In my mind, May 27th 2006, marks the day when the Gracie reign is officially over after the brutal loss Royce Gracie suffered at the hands of UFC Champion Matt Hughes.
I realize that Royce wasn't the first Gracie to loose, but this event is significant because Royce, the legend that started it all in 1993 in the UFC, returned to his origins and was convincingly beaten in every way by Hughes.
Some may argue that Rickson is still out there to carry the Gracie torch, but Rickson hasn't carried the torch for 10 years now. Even if he returns now for one last fight, win or lose, it would not be a significant event. It was Royce who was front and center all this time, and there doesn't seem to be a younger, stronger generation of Gracies to carry the tradition of family champions, at least not as dominant as for example, Helio, Carlson, Rickson, and then Royce once was.
On the flip side, watchin UFC 60 was a treat for me because all the fighters who won that night, including Matt Hughes, won with their Jiu-jitsu skills that they learned thanks to the Gracie family. If it weren't for them, there would be no UFC Champion Matt Hughes, there would be no MMA, there would be no UFC.
We owe a great deal of gratitude to the Gracie family, they have passed the torch on to us.