.

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Thread title implies they are starting on the ground.

I don’t think Rickson could take Matt down but if they start on the floor, it’s Rickson all day.

They’re about the same size.

I’m not kidding at all when I say Rickson’s grappling is incomprehensibly better than Matt’s. I guess time would matter, Matt could stall for a bit. But unless rules force Rickson to act silly, he takes Matt’s back and chokes him into the living death eventually.

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I would have loved to see Hughes punch him in the face. Fucking Rickson always sticking his chin out against the endless row of cans he were spoon fed.

Hughes by whatever he wants in whatever round he wants to.

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Obvious, but BJJ is MUCH harder to learn to do well than defend against, in MMA.

The guy training just to negate has a big advantage in terms of training time; he needs a lot less of it to shut down a skilled BJJ guy.

I think the vegas money would have been on Hughes, but Rickson could always surprise with a submission.

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I agree, not who is the better striker. The question is could Matt hang with Rickson on the ground. No way. As much shit as everyone talks about Rickson, no one has ever come back from rolling with Rickson and reported anything other than having there ass handed to them.

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Yeah i agree completely.

Including Renzo, who is the realest Gracie and openly calls bullshit on Rorion and Rener. He says he had nothing for Rickson

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Rickson by arm bar

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They come back from ROLLING with Rickson – ROLLING – which is a game that does not involve strikes from everywhere.

Strikes change EVERYTHING.

All that matters in MMA is how good you are at MMA.

Rickson did NOT seek out the best fighters in MMA to fight and he did not face competition like Hughes or half a dozen other top fighters of the era did.

I’m not saying Rickson would be destroyed, but I am saying Rickson could be destroyed.

BJJ =/= MMA

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As long as you aren’t including Funaki in that statement.

Funaki was legit.

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Interesting take.

I love that documentary.

Time to watch it again.

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